Quotes by Jermaine O'Neal

I just want to understand better why an age limit is coming up. That's all. I'm not playing the race card, I'm not calling anybody a racist. I'm just talking about the facts. The product and economic reasons can't be the reason, because the league is doing well and the prime faces of the NBA are of high-school players.

I thought Portland had a really good chance. But after we didn't win it, I knew my time was up there. But it wasn't a totally bad situation for me there. It was a great situation coming out of high school.

Some of these parents in the basketball world want to be paid for their kids and want to be given this and given that. That's not what this is supposed to be. This is supposed to be about getting rewarded off of your hard work.

Part of me is always going to be competitive.

Well one thing you can't say is that I don't know basketball.

When we can reach out as coaches and give back to these kids and touch them with the knowledge and with the thought process to give them the opportunity to do something that they dream about doing, that's what God put us here for.

Look at the Seattle Seahawks. They talk it, they walk it and they play like wild animals. Sometimes you need that to win.

You can look back on a lot of things and things that could have been changed, but ultimately those things make you who you are. It builds character. I'm OK with that.

Being a part of something great is what matters to me.

It comes down to personalities and style of play, and I thought Boston has all that for me.