LeBron James

LeBron: If I didn't believe in this team and this organization and the direction that we're headed, I wouldn't have signed the extension.

LeBron: There's no reason to play in the NBA if you don't believe you can win it all.

LeBron: The only thing on my mind right now is trying to win the whole thing.

LeBron: I hope I can help guys coming out of high school, if they need advice.I know the ins and outs of everything.

LeBron: You can't let nobody run your train.

LeBron: I just do what I got to do and go out and be myself, on and off the court, and take care of my obligations. That's generally your own destiny—knowing what you have to take care of.

LeBron:I love sharing the ball with my teammates. I see a lot of things before my teammates see them.

LeBron: A lot of players know how to play the game, but they really don't know how to play the game, if you know what I mean. They can put the ball in the hoop, but I see things before they even happen. You know how a guy can make his team so much better? That's one thing I learned from watching Jordan.

LeBron: I'm like a superhero. Call me Basketball Man.

LeBron: I'm under a super microscope. I've got my friends to keep me cool. As long as you've got friends, you've got nothing to worry about.

LeBron: Sometimes the coaches tell me to be selfish, but my game won't let me be selfish.

LeBron: My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me.

LeBron: I don't want to be Kobe, I want to be LeBron.

LeBron: Sometimes in the past when I played something might make me lose focus, or I would go home after a game where I thought I could have played better and I would let it hang over my head for a long time when it shouldn't. But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I'm upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.

LeBron: It's hard to win in the league, because every team is good, they got players on their team. A lot harder than high school. It's competitive, and that's what I most love about it.

LeBron: In the next 15 or 20 years, I hope I'll be the richest man in the world. That's one of my goals. I want to be a billionaire. I want to get to a position where generation on generation don't have to worry about nothing. I don't want family members from my kids to my son's kids to never have to worry. And I can't do that now just playing basketball.

LeBron: I hear that word pressure all the time. There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don't put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.

LeBron: I've always been a leader. I've always kind of been the tallest person on the team when I was younger but always kind of the smartest. I was ahead of my time. I wasn't always the oldest, I kind of was the youngest on the team, but, I kind of knew what to do at times.

LeBron: Once you become a professional athlete or once you do anything well, then you're automatically a role model ... I have no problem being a role model. I love it. I have kids looking up to me and hopefully I inspire these kids to do good things.

LeBron: Everywhere I've been, I've been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It's not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It's just how I am.

LeBron: Without them, there's no us.

LeBron: What happened two years ago, that really motivated me to come out and play even harder.

LeBron: Guys stepped up tonight. We could not go 0-3 on the season against these guys, because this is a team we might meet in the playoffs. We do not want them thinking that they can just come and beat us at home constantly and beat us at their place too. They are a good team. We are a good team, and we played well to get a win.

LeBron: It was a very big play for us.

LeBron: You can't lose three games in a row to New Jersey. We might see them in the playoffs. You don't want them to think they can beat us at home.

LeBron: You're going to have games like this. I knew I was going to have to be a little more aggressive for us to win.

LeBron: I don't pre-determine what I'm going to do. That's why I'm not a good dunk contest participant. I don't know what I'm going to do until I jump.

LeBron: They didn't beg or plead, I just declined. They asked me to do something else, so I said yes.

LeBron: I don't know if I have skills. We'll find out that night. They asked me and I decided to do it.

LeBron: This was a very important game. We didn't want to get a big win like we did Sunday (against Phoenix) and lose here.

LeBron: It shows what our team is all about. We're getting better and improving. We're still missing one important part of our team. When (guard Larry Hughes) comes back, it's going to be even better.

LeBron: I wanted to try and take the life out of them a little bit.

LeBron: So many great basketball players haven't won championships before, and they're still great. But that's what people judge you by.

LeBron: We have been doing a great job lately of closing out games on the road, and it was nice to see us able to do that here tonight. It's something we need to keep up.

LeBron: We've been doing a great job of closing out games on the road lately. It's tough playing the same team twice (in a one-week span). We didn't want to put too much pressure on ourselves because of the guys they are missing. We tried come out and play like they had everyone.

LeBron: The coaches have been doing a great job of putting us in a position to win. We've been doing a great job of executing it. Z did that tonight.

LeBron: Coming off a back-to-back after a big win against Indiana, it was easy for us not to bring the intensity tonight. You can't win a big game like that and then lose a game like this.

LeBron: It puts a smile on my face to be compared to a legend. Year by year, as you play basketball, you've got to know the history of the game.

LeBron: Coming off a back-to-back, with a big win last night against Indiana, it would have been easy for us to not bring intensity. Early on, our team didn't have intensity. I saw that and I had to pretty much take over matters. I've been able to take my team on my back.

LeBron: They're like those things guys used in high school. I hope it's the last we see of them.

LeBron: Those things can damage your eyes something bad. I was standing at the foul line in the fourth quarter when the ref noticed a red dot near my forehead. That's pretty serious.

LeBron: Uh. I don't think so.

LeBron: I don't think we have had a defensive performance like that this season. We came in with the mind-set to get stops. That was the key to the game for us.

LeBron: The way he's playing now, he should be a dead lock.

LeBron: My knee kind of stiffened up on me. I didn't get as much lift as I wanted to.

LeBron: It was a perfect miss. That sounds crazy, but I missed it perfectly, and I followed it and got fouled, and we were in a position to go to OT, but I lost the game for us. I've never practiced that but I know how to hit the back of the rim and make it pop out.

LeBron: It really didn't bother me. Andre kneed me in the shin. I just have to take care of it and see how it reacts Saturday.

LeBron: We stopped playing our No. 1 point guard for no reason, and as a team we didn't know why. The chemistry has all been shifted. That bothered me. You got (McInnis) sitting on the bench and we're losing.

LeBron: I don't know where it came from. I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest or pushed. It was something I never felt before.

LeBron: I don't know where it came from. I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest or pushed. It was something I never felt before.

LeBron: I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest or pushed. It was something I never felt before.

LeBron: The way he's coached us the first week of training camp and now in the preseason has been great. He has a lot of pressure because he's a rookie head coach, but we don't look at him like that. He's been on championship teams his whole life and he's going to bring that same intensity to us.

LeBron: I don't know where it came from. I don't remember getting elbowed in the chest. I woke up yesterday morning and it was hurting. It's something I've never felt before.

LeBron: I was just fighting through it. I was trying to fight through a cold, but I didn't want to make any excuses. I didn't want to be in the position where I wasn't there for my team tonight.

LeBron: It kind of got better over the day. I'm probably going to have an MRI in the next week or so.

LeBron: I don't have all the info of what's going on.

LeBron: I don't have all the info of what's going on. Once I find that out and once I sit down with my family, you know, I'll be able to comment on it a little bit better.

LeBron: It had something to do with it. I couldn't get as much lift, enough spring when I wanted to drive and penetrate and my shot got blocked a couple of times.

LeBron: Me and Nike came up with the concept. We just ran with it, man. It was awesome. It took me about a week to do it. I was putting on different costumes. We hit everyone - the older generation, the younger generation, the Me generation.

LeBron: I don't feel too much pressure. I never have. I don't believe in pressure.

LeBron: I've always been a pass-first type player. But my teammates come to me and tell me to be more aggressive, sometimes be more selfish. And it's kind of hard because that's not my game. But when my teammates ask me to do something like that, I got to take it and run with it.

LeBron: I don't want to make an excuse. But the core guys that we had with us at the beginning of the year are not with us right now. We have to fight through it and get better and just keep working hard.

LeBron: We're going to be hurt by it; he's one of our main guys. Someone else is going to have to pick it up.

LeBron: I got in a comfort level, and I took over the game. My guys, you know, were with me.

LeBron: We played as well as we could and gave a great effort. They have a lot more firepower than us.

LeBron: He's the best player in our league by far. You can't stop him. We've got to try to slow down the other guys.

LeBron: I feel pretty good about it. I think if I decide to be a part of that team, I think it will be a much better experience than two summers ago.

LeBron: We had to bring our 'A' game and that's what we did.

LeBron: It's about having intensity and playing at both ends for as close to 48 minutes as possible. You really can't put in a good game plan against a great team, you just have to go out and play.

LeBron: The experience (will be better this time). Knowing what I got myself into two summers ago, I didn't get a full-fledged explanation of what my role would be. This time I will. That will make the experience much better. I'll be more comfortable with it.

LeBron: He is one of the best defenders in this league against me.

LeBron: This is a tough time for us.

LeBron: I just didn't make the shots I wanted to in the second half.

LeBron: I don't know my situation right now. I'll find out when I get to Phoenix or when I get back from Phoenix.

LeBron: I was kind of air-headed. I was put into a situation where I didn't have a clear mind about it. That's my fault also, not knowing what I was getting myself into.

LeBron: That's over and done with. I've moved on, and he's moved on.

LeBron: They've got a lot more firepower than us. We played as well as we could. We gave great effort. That's all we can ask for.

LeBron: It looks pretty good. He's getting a good group of guys together that want to win, that want revenge for what happened two summers ago.

LeBron: I don't think we were ready to play from the opening tip. Once you get to the point where every game means the same, where every game you play for 48 minutes, then you become a great team. Right now, we are not.

LeBron: His last three shots were just amazing. The guy was shooting shots like he was the only person in this arena. He has been through this before - he has (championship) rings.

LeBron: The shot felt great, I didn't hesitate. It was short. They won and we lost.

LeBron: It's going to come. You win some and you lose some. I'm not going to shy away from that shot at the end of the game.

LeBron: No decision yet. I hope to make one in the next couple days. It's looking real positive right now I might be playing on the team.

LeBron: We know we can't stop him. We want to try and contain him and make other guys on their team beat us. Their team stepped up.

LeBron: I'll start out on Lamar. There are times I will have Kobe. I'm going to take on the challenge. We'll try to get out and run and control the tempo.

LeBron: It is amazing. He's the best player in our league. You can't stop him.

LeBron: I don't think we were ready to play from the opening tip. We got it going in the third, but it took us two quarters to get it going and we can't beat anyone in the league doing that.

LeBron: It is something we need to work on. We need to approach games like we do at home, but that's very difficult for every team in this league.

LeBron: The hustle plays is what killed us. Jason Kidd always makes a difference.

LeBron: We didn't want to get blown out. We didn't want to get embarrassed. We must have done something right (in the second half).

LeBron: We did not want to get blown out against a team in the Eastern Conference.

LeBron: We are still getting better. We are becoming a good team and it is good to see that...We need to approach games like we do at home, which is difficult, but once we get to that point we will be much better.

LeBron: I was feeling pretty good. Once (the shot clock) makes it down to 10 seconds, I believe I can take my man one-on-one.

LeBron: We didn't want to get blown out or get embarrassed, being that it's an Eastern Conference team. We picked it up.

LeBron: We are very confident. We are winning ball games...We are playing well defensively and we are executing our offense. We feel very confident and we have to keep it going.

LeBron: I missed shots. I'm going to have off nights. But it doesn't matter to me as long as we win.

LeBron: He made big shots. I'm happy he's on our side now.

LeBron: That's something we didn't have last year: a guy that can spread the floor and open the lane for me and Z. You see how open the lane is for me and Z now.

LeBron: D.J. caught fire. He's very valuable when he's making shots and even when he's talking. He's always talking, of course. He brought his 'A' game.

LeBron: That was very strange. We were way up, so I could sit over there.

LeBron: I was about time for me to wake up and for me to be more aggressive. Once I start feeling like that, I feel unstoppable.

LeBron: We were very excited to have 'Z' come in and play well. We missed him the other night. Tonight we executed and made the big shots.

LeBron: We got stops and made shots when it counted. When you hold a team to 38 percent from the field you give yourself a pretty good chance of winning.

LeBron: We're in a funk. We have to find a way to tighten the screws.

LeBron: We will get it together. We know we're a good team.

LeBron: They're a good team, and they're becoming a great team.

LeBron: We shot terrible tonight. It's not like we didn't have good shots. We had great looks ... You have to give it to them. They made us look bad.

LeBron: I don't let individual statistics make me a focus or more of a focus. I just tried to come out and attack early and get a big lead. We were able to take it in overtime and win.

LeBron: We made some good stops and we contested their shots. I think last time we played them they shot around 60 percent. We were able to contest those shots and we were able to attack and get a lead and we didn't let go.

LeBron: It was crazy. I had a great time. It was a great experience.

LeBron: Everybody that came into the game attacked. We have some things to work on, but we got the win and that's all that matters.

LeBron: We don't want to get frustrated because it sticks in your mind too much. We have to work at it and see what we did wrong.

LeBron: I was able to attack at times, draw the defense in and kick it out -- sometimes we made the shots, sometimes we didn't. We try to do the exact same things they try to do, only they do it about five times better right now.

LeBron: When you're on fire like that, you just keep shooting them. We had great spacing on the floor.

LeBron: We've got that in mind. We know he has a lot of pressure on him being a rookie head coach. But we don't look at him as being a rookie coach. He seems like he's been doing it forever. He hasn't showed us any nervousness, but I know he will be before the game.

LeBron: I'm going to do everything I can to get ready to get back to my team as soon as possible.

LeBron: The ankle feels fine. It's not 100 percent, so I'm not going to be able to go tonight.

LeBron: That's all our team is about. If we stop people, we're the most athletic team in this whole tournament and we can get out and get easy buckets.

LeBron: It was great to be out there with a good friend.

LeBron: (referring to his virus) I told Coach to take me out. It's still in there.

LeBron: I felt a little winded. I ain't gonna lie. I wasn't 100 percent. If I looked sharp, wait until I get 100 percent.

LeBron: I want to get out there with my teammates and see how it goes. I'll play as many minutes as I can or as many minutes as coach will allow me.

LeBron: It was difficult. It was a feeling I never felt before. I thought it was serious at first.

LeBron: It was a little tiring. My chest got stopped up a little bit, but for the most part it was fun to get back on the floor with my teammates.

LeBron: I will have no problem coming to practice on time. The locker room is great, but we have to prove ourselves on the court.

LeBron: Working with all of these kids is great. It doesn't get any better than this, to come down and inspire kids who want to play the game of basketball and put smiles on their faces.

LeBron: That's not fair. I was fouled.

LeBron: Hopefully we can put some smiles on their faces and maybe for just that little moment they cannot think about what happened.

LeBron: I never told him to proceed with a life documentary.

LeBron: I am just happy to be part of the Nike family.

LeBron: This is a job and we want to have fun. But it's a job and we should look like we're going to work.

LeBron: He's probably the quickest guy in our league, him and Allen Iverson. He put pressure on our defense the whole night.

LeBron: They had a chance to put their foot on our neck and that's what they did. They're a well-coached team and they did a great job.

LeBron: Ask me to play. I'll play. Ask me to shoot. I'll shoot. Ask me to pass. I'll pass. Ask me to steal, block out, sacrifice, lead, dominate. Anything. But it's not what you ask of me. It's what I ask of myself.

LeBron: I'm the next O.J.

LeBron: To all the positions, I just bring the determination to win. Me being an unselfish player, I think that can carry on to my teammates. When you have one of the best players on the court being unselfish, I think that transfers to the other players.

LeBron: With that locker room I could sleep there after games.

LeBron: I don't need too much. Glamour and all that stuff don't excite me. I am just glad I have the game of basketball in my life.

LeBron: There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don't put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.