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"If I'm going to throw a no-look pass, I want to be sure somebody's going to be there to catch it. A lot of times I messed up because I thought somebody would be somewhere they weren't, or because they thought I couldn't see them when they were open. I hit a lot of people in the face at first and I got a lot of turnovers, but I just worked at it until I got it right."
"The angle is what it's all about. I read the angles so that if I can hit that seam and find the angle, somebody can take the pass and shoot without breaking stride. It's just like shooting pool: You have to anticipate what's going to happen, read the angle, then pow! It just happens...pow!"
"Usually I'm up and people see me as up, but people don't know me really. I'm a quiet person who likes to have a lot of time to himself. Sometimes when you want to get away from that crowd, that's when you don't want to be Magic at all."
"When we started running, my confidence started to rise. That's when I knew it was time to deal on some people. When we're rolling and the break is going, I guess it looks like I am performing magic out there. There are some nights I think I can do anything. You really have to love the game to play that way, though," he said. "You can't be afraid to let your emotions out in front of 13,000 people."
"You play to a beat, on a stride, sort of. Sometimes if I've been listening to a song, it will come up in my mind during a game. I always listen to music before a game. It gets me going, pumps my blood up. I'll always be more sweaty when I leave home than I am after warmups. I'm thinking about the game, but I'm into the music. You get too uptight if you're thinking about the game all day. It's there, but I'm not focused in on it. Cool. By the time I hit my car, I want an up beat, because by then my adrenaline's flowing."
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"He really is magic. He's got great charisma. It's fun just to watch someone who can get the ball to his teammates when they're open. There are a few other players in the league who can do that, but what makes Magic special is the way he brings his own personality to it." - Brian Taylor
"Magic is a stage name. It's unreal, and that's what magic is—unreal. It's fantasy. Nobody can be magic for the rest of his life. When he was young it was fun to be Magic, but what happens when he's 33 or 34, when he starts slipping? That's when the name can jump up and kick him in the butt." - Pat Riley
"Magic sees angles a lot of guards don't see, and he gives you the ball in the rhythm of your move so you can go right up with it." - Jim Chones
"Magic's greatest asset is his enthusiasm, the way he can lift his team up." - Donnie Walsh
"There are two types of passers. The first kind can make a pass that looks good but doesn't lead to anything; the second can get the ball to a teammate when he's in a position to do something with the ball. Magic is the second kind." - Al Attles
"The thing about Magic is that it's hard to tell if he's getting better, because he just does what he wants to do. He can score six points and totally dominate the game, which he's done against us. Or he can decide they need points, and go out and score 39, which he's also done against us. He just reads the flow of the game and decides what he's going to do that night." - Jim Paxson
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