Moses Malone
You've got to put in a lot of practice if you want to be good in something. You've got to do it the right way.
If you want to win, you come to play; I don't come to half-step. If you think that you're No. 2 out there, then you won't be nothing. You can't have that. You have to be No. 1. That's the thing.
I'll always be Number 1 to myself.
I did 21 years of hard labor in the NBA, invested my money right, so I'm set. I earned the right to relax and enjoy, you know?
I'm a big-guy guy. I look at guys like Shaq, Ben Wallace, guys who play inside and play tough. I don't pay much attention to the little guys; I like the big guys who do the dirty work.
My game is hard work and pride. On the all hard-work team, I'd pick myself five times.
Ain't nobody ever had a jumpshot like mine, ain't nobody ever power moves like mine, ain't nobody ever tough defense like mine and ain't nobody ever had the courage to be a winner like me.
You got to work hard whatever you're doing and try to be number one and take pride in what you're doing. You want to be at the best at your spot then you got to work hard, man. A lot of guys don't work as hard as it gonna take.Collection: Hard Work
I never thought I'd lead the NBA in rebounding, but I got a lot of help from my team-mates - they did a lot of missing.Collection: Basketball
I was on the playground all night. I ain't never go to parties or nothing. I'd get out of school at 3 and be out there playing until one in the morning with one streetlight. For real.Collection: Morning
I'm never gonna try it, because you got to pay a lot for cocaine, and that's not the way I want to spend my money.Collection: Trying
To be a great offensive rebounder, you have to think like a defensive rebounder and battle for position while also being in the flow of your offense. And then it's just being determined.Collection: Thinking
I came up in a small town ghetto and I never did think I'd be a celebrity or famous athlete, I was just loving to play the game of basketball. And I worked hard at everything I did.Collection: Basketball
The only reason people are saying I'm the number-one player is because I'm with the number-one team.Collection: Team
When I was 15, they changed the playground rules because I was dominating everything and blocking everything that came my way.Collection: Block
When I retire, I wanna be able to just lay back. Only way to make it happen is to be investing my money, not spending it.Collection: Way
I don't talk to reporters, because they're gonna write what they want to write, so let 'em write what they want to write.Collection: Writing
When the ladies see an athlette walking around, they think, Well, he got the cocaine, so let's go get high with him.Collection: Thinking
People might get mad for five or ten minutes, but then they respect you more. And the next time they see you, they'll tell their friends, "Don't go up to him with that stuff - he don't mess with cocaine."Collection: People
I enjoy money. You got to know how to enjoy it, though. A lot of people enjoy it the wrong way: They spend it all.Collection: People
Reporters don't know me, because I don't talk to them; I just talk to the players.Collection: Player
I figure a lot of folks are probably looking to find out if Moses Malone is into that stuff, but the closest I come to drugs is drinking a Coca-Cola. I don't want that cocaine; it's not for me.Collection: Drinking
I've always just wanted to play ball, that's all. I didn't want to do no interviews, because I didn't want to be bothered with reporters.Collection: Play
When you make a lotta money, you got a lotta people shooting at you. Anywhere you go, the tab goes up. People borrow stuff from you, you don't see it again - they figure, Hell, Moses ain't gonna miss it, why do I have to return it?Collection: People
I started playing ball when I was 13 and a half. Before that, I just wanted to play football and baseball but I kept growing so I figured it was time for basketball.Collection: Basketball
I'm conservative with my money. I'm the one who's got a family and I can't be playing basketball forever, so when I retire, I want to live on what I've made.Collection: Basketball
Owners want to make their team a winner so they can get more fans in the stands, and that's why they go after the best ball-players and pay 'em what they're worth.Collection: Team
People got to realize that the owners who been paying me are a lot richer than I am. It's not like I was born rich; I had to play basketball to make this type of money.Collection: Basketball
Seems like everybody wants to know if an athlete is on drugs, so you got to stay clear of wild people.Collection: Athlete