George Mikan Quotes

George Mikan

Profession : Basketball Player

Birth : June 18, 1924

I like to be busy.

George Mikan

When they widened the lane to prevent me from staying so close to the basket that just created more opportunity for me to pass the ball around.

George Mikan

We used to dunk in pregame practice, not in the game.

George Mikan

I had a habit of when I dressed before a game to place my eyeglasses on a locker shelf for safety.

George Mikan

I'm very near-sighted and can hardly see without my glasses.

George Mikan

My lefty hook became better than my right, and it was hard for anyone to stop me.

George Mikan

Most guards and forwards don't really know how to play with their back to the hoop. It's more and more an outside game.

George Mikan

The experts say I was the first real big man who was able to dominate a game. Who am I to make liars of them? But there were some other fine big centers besides me in the 1940s - Bob Kurland, Don Otten, Arnie Risen and Ed Macauley, to name a few.

George Mikan

Madison Square Garden was always one of my favorite places to play because of the great enthusiasm of the fans. They were always fair to an out-of-town guy like me.

George Mikan

When I played, it was the center's duty to be within 10 feet of the basket.

George Mikan

Heck yes; a center always likes to shoot like a guard. But that just wasn't my thing to do.

George Mikan

I went to Quigley Seminary and didn't have the time for basketball because I had to catch the bus after school to get home to Joliet. But Paul Mattei, then the athletic director at DePaul, saw me in one of the few games I did play for Quigley and told me if I decided to leave the seminary, he'd want me to come and play at DePaul.

George Mikan

Coach Meyer taught me everything I know about the game. He taught me to think it. I'd never had a coach before him.

George Mikan

They should forget about tradition and start doing things for the fans, especially women. Have lights flash after a basket. Have uniforms designed by Dior.

George Mikan

We were always setting picks and screens and looking for an open shot.

George Mikan

A guy who pays $8 to $10 for a ticket wants to see action. Where's the excitement in a guy getting a rebound, dribbling down court and taking a shot?

George Mikan

We are proud of the Lakers, proud to be a part of the organization's history.

George Mikan

You just don't turn your back on a going business and strike out in a new one if you don't think it has a chance.

George Mikan

Eddie Sadowski of Baltimore is always good for a couple of laughs a game.

George Mikan

I lose 30 to 35 pounds each season. It's tough work.

George Mikan