Rochelle: That man is not from Philly. People from Philly don't shut up about Philly. All they want to talk about is cheese steaks and Bill Cosby and Patti LaBelle. Mm-hmm. Who you know from Philly don't want to talk about Patti LaBelle? "Patti LaBelle this, Patti LaBelle that."

Ms. Martella: Good morning, gentlemen.
Chris: [to Greg] What was that?
Greg: We got a social studies quiz.
Chris: How do you know? All she said was "Good morning."
Greg: Trust me on this, man. The word is, she only speaks to the students when she's giving them a pop quiz. I got to warn the others so we can study.

Coach Brady: I know you probably play up at the courts in Harlem.
Chris: Uh, no, I'm from Bed-Stuy.
Coach Brady: They're different? Look, we were five and 20 last season, but with you... I'm asking you, give my program a shot.
Chris: Give your program a shot? I can't play.
Coach Brady: Yeah, right. Look, kid, I'm not blind.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] I tried to play basketball once. But I sucked.
[flashback:]
Chris: Ball! Ball! Ball! [Drew throws the basketball to Chris, hitting him in the head]
Adult Chris: [v.o.] I sucked at every sport I tried. Baseball. [Chris gets hit in the head] Football. [Chris gets hit in the head] Like a fool, I even tried bowling. [A bowling ball hits Chris in the head]

Rochelle: Julius, go up there and see what that man is doing.
Julius: Why don't you leave that man alone? I'm just trying to lay down for a few minutes before I go back to work.
Rochelle: Look, if I'm not getting any sleep, you're not getting any sleep.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Now, that was mean. Taking sleep from my father was like taking ignorance from a rapper.

Chris: I got on the basketball team, and I need to learn how to play by tomorrow.
Drew: The basketball team? Man, are you crazy? You know you don't know how to play.
Chris: Didn't I say that? I just need to know enough to look like I know something.
Drew: You know how to faint?
Chris: You mean, like, fake somebody out?
Drew: No, I mean, like, fall down on the ground so you won't have to play. [hits his own head with the nunchuks]

Julius: You're on the basketball team?
Tonya: You can't play basketball.
Drew: I tried to tell him that.
Julius: Great!
Adult Chris: [v.o.] It always killed my father that I was no good at sports. But he would never tell me that.
Julius: My man! It always killed me that you were no good at sports.

Chris: Magic Johnson has the ball. Three seconds on the clock. Two... And the crowd goes wild.
Coach Brady: Hey, kid! Kid wait up. What's your name? Are you a student here?
Chris: Chris. I just transferd here.
Coach Brady: I'm Coach Brady. Welcome to Corleone Junior High. What I mean is, welcome to the basketball team.
Chris: The basketball team? I didn't try out for the basketball team.
Coach Brady: Son, after a shot like that, you don't have to.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] All I did was throw away a piece of trash. If a White kid had done that, he wouldn't have even noticed. But 'cause I was Black, here's what the coach saw...
[film: archive footage of Dr. J making a baseline scoop]

Adult Chris: [v.o.] When my mother wasn't working, sometimes we would rent out a room upstairs to make ends meet.
Rochelle: Are all of these children yours?
Woman: Um, six of them are. But I don't know where these other kids came from. Do y'all take food stamps? [glass shattering]
Rochelle: Hey, hey.
[cut to Julius and Rochelle sitting in front of an arguing couple:]
Woman: I'm tired of this. We've been here 15 minutes, and you already acting up-
Man: I'm never gonna take you nowhere.
Woman: You gotta be...
Man: Go comb your hair and brush your teeth.
Woman: Comb my hair? We don't got no daggone brushes.
Man: Why don't you go wait in the car? Go wait in the car.
Woman: We ain't got no car. We took the bus.
Man: Y'all take food stamps?
[cut:]
Julius: So, you work at the church?
Preacher: [shouts] Yes! [sings] Yes, I do! And I just need a place, ha To lay my weary head, huh Not trying to pay more Than $300 a month, ha And all I need to know, ha Do you take ... [high-pitched] Food stamps?

Chris: Bird's got the range, but Magic scored 42 points as a center.
Ernie: Man, Bird shoots the lights out every night.
Chris: I'm telling you, I think the Knicks might make it this year.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] A boy can dream.
Jennifer: Hey, you must be Chris. I'm Jennifer.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] At that moment, I discovered one of life's great secrets. Black guy plus basketball equals White girl. Now, here's what would have happened if I wasn't on the basketball team.
[fantasy: Chris screams as the kids pound on him:]
Chris: Oh, stop it. That sucks. Oh, my ribs.

Adult Chris: [v.o.] Now, even though my father was the man of the house, he wasn't supposed to make decisions without my mother.
Rochelle: You rented it to who?
Julius: His name is Tate.
Rochelle: Now, is that his first name, or his last name? Did you get any references?
Julius: Yeah. Hamilton, Grant and Lincoln.