"With Michael, a lot of us were really taken out of the picture. After the game, it was all Michael. But now, everything in the locker room is shared. There's no one person enjoying all the attention. It's fun because even if you see a headline, it's 'Bulls Lose,' not 'Bulls Lose but Jordan . . . .' We're all accepting the losses and enjoying the victories. There's no headlines saying, 'Pippen does this and Bulls win.' We're all being able to celebrate what we're doing." -- Scottie Pippen, missing Michael so much
"The difference now is we're a twelve-man team. We pass the ball around now and everyone gets involved." -- Horace Grant, showing more love for Michael
"When Michael was here, we put up with a lot of his (bleep). I can't believe you would let us come so far and then be so selfish." -- Bill Cartwright, advising Scottie Pippen to not "be like Mike"
Around the Bulls' offices, Jordan had long been referred to as "Jesus Christ Superstar" because of his celebrity and refusal to attend many team functions because of his outside-sponsor-related activities. -- Michael Jordan's just another guy on the team
"You can peck away at the idol with small chips, but this is not an idol made of wood, this one is born out of the imagination of people, an image too sturdy for mere events and actions to change." -- Phil Jackson on people's perception of Michael
"I told Luc if he doesn't catch any more of my passes, I'm going to hit him right in the face with it. I'm going to start throwing them right at his head." -- Michael on Luc Longley's inability to catch passes, to which Phil Jackson later asked him, "Why did you have to say that?"
"You got to take him down. That's how you deal with him. Phil would never let me practice against him. He'd either be on my team or I'd be sitting. Phil knew I was taking him down." -- Bill Cartwright on not putting up with Michael's (bleep)
"It's not my nature to pass up open shots." -- Michael on his shot selection after shooting 30% in a game
"Same old stuff, G. I'm still playing with a guy who's got to prove he can score fifty." -- Scottie Pippen, updating Horace Grant on the new team
"Same old thing, G. Hard to get the ball." -- Pete Myers, updating Horace Grant on the new team
"I'd be lying if I said I came out to pass the ball." -- Michael, talking about his 55-point game at MSG
"He knows I'm a far better one-on-one player. He wouldn't score a point." -- Michael, talking about a hypothetical one-on-one game with Magic Johnson in 1991
"These guys might not be as talented as you'd like them to be, but this is as good as they're going to be. If we run a system, everyone is going to have an opportunity to perform. They can't do what you can do, but they can have some level of success and perform even in critical situations." -- Phil Jackson, telling Michael how it's going to be
"Who the (bleep) are you? You've got no legs and you don't even play. Who are you to be telling us what we did wrong?" -- Michael, snapping at Larry Krystkowiak for offering some helpful advice to the starters
"Whose (bleep) idea was this? Is this Krause's idea?" -- Michael, showing his faith in the coaching staff and front office's playoff roster decisions
"I told you don't ever pass him the (bleep)' ball on the break." -- Michael, politely informing Pippen to not give the ball to Luc Longley on the break
"I'm tired of playing with these (bleep)' stiffs." -- Michael, expressing his appreciation for his teammates while walking off the court
"Why don't we run some pick and roll? Is it because our big guys can't set a screen?" -- Michael, expressing more appreciation
"I know sometimes I need to be more like M.J., but M.J. also needs to be more like me. He needs to be the player he is with more my mentality." -- Scottie Pippen on Michael's selfishness