I'm not like the next Michael Jordan, but I'm also not what everyone saw me as before I started playing in the NBA, either.
Playing with Michael Jordan would be a great opportunity for me. I would have someone around I could learn a lot from. I look up to him as a player and as a person, and that would make me a better player and person.
I feel like my biggest competition is myself. A lot of kids get caught up in the comparing game - comparing themselves with Michael Jackson, comparing themselves with Michael Jordan. You gotta be your best. You gotta overcome your own fears.
Anytime someone is wearing Jordan, you have to respect!
When I grew up I was a huge Michael Jordan fan. That's not very unusual for people to like him, but I just liked reading his books, especially where he came from, getting cut from his high school team. I thought he was a good person, a good role model to look up to.
My first pair of shoes my mom bought me. I was born in 1985 and my mom is the biggest North Carolina/Michael Jordan fan there is, so when those first Jordan's came out those were my first shoes ever. I don't remember but I guess it started from there.
Me and my brother growing up used to collect rookie and basketball cards, like MJ's and LeBron's. That's what we used to collect, have a lot signed as well.
In the old days Michael Jordan and Larry Bird worked for everything they got. They worked hard on their game.
At 7, I was shooting 3s with so much ease that the guys at the neighborhood park were impressed. Michael Jordan was one of the best humans to walk the earth in my eyes, third only to Jesus and my mother.
I think there's a lot of different ways to win. You've seen teams that win championships with a super-duper star like Kobe Bryant. Those championship teams with Michael Jordan certainly had a great, great player.
I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.
Michael Jordan changed so much in basketball, he took his power to make a difference. It's so much going on in music right now and somebody has to make a difference.
'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.
When I was with the Bulls, I was very dysfunctional.
Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to play the game.
Maybe it's God disguised as Michael Jordan.
Overall, I think Michael Jordan is the greatest athlete in any particular sport. He dominated the game for the Chicago Bulls and brought the NBA to its greatest peak of popularity.
I've looked up to Michael Jordan because not only was he an assassin on offense, he was an assassin on defense.
You wanted to compete against Michael Jordan, because they were the best. You wanted to beat them. Never once in my mind, I went, 'I would love to play with him.' I was always like, 'Man, we've got to beat them.'
Eddie Murphy was the Michael Jordan of comedy. He had a full range of abilities.
Grease and starch just always win over protein. In food as in so many things. Look around you, that's what our whole country is based on. It's amazing that Michael Jordan can be an iconic figure because he's basically just protein.
I never wanted to be Michael Jordan, although I would like to trade bank accounts.
My idol when I was growing up was Michael Jordan the basketball player because of his work ethic rather than his talent and because of what he went through to be as good as he was.
I was a big Michael Jordan fan growing up. I don't feel my game resembles his though.
To me, that's the brilliance of Michael Jordan. He was an incredible, amazing individual player who matched his talents to the team, matched the team's talents to him, and he lived in the middle of those extremes. I don't know how you do that.
