I want to be one of the best players in the game.
I don’t watch a lot of other basketball away from the gym. But I do look at LeBron’s box score. I want to see how many points, rebounds and assists he had, and how he shot from the field. If he had 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, I can tell you exactly how he did it, what type of shots he made and who he passed to.
I'm like a chameleon. I adapt to my situation. It's very slowed down here. I like it that way. I'm a guy that's very reserved, quiet and shy myself.
I like the nucleus that we have. I'm excited. I want to be here as long as possible. It's like family. I love being here.
I'm not into no basketball beef.
It feels good to be a part of history.
In this league, experience means a lot.
Every memory I had growing up was involving a basketball. I didn't go to the prom and stuff like that. It was always basketball for me.
Me as a person, I'm not the president of the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association). I don't even know what to say. I'm not like this perfect, buttoned-up, suit-and-tie guy.
If I'd gone straight to the NBA, I don't think I would have been ready as a player or a person.
I play basketball. I can't control the media, the way I play. I can't control all of it.
I want to be a champion.
You gotta win. That's all it takes.
I don't [know] what everybody else's motives are, I don't know what your motives are, but mine is to portray the real life of an NBA player. And it's not all about I just do everything, like I'm the hardest worker, or I love to play basketball every day, I go to the gym at eight and don't leave until five. No, that's not how it is. That's not how I am.
I've got a long way to go to being the ultimate best, but I think my time is now. And I'm starting to enter my prime.
All this stuff is kind of surreal to me - Ididn't think I'd be in the league or none of that. It was making it to college. That's about it.
Hopefully before I'm done, I can be on an Olympic team.
Our best years are only ahead of us, so we got to continue to keep pushing.
I'm a basketball player. That's what I do and what I love but that's just not all who I am. I'm talented in a lot of different areas.
If I continue to just get to the playoffs every year, I guess you could say I arrived, but right now I'm just trying to find my way.
I can score the basketball, but I think I can pass pretty well or I can make the correct pass. I'm not the type of guy who's just going to throw the ball inbounds to a guy who's wide open. I can make the right pass.
A big market is something that doesn't really concern me too much. It's cool to think about, it's good for off-the-court deals. But I'm more of a basketball player. That's what I want to be known as. And this is the best place for me to play basketball. I'm glad I'm here.
I'm not a guy that's going to brag or feel like I'm better than the group.
I want to go down as a winner.
This was an extremely difficult decision as I take great pride in representing our country. I know that I owe it to my USA Basketball teammates to be totally invested in the experience. After going through training camp with USAB, I realized I could not fulfill my responsibilities to the team from both a time and energy standpoint. I need to take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season. I will be rooting for USAB and look forward to future opportunities with them.
