Name That Player Quote Answers

First off, thanks to everyone who sent in their best guesses as to which quotes came from which players. It was interesting to see which quotes almost everyone nailed and which quotes almost everyone missed. The quotes most often misidentified usually came with the same incorrect answer, which is telling.

As for going a perfect nine-for-nine, sorry, no one managed. The most correct answers from any one submission was six, an accomplishment "lmills," "cristian" and "ian," all shared. Way to go.

Here are the correct answers.

Quote No. 1

Regarding what will be used as motivation to get better throughout the summer:

"Just the bad feeling we had when we lost. I think the playoffs were fun. I think you put yourself in a great position and I think it being over so fast that it’s tough to deal with. So I think that will be something that will motivate me all summer."

Answer: LaMarcus Aldridge

Almost everyone got this one right. LA often starts sentences with the word "just" and he very often restates a succinct, one line synopsis when he wraps up his answer.

Quote No. 2

Regarding what this player learned this season:

"I learned a lot, everything from how to run a team and how to become a better overall player. It’s definitely been a healthy year and next year I’m going to use that and come back a different player."

Answer: Jerryd Bayless

I thought more people would have answered this one correctly. No real "tells" in Bayless's answer, but I thought the desire to improve would have been more of a giveaway.

Quote No. 3

Regarding expectations for next season:

"We can’t be satisfied. We had a good year, but we’ve still got a bitter taste in our mouth. I guarantee all guys are going to use it as motivation to work hard this summer and to get better and to come in next year to have a phenomenal year. We want a year like we did this year because we had fun with it. We enjoyed it. To do that you’ve got to work. Like Coach McMillan said in our team meeting today, every night we play hard and play our tails off. You’ve got to give us credit for that."

Answer: Joel Przybilla

This was a tough one. I think lots of people picked Brandon Roy for this quote because it was so long, but Przybilla will talk a bit too. Three things stand out for me in this quote. First, the use of the phrase "bitter taste," which is something Przybilla mentions from time to time. Second is calling Nate McMillan "Coach McMillan." Roy usually refers to McMillan as "Coach Nate". "Play our tails off" is also telltale Przybilla.

Quote No. 4

Regarding what this player learned this season:

"I think I learned the NBA league, you know? The NBA play, in Europe is absolutely different than NBA. But I learn a lot and I think the team, the coach, every coach, he helped me a lot."

Answer: Rudy Fernandez

One of the easier questions. The quote is obviously from a European and probably from a rookie, so that basically leaves you with two options. The dead giveaway if the "you know?" at the end of the first sentence. That's a Rudy thing.

Quote No. 5

Regarding what this players will appreciate about the season:

"My teammates. I feel like I had the best teammates. Everybody was close knit. That’s basically it. It’s a great team, great chemistry. Nobody was jealous of each other. Everybody wanted each other to do well."

Answer: Travis Outlaw

Outlaw very often talks about his teammates. Nevertheless, this is one of the hard quotes to guess. Now if there would have been a "most definitely" in the answer, piece of cake.

Quote No. 6

On what this player needs to improve on in the off-season:

"A lot of things. Everything. I’m not going to specify, but I’ve got a lot of things to work on. "

Answer: Greg Oden

That's just Greg being Greg. Quick, self-effacing, right to the point.

Quote No. 7

On this players long term prospects with the Trail Blazers:

"I want to be a part of this. I love this team. I love my teammates. I love the coaches. Love living here. This is the ideal spot for me. I’m not trying to go anywhere. As long as they want me here, I’ll pretty much be here."

Answer: Steve Blake

Lot of people picked Channing Frye on this one, but Blake, though not as vocal with his love of Portland, is a fan of the area. Being one of the only players on the team who makes the Portland-metro area his full time home proves that.

Quote No. 8

On what the difficulties of the Houston series:

"I think the key of the series was they hit first. When they hit first, when we tried to recover, it was too late. "

Answer: Sergio Rodriguez

This was probably the toughest. Nothing all that quintessentially Sergio in his quote.

Quote No. 9

On what this player learned about the NBA this season:

"The game is tougher. Very physical. It’s tougher. I think I got a lot of experience. Now I just want to win more. More wins."

Answer: Nicolas Batum

Again, most got this one right. You know it had to be a rookie when talking about the style of play and the short sentences make you think non-native speaker.

Just to repeat, thanks to everyone who put in a guess.