My dad, he always played soccer.

Me being blessed, you need to bless others.

This is the NBA. Everyone can score points.

It's the playoffs. Teams are gonna go on runs.

It's the playoffs; you have to pick up the intensity.

Being myself has worked out pretty well for me I think.

Just play hard, compete, energy, hit the offensive glass.

Guard some point guards, late shot clock, hopefully they miss.

Whoever says basketball ain't a contact sport definitely lied.

You can talk all you want but I'm definitely going to bark back.

In the postseason, every possession counts, so it's the little things.

Being considered for Sixth Man is definitely something that is pleasing.

Our goal is to play into late June and don't take the process for granted.

I'm going to go for Sixth Man of the Year, put myself in position to do that.

I know I can block shots and I've got to do it. That's part of my job as a big.

You have to get better every year. You have to add tools to the toolbox every year.

At the end of the day, guys don't want to foul, especially guys in the starting unit.

I try to be the best I can be at what I can do, and that’s playing hard & rebounding.

As long as we win, that's all that matters and everything else will take care of itself.

If I don't play, that's fine as long as we're winning I'm going to cheer my teammates on.

Goal of mine is to make first team All-Defense. The way you do that is guarding the best players.

Any award the NBA gives you, whether it's on the court or off the court, it's definitely an honor.

Yeah, I definitely like broadcasting. And I'm looking forward to getting into it when my career is done.

The same fans that want to rip you up are the same fans that want to talk you up and want your autograph.

We need everyone, every game. So I'm not going to put myself in the position to hurt my team or my teammates.

I think playing the 5 is an advantage for me. I'm much quicker than a lot of the other centers in our league.

I think you have to be physical no matter who you're playing against, so that's just something that I have to do.

Whether I'm starting or coming off the bench, bigs have to protect the rim and can't give nothing easy to nobody.

The bigger you become as a player and the more success you have as a player, the spotlight definitely becomes brighter.

Guys see that I come to work every day, punch the clock. They see that, and I think my voice is respected because of it.

My goal is simple - try and make sure my guy doesn't score. And if he does, make sure it's a contested two, or a tough shot.

If I came in and didn't rebound, that would look bad on my part. People would be wondering, what was he doing the whole time?

It's like the basket is an ocean and everything you throw up is going in. You get into that kind of groove, and it's all good.

If you look back at Greek mythology and even back before World War 1, every time a team would go out to battle, they'd eat first.

Of course, it's a huge luxury having LeBron on our team. At the same time, we have to be ready to play and we have to do our job.

That's one of the reasons I was drafted because I blocked three shots a game in college so I got to continue doing that in the NBA.

Guys are going to talk. We're going to respond... they aren't going to punk us. Not me. They're not going to punk Tristan Thompson.

This is what being an athlete's all about, being able to give back to our community, the people that support us night in, night out.

I understand my teammates. I know which teammates you can get on during the game, and which respond better to constructive criticism.

I understand that at the end of the day it's about winning and if you win, we all look good - whether you come of the bench or you start.

I want to guard the best wings and big on every team. I want to make their night tough to gain that respect defensively around the league.

If I'm not on the court, I have to be there to cheer my teammates on and from the sideline be there mentally and keep guys locked in and focused.

I come from a family where some nights you don't know where food's going to come from. There's nights where you're going to have go to bed hungry.

Obviously, everyone wants to play in the NBA but I think if you handle what's in front of you first you'll get your chance when your name is called.

We all have our motivations in life and for me, it's my kids. They push me every day and keep me going. It gives me that extra motivation that I need.

When you look at not just for Sixth Man but also for any award in the NBA even when it comes to the MVP, you should look at their impact to their team.

Whoever's in the game has got to be ready to play, take the scout serious and understand what we're doing. If you don't know what to do, ask questions.

If I was stuck on an island with one artist's discography, it'd probably be Jay-Z's. It would keep me entertained and it has a lot of stories behind it.

So with the skinnier guys, you definitely want to make sure you get a body on them; that's how you take away big guy's length, by getting into their bodies.

We've all got different ways to deal with adversity as pros, but if you want it and you want to be great, you've got to make it happen and fight through it.

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