Vlade Divac
Winning begins with culture and character matters.
When I used to play, I loved playing international because it's more freedom and more ability to improve.
Wins heal everything.
Love liberates you and gives you the power to make the impossible possible.
I believe that love gives you the freedom and power to share your best self and to inspire others.
Just like in life, when you play basketball, you have to give in order to receive. On the court, you're not only making things move along by giving the ball, but you're also giving your physical and mental strength, your passion, your talent, your trust in your teammates. This way the power can multiply and the whole team wins.
The fans really know basketball in Sacramento. They knew when we really needed their support and they were a big part of our success here.
We feel we are blessed by God. We have happy lives.
I am not going to play basketball because I have to play. I am going to play for fun.
Whatever you see in games, Kobe demands more in practice.
Basketball is the opposite of selfishness, basketball is solely about giving and sharing and caring for one another.
It was a lovely story that I finished my career with Kobe, with somebody who I was traded for. I have a lot of respect for the guy. I think he's definitely, by far, the best talent that I ever, ever played with.
If the NBA wants me to be somebody who can say, 'It is flop or not?' I'll do that for free. For fun.
It's good for basketball to grow.
As in life, to be the best in basketball you can't put any limits on your existence.
Kobe made an impact on basketball in a big way. He came in the League when he was 17 years old, but he was working on his game every day... The way he played, people all around the world loved the passion that he put in for basketball.
Kobe's legacy is definitely one of the best players to play this game ever.
Sacramento and the Kings organization were always in my thoughts and I often dreamed of having a role in helping our amazing fans realize the ultimate NBA prize.
As athletes and pro sports franchises, we have the responsibility to use our platform to affect positive change in the community. I take it seriously.
I loved the fans here in Charlotte. They were very basketball-educated, very supportive of the team.
I came here and actually fell in love with Charlotte and the Hornets. That's exactly what happened to me. I found a new way of motivation. Charlotte basically extended my career for the next seven years. I was thinking of retiring. I was 30 and played seven more years after that, just because basketball felt different here in Charlotte.
I just think positive and positive things usually happen.
Going to Charlotte and being there two years, I missed L.A., but it was good for me.
I didn't like it in the beginning, but later on, if I was in Jerry West's shoes, I would do the same thing. I would trade myself for Kobe, no-brainer.
Shaq wasn't talented - he was just strong. I was talented, but I wasn't strong.
When I decided to come to Sacramento, all my friends thought I was crazy. They said they still have cows and sheep around Arco.
First of all, I would love to see people remember me as a good passer, not as a good flopper. But flopping was, in some period of my career, a part of my game, especially against Shaquille O'Neal. It was the only way I could try to stop him. And I did well, I guess.
I had a beautiful life as a basketball player.
Basketball gave me everything.
People always said you shouldn't get in politics and talk about politics. But I believe the politics are all around us.
We take life... we should take it more seriously, because you never know what's going to happen tomorrow.
I play my best when I'm enjoying myself. So whoever I play against, I try to have fun.
For a lot of Croats, if you're a Serb, they don't want to associate with you. It's just stupid.
I always think if you have friends, you have friends, and it doesn't matter where they are from.
It was my dream for a long time to play in the NBA. When I was drafted, it was a challenge for me. I decided to go and see where I was compared to the best players in the world.
You have so many players all around the world in the NBA, a lot of different generations. If you don't take basketball as a tool in your life, you can get lost. I know a lot of teammates, a lot of players that had a great career and after that career, they just get lost.
In the early '80s there was a big gap between the NBA and the international game and when we started making our careers here in the NBA, obviously, we became better players. When we used to play each other on the international level, that gap became smaller and smaller.
I think when you play with someone, you tend to pick up their game and try to develop something together.
That's what Europe brought to the NBA: the passing skills, the shooting skills.
Sport has built me as a man and taught me not just to compete, but to lead the team as well.
When I came in the NBA, it was more a U.S. game. Now you can watch the NBA anywhere in the world.
I'm sure my life after basketball is, hopefully, going to be even better.
The better team sometimes loses.
The game of basketball brings people together. It really doesn't matter where you are coming from. It's a game all of us love.
I played basketball because I loved the game. I played because I was making a lot of friends around the world... It's fun.
I left my home, and it was the most beautiful country in the world in my eyes, and I was always happy in the summertime to go back. And then suddenly, the civil war starts, and you just worry first about your family and friends, and then an entire nation.
My generation started in big tournaments. '88 Olympics, we got silver. '89 European Championship, we got gold. 1990 World Cup in Argentina, we got gold. '91 European Championship, we got gold, and then there was a civil war, and for three years, we didn't play.
When I came to New York for the draft in '89, they told me I should be like 10 and 15, and it didn't happen. So I was very disappointed, like, nobody wants me.
We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads.Collection: Funny