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I know a lot of people want to buy puppies, but adopting a dog who needs a home is doing something good.
If you take going to the bench as a demotion or something that's terrible, you start with a bad attitude.
Forever is a very wide word, but I'll be connected to the Spurs, if not contractually at least emotionally.
My city was very basketball-minded so I was born playing basketball and I didn't like playing soccer that much.
I know when I am coming with the second unit, the team is kind of playing for me. I am kind of 'The Man' in there.
Even the bad moments, the tough ones, I'm proud of them, too. Those moments get you better, smarter, make you grow.
Sometimes you play and you think you're doing one thing, and then you don't. The coaches are the ones who see it the best way.
It's not like I was a one-of-a-kind talented guy at 18 who made it to the NBA and have been playing in All-Star Games ever since.
What I miss the most is the locker room, the dinners after the games. The preparation, the sense of going out there and be a team.
When all your teammates make shots, it's easy to get assists. Nobody feels the pressure to score. It makes the game so much easier.
I was happy to be in the Argentina league. Then I started to play slowly, and I went to Italy and I started in the second division.
It's a different thing when you play on a team that has to win, that doesn't consider it a good year unless you win the championship
Some people think, 'Who is this guy? Where did he come from? I never heard of him.' But it took me time to become a good NBA player.
It's a different thing when you play on a team that has to win, that doesn't consider it a good year unless you win the championship.
I played until I felt like it. Some have to retire due to injuries or other issues ahead of time. But I played until I was 40 years old.
I had to play on many other teams before I made it on the Spurs. When you make that kind of journey, it only helps you when you get here.
Most of the photos I take I don't post, so Instagram is not my thing. I like to edit them, make them look good, and keep them for myself.
I know with Coach Messina I started to understand where my teammates were, how to use them and make them better for the benefit of the team.
I think Wade is more explosive than I am. He is very tough to cover with his explosiveness, but I started doing the Euro-Step before he did.
You could come out and play a flawless game and still lose to a quality team; you could do things right, but they hit shots and things happen.
There were a lot of people I really admired and that I liked watching, but not that I tried to compare myself or emulate or nothing like that.
Myself and Tony Parker must be aggressive and attack the rim, because when we do so, we are at our best, and that opens up perimeter opportunities.
Many times, we athletes have a camera in front of us and in many cases a lot of people with that same background or history do not have that opportunity.
That is what I'm going to remember when I retire, the rings I have. Not the fact I played 28 minutes or 33 or my name being called in the starting lineup.
What I don't miss is the travelling, the late games, the back-to-backs, the not being able to sleep well. Being tired or sore, I don't miss that part at all.
It is always painful when you see a teammate leaving. You create a bond, and you have been together for so long, and you are going to do your best with your guys.
I started playing pro in Argentina. Then I went to second division in Italy. Then after a lot of work, I made it to first division. And at 25, I got here in the NBA.
Not one Argentinian in history had made it to the NBA. So why was it going to be me? There was no way me or anyone that was near me could ever envision a career like this.
Every time we play, we want to win, that's for sure. It may be the World Championship, the Olympics, the NBA Championship or the South American Championship, but we always want to win.
Well, the Argentinians are very attached to their athletes, and you know, there are some cities with a big Argentinean community. Miami is the main one for sure, Orlando, Houston, Denver.
If you're from Argentina, you don't dream about these things. You probably dream about being in an Olympic game, but winning it? Going there and beating the NBA stars' team... you don't dream about that.
I think most of the compliments I've received during the years has been about my competitiveness. My desire to win and do things for the team to get to that goal. I think that was the one I heard the most.
The fans in the United States, they are, well, more polite. The fans in Argentina can get wild, crazy. If you meet people in a restaurant, it is fine, but when they get in groups, woooo - it gets dangerous.
First, confidence in your talent and then confidence that the team is going to look for you, because they need you. And when you reach that point, it changes a lot, because your mindset is completely different.
When you do something good, the Argentine people really attach themselves to you. They have so many problems back there that they're looking for somebody to be proud of. I think about that, and I won't forget it.
There are moments where we forgot what got us to where we are now. ... We stopped moving the ball. We know how it works. We are playing a great team with great players, and we've got to be close to perfect to win.
It makes me feel good to do some things for my people. I believe we really help. I know we are not changing the world, but we try to help different people in different situations and we think we are accomplishing it.
If you live your life thinking about your legacy or what you're going to leave, you don't worry than you add another concern. Just live your life every single day, do the best you can and that's more of my motto than leaving a legacy.
I knew I was becoming popular in Argentina. I was starting to feel that some companies in Argentina were wanting to associate with me, so I just wanted to be a facilitator to raise funds and distribute them the way I thought was fair and to institutions that I trusted.
Winning an NBA championship is the biggest thing that can happen professionally because it's the top. But representing your country-with more than 30 million people cheering for you and then seeing you up there on the podium-it's hard to find any more words to put on that.
I'm way more worried on my future well-being, and my kids, and my family, where we are going to live and what we are going to do, than what is going to happen with the Spurs. With all due respect, of course. I love the franchise, and I'm probably going to be attached in some way.
Playing 16 years is completely unexpected and going through everything we went through. Big disappointments, huge wins, creating that type of union with the coaching staff, with the front office, with the staff, teammates. It's been an amazing journey, way beyond anything that can be expected.
Sometimes having good games. Sometimes bad ones. Sometimes making shots, and sometimes not. I'm the same guy, and I always said that winning the championship or not winning it, scoring 20 the last game or second-to-last or whatever, or zero, is not going to change who I am or the decision I make.
I'm not skilled enough to explain properly how we feel. Not only me, but I'm sure Tony and Tim and Pop feel the same way. Last year was a tough one for all of us. We felt like we had the trophy, that we were touching it, and it slipped away. We all felt guilty. We got to this spot, and we didn't let it go.