Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I'm going to do everything I'm supposed to do - except roommates. No roommates. I quietly paid for my own room on the road. I didn't want to tell anyone.
It's important for kids to know they can be themselves, and that it's OK to have dreams and goals they love and that may not be cool or popular to other kids.
I think I can help push the tempo just a little bit... I feel I can get the ball after a rebound. Push the fastbreak. Push the tempo. Get guys some easy shots.
Being 6'7' as a point guard and playing with Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley on the Clippers really helped refine my post game and play with my back to the basket.
That's what I was trying to do: be a reliable guy, dependable guy you know wasn't going to make a lot of mistakes. Maybe not high-ceiling, high-reward, but low-risk.
Dub Nation has been everything to me... Just the way that Warriors fans have embraced me - I want to send a thank you to all you out there for all the support, for real.
When you look at older teams in the finals, Miami and San Antonio, they're not really the most explosive or athletic team but they're always in the right position defensively.
I'm taking care of my body, getting my treatment, I'm in the weight room... I'm doing everything I can to stay healthy, and hopefully the genetics kind of take over from there.
My speed as a tall guy is deceptive. You look at me and I might not look fast, but when I go out and play, people are left scratching their heads like 'Where did that come from?'
Here I am, playing with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Kidd is my coach, I'm in Brooklyn, New York, they lobbied for me to be here... Regardless of my circumstances, I'm here.
Even if it's just two shots, I just want to see the ball go in the hole. That gives me the confidence to know I can make shots when I'm called upon in a playoff type of situation.
I had to teach myself how to walk again. It was crazy. I couldn't even make a muscle in my leg. I felt like no muscles in my leg. I was already skinny. It was like my leg was dead.
That kind of always been apart of my personality, just mild-mannered, poised, trying to keep my poise. Doesn't always work out that way but I try when I'm on the court to stabilize things.
I was kind of at the turning point in my career with my knee. I was dealing with the struggles of trying to make the transition back on the court consistently and not a game here, then sit a game.
I lost a lot. It was almost like I was a retired player where I lost all of my athleticism. I lost everything. Being able to get it back, step by step, little bit at a time, it was like surprising myself.
The organizations that I've worked with, whether I have gotten cut or whether I have excelled, the always communicated with me honestly and openly. The ones that weren't so good, the communication was iffy.
As a youngster, I got so much attention because I was ahead of the other kids - even when I was eight, nine years old. But I never was really seeking attention, so I didn't care about scoring 30, 40 points.
The Bay Area for me has provided the most stability and it's definitely provided life-changing opportunities for myself, for my family, so I'm incredibly grateful for all that's gone on these past five years.
The knee was all deformed, bloodied up and leaking with puss. I just couldn't move it. Stiff. It was like I had a spare leg. All of my quad was skinny. It was like a pole with a pineapple in the middle of it.
Seeing the ball go in during the game, getting to your spots, getting spot-up shots. You have that rhythm and you have that confidence in yourself. And everybody else has that confidence in you too, more importantly.
The hardest thing to do is be a point guard, learn how to be a point guard in the NBA as a young player because you gotta earn your respect first of all the old guys, all the old heads. You gotta command where to go, know the plays.
Sure, there were always questions that lingered, the 'What ifs?' You wondered what might have been if not for the injury? What would my career have looked like and turned out to be? But I had to put my head down and put it behind me.
I haven't been as healthy as I'd like or as spry as I'd like. But it's all relative to the sport. So I'm just enjoying the process, really. It's been ups and downs obviously and frustrating times. I know that's the beauty and the struggle.
There were days when my dad and grandpa had to work and I would call a cab to get to school. I felt a little embarrassed and would get out a block before school. There were kids getting dropped off in a Mercedes or Lexus. I didn't want them to see me.
It's just kind of ironic with how I came into the NBA with all the expectations. You would've thought coming in the way I did that my career would last long. You'd think I'd have my more peak years in the beginning or middle. Mine just came a little later.
I wasn't afraid of failing. A lot of people fear failure, and I think that holds a lot of people back. But a lot of times, it's possibly the best thing that could happen to you because you learn how to get back up, you learn how to do it better and you're stronger from that.
Being in this game nine years or whatever, you understand things happen. You can only control what you control, and that's on the court. You can't make front-office decisions and other stuff. You've just got to come out and do your job. You try to do it to the best of your ability.
When I was entering high school, my dad had me going around to different high schools, playing open gyms. A lot of coaches thought I was coming to their schools. If I would have done it over, I would have just stayed at one particular school just to play pickup basketball in the summertime.
But yeah, a lot of people compare me to Magic. The physical appearance, the tall point guard, the ability to pass the ball. But comparisons are one thing, it's up to me to go out and play my game, get those wins, those championships, that's the only way those comparisons can get closer, but he's a legend.
Just because it was multiple ligaments, just because of the trauma of the injury, they compared it to like a car accident. I didn't have anybody to follow, there was no timetable. I could get better, I could not get better. You just don't know. People fear what they don't know. I'm in the dark, and everything is just about faith.