'E.T.' and 'Star Wars' were cult movies then and opened up a brand new world of adventure and mystery. But as much as I would have loved to be friends with E.T., I realized that following in the footsteps of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan was more realistic.
I'm a fan of Kobe and LeBron. People always try to make me pick one or the other, but I think they're both great. They both deliver.
I guess, if it wasn't for Jordan, there would be no LeBron or Kobe who plays like that.
It was larger than life - the 76ers, Dr. J, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks, Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones - those were the teams that I grew up following.
I think the greatest player I've ever played against was Magic Johnson. Next, was Larry Bird. Then, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
If I would compare anybody to Michael Jordan, it would be Kobe Bryant.
I want to be like Johnny Bach or Pete Carril or Tex.
In 1979, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the league. I remember that. Soon after this, the story began to be repeated ad nauseam: the NBA, a tottering mess in the seventies, was saved in the eighties by these two.
Guys like Alvin Adams, Sweet D Walter Davis, Larry Nance, and Kyle Macy became my basketball heroes.
When I was a little kid I used to go on the playground and say: today I will shoot like Bird, pass like Magic, jump like Mike, be quick like Zeke. I am thankful to them, since without seeing them do things they did, I wouldn't be in the NBA.
I love LeBron, but Kobe was the first player I actually considered my favorite.
