George Karl

The truth of basketball is done in competition and fundamentals and team, but there's a lot of other junk that goes around the game.

Coaches don't sleep for a reason. They don't sleep because it's a danger zone every night. Very seldom do you ever get two or three days off... The lifestyle of coaching in the NBA is a tremendous challenge that gives you tremendous highs but also tremendous lows.

I think we, as pro coaches, should have a consciousness towards having an image and a role model mentality for kids.

There should not be an entitlement that because you get paid the most money, that you should finish every game. But if you don't do it, then the agents are going to call, and the players are going to mope, and so you negotiate that. It's a compromise as a coach.

The great player, so much of the greatness, in my mind, is in his heart and his head. It's not in his body, in his skill set. It comes from having great talent but wanting to mold that and fit it together into being special. And being special means winning championships.

You always spend a little more time watching the guys you coached, to see how they're playing. And there's no question that when I check scores, I still go to the Nuggets scorer faster than any other scores. I have a lot of love for the players and a lot of love for the city.

I want to be the team that creates the action more than be the reactor.

Who is the ally of the coach? Who's going to write, 'Man, that was a well-coached game.' Players win, coaches lose.

One thing I'll tell you is the food in Sacramento is off the charts. You've got good Asian food, the farm system where everything is natural, which I believe in. I like organic.

In the NBA, you win, and you think you're going to win tomorrow. But as soon as you lose, you don't think you're ever going to win again.