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You know I've watched the All-Star game as a little boy... and to have the opportunity now to play in it is so overwhelming.
If I'm contested, I'm not going to shoot the pull-up 3. But if I'm wide open and someone backs up off me, I'm gonna shoot it.
You see, some kids, the college coaches are calling them at all hours of the night, saying the same thing over and over again.
Instagram and Twitter are the best ways to let people in on what I do - not only basketball, but having fun with my friends too.
When I'm out there flying around, blocking shots, dunking the ball, grabbing rebounds it brings everybody's spirits up and gets them going.
I'm not seven foot, I'm about 6'9', 6'10', around that area. It's fine, I really don't care if I'm not as tall as everyone says I am. I'm doing fine.
Growing up it was always a dream. I just always thought as long as I worked hard that someone would take a look at me and know I could play in the NBA.
There's a lot of guys in the league that make music and it's hardcore gangsta rap. None of us really live that life and you can't talk about being a thug.
I make at least 200 corner 3s every day before I leave the gym. I'm getting them up. I'm getting the same shot up over and over again, so I'm getting more comfortable with it.
Those plays are winning plays, getting those blocks. Somebody's trying to dunk the ball and you get a block and that's demoralizing for the guy that tried to dunk the basketball.
Even if I do miss a shot, I'm going to be comfortable to get back up there and shoot the same shot again. Make or miss, I'm not going to be frustrated but move on to the next play.
Stan Van Gundy is something else. He's the guy that you come to love. You get around him and he's a very personable guy, but when it's time to work, you don't want to mess with him.
Even if I do miss a shot, I found something to keep me calm and not get myself rattled. Once I missed one, I'd tense up and I'd miss the next one, too. So I found a peace within myself.
Obviously I'm not the greatest scorer in the world or the greatest shooter in the world, but I'm tough and rebounding is something that not too many people want to put the effort into doing.
For me, I always think somebody's open. That's the biggest gift and the biggest curse. If I see somebody have a step, I'm passing it. But sometimes, you've got to really think and make the right plays.
Everybody knows the struggles I went through coming into my career with the free throws and how much work I put into it, how many people made fun of me for not being able to stay in games, this and that.
Detroit has a history of a lot of great rebounders and big guys that have been great defenders. So for me to pick up where they left off and continue that trend, of being a gritty, tough big man is pretty cool.
Obviously, people give me their opinions of Dwane Casey and everything has been nothing but positive words about him - just the way he coaches, the way he is as a human being. From what I've heard, he's a stand-up guy.
Having the ball in my hand all the time and making plays, it was bound to come to a point where I knew where to get the ball to, who and when to give the ball to somebody. Just making the right decisions when I have it.
It's a crazy feeling you know, being a young kid from New York, seeing everybody talk about Jordan, everybody wearing Jordan. Then to being up close and personal with him, eating dinner with him, and to be a part of his family.
As a younger guy, no one wants to be on a highlight or somebody's mix tape for their best plays of the year. For me, earlier in my career, that was something where 'I'm not sure if I should go for this,' not trying to get dunked on.
Guys like LeBron, Chris Paul, Kobe... They all speak to me. It's just insane that all these top tier guys who have been in the All-Star game for so many years actually know who I am. I mean not in a million years did I think that Kobe would speak to me.
I have a really good relationship with a lot of people in the music industry from Detroit. They're very kind when it comes to us stepping into their field or what they do and they're really willing to help out and help you get better at what you're trying to do.
Every season, I've adjusted. My first couple of years it was still banging in the post and doing all the nitty gritty stuff. Over the years, it's changed to bigs being able to shoot and run the floor and be more agile, which is good for me because I'm a very agile guy.
Just hearing somebody's voice in center field, it helps our guards out to know where they need to go, when the screen is coming, when the back door is coming, when the flare is coming. When different things like that happen and we're talking, it helps us all out in the long run.
Working with coach Sweeney has really been beneficial to my career. I've never watched so much film in my life, the constant communication between he and I. He'll send me clips every day, just different things to look at, ask what I think about it and we'll communicate and have different dialogues about it.
I think when I came into the league, I had to find something that would keep me around. I knew I wasn't going to get the ball a lot, being the younger guy on my team. I knew I wasn't going to play a lot unless I made some sort of impact on the floor. I wasn't the best shot blocker, so I said, 'Let's be the best rebounder the league has ever seen.'