The 100 best quotes of the 2016-2017 season

"I've been to six straight NBA Finals – I'm the last person to ask about a regular season game," LeBron James on a key late-season matchup against the Boston Celtics for the number one seed in the East. 

"I got a kick out of that because Dennis was suspended for 15 games a year, anyways. The guy got plenty of rest. He just took a night off whenever he wanted, so he can't complain," Steve Kerr on Dennis Rodman complaining about LeBron James resting. 

"Kobe: What Michelangelo is to art, what Beethoven is to music, what Shakespeare is to words, you are to me as a friend," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka on Kobe Bryant. 

"You're down 27, bruh," Kyrie Irving after Sixers center Shawn Long talked trash about an in-game dunk.

"Thanks Russ...you the real MVP," C.J. McCollum after  Russell Westbrook hit a buzzer beater to clinch a playoff spot for the Portland Trail Blazers. 

"I don't know what to say it's very random," Kristaps Porzingis on the Knicks' offensive system.

"I just had a Bud Light for the first time in a long time," Dirk Nowitzki after joining the 30,000 points club.

"I thought winning was the most important thing," James Harden on his criteria for the Most Valuable Player race. 

"I heard it's beautiful this time of year," Andrew Bogut on why he decided to join the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"I put my nuts on the line," Markieff Morris after hitting two clutch free throws late. 

"I'm a pizza guy. But when you really think about it, what is pizza? It's just dough, sauce, cheese and dedication," Willie Cauley-Stein. 

"I hate it," Tyronn Lue on all the drama surrounding LeBron James and the Cavs every year. 

"You have a car, right? You get a new paint job you're going to feel a lot better riding around," DeMar DeRozan on Toronto's trade deadline acquisitions. 

"You can't get no farewell tour, they don't love you like that...You thought you was Kobe?" Draymond Green to Paul Pierce. 

"73 wins and u thought u was gonna win a title that yr :) :) :) 3-1 lead oops," Paul Pierce talking trash back to Draymond Green and the Warriors on Twitter.

"Now, my mindset has to be to go into savage mode and get ready for a playoff run," Lou Williams on  joining the Houston Rockets. 

"Only shoot when you touch it," Mike D'Antoni's instructions to Lou Williams when he joined the Rockets. 

"There must be some good shit going on. I don't ever get this much media," DeMarcus Cousins after  the All-Star game. He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans the same evening.

"I like red velvet cupcakes, so next time make sure you have it," Kevin Durant after receiving "cupcake" chants in his return to Oklahoma City. 

"I can't be myself," DeMarcus Cousins, summing up his entire NBA experience. 

"Go see the swamps or something, try to catch an alligator... I don't know," Klay Thompson on his plans before the All-Star game in New Orleans. 

"Not one in a million for me... maybe for somebody else," LeBron James after John Wall said his game-tying three was a one-in-a-million shot. 

"Why don't you ask him about the tweet? You asking me about his tweet. Please, I don't know what he tweets,"  Carmelo Anthony  on Phil Jackson's tweets. 

"I don't know. I be at the house," Russell Westbrook on the anticipation in Oklahoma City for Kevin Durant's return. 

"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that. I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying," LeBron James on Charles Barkley. 

"I was having dinner with Michael Jordan and he said '73 don't mean a thing without a ring,'" Warriors owner Joe Lacob. 

"Fashion Week has been great. Have you seen Fashion Week?" Russell Westbrook when asked about Kevin Durant at All-Star Weekend. 

"We're getting back to the days of putting the Japanese in relocation camps and Hitler registering the Jews," Stan Van Gundy on Donald Trump's travel ban. 

"It does boggle the mind how someone can be so thin skinned,"  Gregg Popovich  on Donald Trump. 

"He's alright, mate. Still alive," Steven Adams on Enes Kanter after he fractured his arm punching a chair on the bench.

"He's sort of just pumped steroids into the Phoenix team he had," Steve Kerr on Mike D'Antoni's Rockets.

"Don't say what's up to that bitch ass n----," Russell Westbrook to his teammates trying to shake hands with Kevin Durant after a loss to the Warriors. 

"Nah," Russell Westbrook when asked if he and Kevin Durant are on speaking terms. 

"If they feel like my time in New York is over I guess that's a conversation we should have," Carmelo Anthony, still a New York Knick. 

"Imagine me slapping the s--- out of you," Jahlil Okafor's father responding to criticism of his son on Twitter. 

"Imagine how many votes didn't count...if they could spell my name I would have a million votes,"  Giannis Antetokounmpo  on All-Star voting on social media. 

"I always liked that guy," Michael Beasley after being told  Tony Allen voting for him as an Eastern Conference All-Star.

"Tough times don't last. Tough people do," C.J. McCollum after the Blazers lost for the ninth time in 10 games. 

"I'm Rajon Rondo. It is what it is,"  Rajon Rondo on whether he feels singled out by being benched. 

"A Dominican and a Puerto Rican," Carmelo Anthony describing his on-court run-in with Al Horford.

"Made first team All-NBA and Defense doing that," DeAndre Jordan on  Hassan Whiteside saying all he does is catch lobs. 

"That s--- was too heavy," Allen Iverson on why he didn't lift weights when he played. 

"Even though Cleveland lost to the Warriors, I enjoyed watching LeBron James play Point Guard!" Magic Johnson, still the best basketball Twitter account alive. 

"I play in the Garden every night with 20,000. So I'm not impressed," Brandon Jennings on Sacramento's new arena. 

"I just checked with Bob [Myers]. I'm not fired," Steve Kerr after a 110-89 loss to Memphis dropped the Warriors to 20-4. 

"I'm from the old school. It's a thin line between killing it and getting killed," Dwane Casey.

"It's a thin line. One day you are the statue, the next day you are the pigeon. Right now we are the pigeon," Dwane Casey, again. 

"Any vegetable that comes from the Earth, they encourage you to eat that," Draymond Green on Steve Kerr's argument for using marijuana for pain.

"Healthy knees,"  Chandler Parsons  on what he wants for Christmas. 

"I've got so much Bulk Barn I might have a lifetime supply of it," Terrence Ross on discovering Canada's largest bulk food retailer. 

"I don't pay attention to Australia, mate," New Zealander Steven Adams when asked about the NBA's popularity in Australia and New Zealand. 

"I just felt like I wanted to take the shot, man," Nick Young after hitting a game-winning shot. 

"You need to be willing to look in the mirror and call yourself out," Stan Van Gundy on Phil Jackson's negative use of the term posse. 

"Not only is she a stunning, gorgeous women, she's also my inspiration for tonight with this headset on," Drake on Doris Burke on Drake Night in Toronto. 

"I'm comfortable with it," Kobe Bryant on death. 

"I want to thank Donald Trump for making Toronto an unbelievable sports destination," Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri. 

"I wasn't sure you'd make it," President Barack Obama saying thanks to J.R. Smith's shirt for showing up at the White House. 

"Dual citizenship. '100,'" Raptors forward Patrick Patterson after the election. 

"We're like in love, we text all the time," Gregg Popovich on  the retired Tim Duncan. 

"Only the ones where you blow kisses," Gregg Popovich on whether he and Duncan use emojis when they text. 

"You're always going to have that ghost of your past," Kevin Durant after his first matchup against the Thunder.

"That's where they went wrong," Russell Westbrook on people expecting the Thunder to fall off after Durant's departure. 

"How's that feel, Cleveland?" Luke Walton, an assistant coach on the Warriors who blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals last season, after finding out the Cleveland Indians blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series. 

"Man 3-1 sucks," Draymond Green after the Indians blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series. 

"I'm doing it because Jaylen Brown feels comfortable in short shorts," Jaylen Brown on why he wears short shorts. 

"This is not even a conspiracy theory. The Earth is flat," Kyrie Irving.

"I thought he'd been retired," Rajon Rondo after  Ray Allen officially announced his retirement. 

"I got to drink more Fiji water," Hassan Whiteside on dealing with cramps during a game. 

"I was watching cartoons mate, some Japanese anime. 'One Piece,' it's about pirates. 'One Punch Man' is another classic," Steven Adams when asked whether he watched Spurs vs. Warriors the night before. 

"Congratulations on Cleveland. Even though it's not a vacation spot, you guys got a championship. It's well deserved," Joakim Noah.

"I hate Steve Kerr. If he asks me anything I tell him to go urinate in a bucket," Gregg Popovich on whether he still gives Steve Kerr any coaching advice. 

"The beginning of the game was abominable. It was a Donald Trump debate performance," Rick Carlisle. 

"When you're a Greek God when you go back to Greece, how does that make you feel... you are the Greek basketball God, you are the God of Greece," foreign reporter to Giannis Antetokounmpo after he hit a game-winner against the Knicks. 

"There would have been so many more slights. He might have won more titles," Steve Kerr on if Michael Jordan had to deal with Twitter noise during his career. 

"It's nice. Sixers fans, they show that they trust the process," Joel Embiid on Sixers fans chanting for him while he was shooting free throws.

"Gonna cook your ass tomorrow," Joel Embiid posting on Chandler Parsons' Instagram before the Sixers played the Grizzlies. 

"I don't even know who that is," DeMarcus Cousins on whether he attended Paul McCartney's concert in Sacramento. 

"I'm like an iguana I adapt,"  Zach Randolph  on shooting more threes this season. 

"I feel like the city, they deserve a hug too and they're going to get one with him,"  Brett Brown  on Joel Embiid returning after being out two years due to injury. 

"Who am I to say who can or can't get a ring," LeBron James on the Cavs giving David Blatt a championship ring after he was fired in the middle of the 2015-16 season. 

"It gives us a lot of opportunity to buy a lot of nice suits for cheap,"  Alvin Gentry  on his team's trip to China during the preseason. 

"There is nobody, sadly, that has more experience dealing with injured draft picks than we do," Brett Brown after Ben Simmons' injury. 

"You've got to remember the integrity. You have to be impeccable with your word to the game, and that you can't really let anything else distract you from the platform in which 30 owners allow you to play, to win, to make a lot of money, to have a great future,"  Pat Riley  on social media use from players. 

"I don't think it will ever leave but frankly, I don't give a s---," Kevin Love on people continuing to talk about his fit with the Cavaliers. 

"I'm a big white guy who gets hurt all the time. I wouldn't like me either,"  Josh McRoberts  on criticism from fans. 

"His personality isn't here, jokes that he makes during practice, that's the things I'm missing right now," Kawhi Leonard on Tim Duncan.

"There were some holes on our team, and we got a monster who fills them all,"  Andre Iguodala  on the addition of Kevin Durant. 

"I know people looking at me weird having two men tattooed on my body, but that's two men who've inspired me," Kevin Durant on his Rick James and Tupac tattoos. 

"I was in bed,"  Dion Waiters  on where he was when Kevin Durant announced he was joining the Thunder. 

"I'm here to play ball, not go outside and make snow angels," Jordan Hill on joining the Timberwolves. 

"Can somebody pull out their phone? Everybody has their phone out. Can somebody pull out their second phone? Whoever's not working. Let's see what Siri says. I'll answer your question in a moment. Siri is pretty unintelligent. Apple needs to upgrade. Success. I can spell it for you. For this team? Obviously you can to come out on top, and, actually, I changed the definition, to come out on top," Metta World Peace on the definition of success. 

"Quite frankly, I don't want to win 74 games, 75 games. It's brutal," Draymond Green. 

"Nobody complain when somebody leave Apple and go to Google," Draymond Green on people criticizing Kevin Durant for leaving the Thunder. 

"On another note... Russ might go Oscar next year. In this era that would be crazy," Austin Rivers predicting Russell Westbrook's historic season last summer. 

"No, no I didn't study. I didn't study. I definitely didn't study in my five months off. Trust me. I ain't gonna bulls--- you here. I will study different things in the summer. The beach and the pool," Marcin Gortat on whether he studied new head coach Scott Brooks during the offseason. 

"Clothes," George Hill on what he can't travel without. 

"I haven't talked to him," Russell Westbrook at training camp on whether he and Kevin Durant are still cool.

"Championship," Phil Jackson on what would constitute a successful season for the Knicks. 

"I kind of feel like a father. So, congratulations to me," Steven Adams on being a teacher to rookie Domantas Sabonis.

"Some days at night I can't sleep, and I just call him, and he sings me to sleep," Victor Oladipo on Russell Westbrook.