Aaron Gordon
Some people say, 'Drop off, drop off,' but, no, I want to be pressuring and setting a defensive tone on the perimeter.
They're going to make a few shots here and there, but my job is to play defense to the best of my ability regardless of who I'm guarding.
I'm long, athletic and I'm not really somebody you want to try and shoot over.
I'm kind of mobile like a guard, so when I'm dunking it doesn't look like a big guy dunking.
My expectations for myself are very, very high.
I'm used to not over-helping and over-committing because I'm usually guarding the best player on the floor.
I love defense just as much as I love scoring.
If we win, everybody gets paid. That's how it goes and that's how it's always been.
If I need to play the villain, then I can play the villain.
I love dunking and it's so motivating to be in the dunk contest because I enjoy putting on a show.
Life has so many opportunities day in and day out and we're not always going to make the correct decisions every single time. You've got to be able to get over that quickly, learn from your mistakes and be better players and people from it.
The coronavirus is turning everyone's world upside-down.
I'm extremely grateful for every single thing that comes my way. One hundred interviews, 200 interviews, I don't care. It's all good. You roll with it.
Poverty and crisis can mask a child's potential, but they can't determine it. And a zip code, definitely doesn't determine what kid is capable of becoming.
Win, to me, stands for 'What's Important Now.'
I love to run and I love to jump.
When you are a high school kid playing in a NBA arena, you're just so excited because one day you hope to play in the NBA, too.
I'm playing with pros and very talented players, so it's easy to get assists out here.
I love to swim as part of my offseason training program.
I play basketball every single day in the offseason. I also lift weights and swim.
The Magic and the City of Orlando invested in me, and with that, it's my duty and responsibility to give back to the community on and off the court.
To me, leadership is always by action.
Now that I've made a movie, I have a whole new perspective on movie making.
I just want to continue to make plays.
Throughout the game, there are going to be things that go on - when you make a bad play or have a bad turnover - you don't want to visualize that.
All you want to visualize is you hitting shots, getting to your spots, hitting the open man, running the lane, winning the game and hitting the game-winner.
To be D-POY is a goal. I don't think it's selfish and I'd love to be D-POY.
Definitely hats off to all the people that served in the military.
I like to play defense. That's my niche.
That's how I came into the league, defensive-minded.
I'm very inquisitive by nature, very active, almost hyper-active.
In Orlando we were searching for a culture, searching for an identity, and it was tough. We had five different coaches in five years. Two different sets of GMs.
All I can do is be myself, play my game and try to develop it.
You know me, I work hard, but I play hard, too.
I care more about the win than the stats, every single day of the week.
I spent a lot of time in L.A. growing up.
That's the joy of chasing a dream - being rewarded for relentlessly chasing it.
There's nothing wrong with working with a shooting coach.
I love the game of basketball so to neglect one side of the floor, that's disrespecting the game to me.
I've dunked on my dad two or three times. We all dunked on each other.
For as long as I have Orlando on my chest, Magic on my chest, I'm going to give it everything I have.
One of my goals is to stay the same person I was at 17 or 18 when I'm 45 - just a little wiser.
Everybody's a critic, including myself.
It's natural and it's human to worry. But you work on your mentality so that you can enjoy the present moment instead of worrying.
If you're so caught up in what's happened or what's going to happen, you can't fully enjoy what's happening right now.