Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I have a lot of eyes on me because of basketball, a lot of young people looking up to me. It's made me grow up faster.
People in New Orleans have been so supportive of me and the team. I love walking around here, because the people have been great.
Of course, in college, you're traveling, especially when you're with Duke basketball, but in the NBA, it's on a whole entire level.
There's three banners I want to hang - ACC regular championship, ACC tournament championship, and, of course, the national championship.
My goal is to be the best. That's my thing I want to achieve - the best that I can be - and hopefully, that's the best player in the NBA.
I get that every game. High school. At Duke. When I do the introductions, I get a little butterflies. Once I step on the floor, I'm fine.
When you're friends with somebody, it's really easy to tell them 'Help me do this; help me do that.' It's not an uncomfortable conversation.
I remember my first camps when I was in high school, freshman year. I did a LeBron James camp, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.
Playing games and watching film, I've been able to see the improvements I can make and how much better I can be. It's exciting to think about it.
I became a better talker on the floor, being at Duke, being in leadership with Coach K, and I think I got better defensively as the season progressed.
You have half a second to make your mind up to know if you're going to shoot, pass, drive. Don't hold the ball too long, and make your decision quick.
I've always been a basketball player. My earliest memories are of playing basketball. I was born playing it. It's why I'm so comfortable on the floor.
I've talked to a bunch of big men who told me they didn't really start playing basketball until seventh or eighth grade. That wasn't the situation with me.
I didn't think I was going to be doubled my first NBA game. I knew it would happen eventually, but I got off to a hot start, so as a result, I got double-teamed.
I've always gotten credit for being a big man who doesn't want to shoot threes. Throughout my entire basketball career prior to coming to the NBA, I was praised for doing that.
Shaquille O'Neal was probably my favorite athlete growing up. I loved how dominant and unstoppable he was, but also his charisma off the court. He was someone I gravitated toward.
Rankings, for most players, are like adversity because we all want to be the best. So you've just got to approach it like you would a tough situation on the court. You just have to respond.
I shoot a lot of bank shots and a lot of shots around the perimeter. There's a lot of things I like to work on, but I know my bread and butter when it comes down to it, and that's in the post.
I'm definitely not the caliber player that LeBron is, but I find it funny how people can criticize him and the way he plays the game. So it's pretty easy to criticize me if they are still able to criticize LeBron.
Around sixth or seventh grade, I fell in love with Tim Duncan and his all-around game. That's when I started watching him. Then my father introduced me to Hakeem Olajuwon. Those were the two guys I modeled my game after.
I just think that playing in a championship game and playing in every game in March Madness, that's just more time for critics to watch you and more time for them to nitpick at what you don't do well or what they feel you don't do well.
There's a lot of pride I have coming from Chicago because so many great players have done so many great things in the league. I definitely want to keep that tradition going. So yeah, I want to represent Chicago in the best light possible.
Being an NBA player, a lot of stress comes with that: realizing there's a lot of pressure on me and accepting that for what it is, realizing that I might need help, I might need somebody to talk to, accepting that there's nothing wrong with that.
He's been the greatest father for me. Going around the streets of Chicago with my dad, people always tell me they can't believe how much my dad has matured. Or, 'You wouldn't believe how your dad used to be.' There's always lots of words about how much he's changed.
Ever since third grade - I never even noticed it until after the game - people were telling me how crazy my dad is. I think I'm so locked in when I'm playing on the floor, I only hear him maybe during timeouts or when we're up 20 or 30 and I'm on the bench. But when I'm in the game, I don't hear him.
First time we played together was when I was in seventh grade, he was in eighth. There was a lot of buzz in the city about Jabari Parker, rightfully so. He's obviously a major player. I was just blessed to have him one year ahead of me, so everything I did, he already finished. I've been really blessed to have him by my side.
I've done this a couple times, been to a couple different camps and a couple different AAU practices to talk to kids. I tell them you have to be dedicated, have to decide if you want to be a serious basketball player or not. They always ask, 'What if you get discouraged?' You have to remember what your goal was in the first place.
In eighth grade, I pretty much didn't want to pass. I was 6'8'.' I was always bigger and stronger. I was getting triple-teamed, and the results weren't good. I wasn't helping my team. I was forcing shots. Then I started passing it out to my team, and they started hitting shots and slashing, and that's when things opened up for me.
I pray to my mother before every game. She passed away when I was 9, but I always consider her my wings on the floor, my extra step, my extra focus, my extra everything, to watch over me when I'm on the court. It takes some pressure off you when you feel like you have your mother above watching you. And I always pray to God for guidance.