I wanted to do two things when I was growing up, about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA, and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over, and that is what I am doing now.
The audience likes their emotions to be touched. They want to laugh and cry and feel good.
I tell you, it's funny because the only time I think about HIV is when I have to take my medicine twice a day.
But basketball was always something I was good at, that I was passionate about. I just didn't have the confidence to play in front of people at the time, at that early age. Now, I feel like I'm ready to play in front of people and play on the big stage.
I told Zollie Volchok we needed an ultrasound machine and he asked me why we needed music in the locker room.
Then I went to UCLA - so of course I became a huge Bruin basketball fan... and later came to football.
Michael Jordan was a tremendous basketball player.
And winning is a huge thing for me.
I was blessed with a God-given talent and my mother raised me the right way.
Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart.
I've been around a while. I kinda know these things.
You know when I played, you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because as we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited.
The best player I ever played with was Dennis Johnson.
At a really young age you just play ball and you have fun and you don't see basketball as something as a career, it just drives you crazy. But as the years went by and the goals got bigger for myself you realize that without almost being obsessed you won't reach those goals. So the older I get I think the more I realize that it's almost necessary to get to that level.
I didn't expect this award [the 2008 MVP] would come to me. I'm surprised. I've played pretty well in other seasons. Our team hasn't been as good. Things just fell into place.
There's been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that's simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we've won when I score 10.
I was just letting the shots fly. You know, I don't leave any bullets in the chamber.
Boards, boards, boards.
My role model was my grandfather. He instilled in me the feeling that no matter how successful you are you have a responsibility to help others.
Kev has these old Boston drills, where you all have to talk to each other, and interact, and it's helped us.
I would love to see Flip get back into the league. I think he can definitely still coach in this league. I think he will be in this league quicker than sooner.
So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way.
Going from Flip to Kev, obviously you don't want to see someone ever lose their job. For me it's probably a little more difficult, because other than Bill Blair, Flip is all I knew.
The last couple of practices, all we've been doing is a lot of defensive things. We've been going over some drills that make all of us have to communicate.
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.
