If you do the best you can, you have nothing to be ashamed of. A defeat is not a disgrace.
I always wanted to be a basketball player. Nothing more, nothing less.
This feeling to be on the best team of the world is just indescribable.
I take my sport damned seriously. Basketball is my life. There are other people who go into important games as if they were any other game. I'm a brooder and I spend a lot of time thinking about my opponent, about the things he can do and about what I have to do to win. I don't think I'll ever be able to change that.
I came up with my own 'Dream Shake' I guess - the white version.
Basketball gave me a lot, which is why I want to stay connected with this sport later on, maybe working with young people. But it would be more in the background. Being in the spotlight was never really my thing. I never wanted to be famous.
I know, basketball is a dance. I didn't understand the significance of that type of training at first. I was supposed to read poems.
Growing up, my idols were Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper. And Scottie Pippen.
I lost control of myself a couple times in the playoffs. I have to keep cooler in the future.
I'm not the kind of guy who just goes up to women.
I thought basketball was a game for women. My mother played basketball, and so did my sister.
Off the floor I'm really laid back, like nothing really fazes me too much. But on the floor I do get emotional and a little carried away. However, I started playing when I was 13 to have fun with my teammates, and that never stopped. I enjoy traveling and having fun in the locker room with the guys. Life is too short to be miserable.
The playoffs is all about showing heart and playing together.
I want to raise a family and have a couple of small Dirks running around. But it will not be easy to win my heart.
When I think about my MVP season, I will also think about the loss to Golden State. But winning the award as Most Valuable Player of the NBA is just a huge honour. I didn't really realise how big it was until Mark Cuban had tears in his eyes at the award ceremony.
As a star you never know when people are really serious.
Of course parents want their children to confide in them.
The best player I've ever played against is Kobe Bryant. I have seen him do some stuff that is just unbelievable.
I wanted to avoid service, because I was on the road to becoming a professional basketball player.
I played all kinds of sports when I was young: tennis, handball, basketball, some soccer. I focused on basketball when I was 16 or 17 and then came to the U.S. when I was 20.
Obviously, (winning the division) is big. To be No. 1 is always important.
If theres an injury, for a couple games, you can have guys step in. But for a long period of time, it always catches up with you.
As a newcomer, I was often expected to carry the bags of the older players, or get them burgers. That can make you feel pretty miserable.
