Red accused me of being stubborn and willful—which he knew I was anyway—and wanted to know why, why I wanted to shun such an honor from the fans. Because I never played for the fans, I explained, I played for myself and for my team. I told Red I felt honored to have my number retired but that was something I could in good conscience only do with my

As a player and a coach, I didn’t look at statistics the way sportswriters and fans did. I wasn’t interested in who scored most, got the most rebounds or assists. I was after clues that would let me see patterns, what it was that enabled the Knicks to succeed against us. The stats, this time, revealed something startling about the Knicks’ defense.

It goes back to that old saying that it’s not what you give but what you share.

The Celtics, quite specifically, understood the power of invisibility. Playing for the team was always the plan. You had to be willing to give yourself up—to make yourself invisible—if you wanted success.

Letting go is most difficult when we are most personally attached. The decision one makes to retire comes to mind. An individual can make no more important decision, yet what is most essential in making that decision is the ability to let go. It is hard to leave a company, a team, a way of life. So much has been invested, so much history, so much

I learned something essential in my ego battles with Wilt. Ego is not a principle so much as a force of energy in the self. It is the vital current in your body, what you bring to everything you do, it is the power in you that can create positive (or negative) results in your life. No matter what the job or station you find yourself in, ego is the

I realized at a young age that winning was the ultimate form of athletic expression. And to win regularly, I would have to subordinate my individual goals so my team would be able to win. As a result, I became the kind of leader who understood that doing the most for my team would best guarantee success. To get there, I had to get past a lot of

All winning streaks begin with a single victory. All successful people, teams, companies, experience their success by an ability to grow, to move from level one to the next, never taking shortcuts, never thinking about more than what’s required to make things work right where they are.

if you’re going to spend your career trying to prove yourself to other people, you are bound to fail sooner or later.