I remember at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Shaq always wanted me to show him steps over and over.

Basketball is in my blood. It is my obligation to try.

I remember at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Shaq always wanted me to show him steps over and over.

I've now been in this country for thirteen years, since I was seventeen. So this is my second home.

I don't think Michael had to retire for us to get the spotlight, because when you win, it commands attention.

All these boundaries - Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America - are set by men. But you don't have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man - at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower, or are you a leader?

My background playing soccer gave me a natural advantage over many of the American-born players.

When you get to that level, it's not a matter of talent anymore - because all the players are so talented - it's about preparation, about playing smart and making good decisions.

When I look at the system here and look at my position - not just as a basketball player, but when I look around me at the values of the people and the culture and compare them with the values of where I came from - I feel so blessed to be from Africa.

I always keep a ball in the car. You never know.

Being from Africa is the best thing that could have ever, ever happened to me. I cannot see it any other way. All of my fundamental principles that were instilled in me in my home, from my childhood, are still with me.

Allah says in the Qur'an not to despise one another. So the criterion in Islam is not color or social status. It's who is most righteous. If I go to a mosque - and I'm a basketball player with money and prestige - if I go to a mosque and see an imam, I feel inferior. He's better than me. It's about knowledge.

God comes first. Paradise is not cheap.

I love fashion as much as I love basketball! It is a great joy for me to express myself through designing my own collection.

I was successful materially, but I know life is much more than worldly success. I saw all these blessings God had given me. The way to give thanks is obedience to God.

I'm shy, but sometimes my voice is so clear and strong.

I'm shy, but sometimes my voice is so clear and strong. Your tongue moves, and the Arabic language is so beautiful.

I'm the kind of person who always wants more.

I'm the kind of person who always wants more. I was successful materially, but I know life is much more than worldly success. I saw all these blessings God had given me. The way to give thanks is obedience to God.

My type of basketball is about how to create space, how to maneuver, how to get your shot off.

The difference must be distinguished between worship and respect. Islam orders you to obey and respect, as long as you are not worshiping anything other than God... Islam is a religion of peace. You don't attack. You explain.

The key to fashion is, you don't want to look like you're trying. You've gotta be natural.

John Mayer and Jack Johnson are two of my all-time favorites. I love Colbie Caillat and really cool, beach-y, guitar, acoustic type music.

How come actors feel like they have to give some kind of personal revelation attached to the project?

I believe the old boys' network is a powerful one. No one gives up power and privilege willingly, do they?

Fiction basically is a form of gossip where you want to enter other people's lives, the lives of people you don't know, and you want to know what's going to happen to them.

You have to know when to be arrogant. You have to when to be humble. You have to know when to be hard and you have to know when to be soft.

The next time I write a play - in order to get audience trust for a particular sort of tragic line, I'll try to bring the audience a good distance before that. Part of that is allowing comic moments to occur. I had been afraid of that - that once the audience started laughing in the play, they would never stop.

Sometimes, when the wind hits hard and icicles form on the sea cliffs, we can all come together - and at those times, we are at our best.

I've never had an empty house. Ever.

All, or nearly all, the advantage there is in fixing any constitutional limits to the power of a government, is simply to give notice to the government of the point at which it will meet with resistance.

The sign of a good society is where talent is respected.

As of right now, I'm still waiting to meet Halle Berry. And she is single.

I have lived in Toledo, Ohio, off and on throughout my entire life, and I have plenty of friends who are union members. Sometimes we agree politically and sometimes not, but it has never kept us from being friends.

I couldn't love a woman who inspired me to be totally disinterested. If I fell in love with a woman for an artistic reason, or from the point of view of my work, I think it would rob her of something.

The road leading to a goal does not separate you from the destination it is essentially a part of it.

No one who knows my personal situation would think I am not sympathetic to the needs of the active forces.

The arrival of any child brings you a lot of happiness.

I like a girl who doesn't play any games. I like a very sweet girl.

I just don't think any job is worth sacrificing your private life for.

If you haven't had at least a slight poetic crack in the heart, you have been cheated by nature.

You can only learn so much from books. You can only learn so much from education. Ultimately, it is the wisdom of God that will carry you through in the toughest situations of life.

I used to design for my body, which was flat-chested with big hips. That's why my clothes were tight on top with full skirts.

Yeah, I am lazy. There's no doubt about that.

Everyone has at least one story, and each of us is funny if we admit it. You have to admit you're the funniest person you've ever heard of.

If money is not maintained, it can collapse like a bridge along Interstate 5 and fixing it, even with determined politicians, will take ages, during which time God only knows how much human damage will occur.