We need to play like somebody took our lunch money, like somebody disrespected your mother. I think that's the type of anger you need have and the aggression you need to have on the court. That doesn't mean making mad faces or mean faces but it means attacking the glass, strongly attacking the rim when you have the ball on offense.Collection: Anger
Being able to go to someone's house and have dinner with them and their family, being able to go see a movie with them, or go shopping, it makes you really care for someone and hope that they succeed. That means a lot in an on-court relationship. It creates trust.
I like Zach Lowe.
It's important that we take care of our future generations and expose them to some new things.
My parents have done a tremendous job, over the course of my career. They try to make every game and I think my rookie year, my mom made every game... They've been really consistent and it's all you can ask for as a kid.
It's crazy, I almost quit basketball when I was younger.
Life happens fast. You have to have a Plan B, a backup plan and really figure out a way to have different avenues of income and just avenues of happiness. That is what is really important, being at peace and having that happiness.
Other people need to be forward thinkers. Not just basketball players. Not just people in the sports world. But people in general.
Nothing really comes easy to you when you're under-recruited, you're undersized, you're undervalued. It's a situation where you have to be better than the bigger guys.
When you're smaller, you kind of learn how to do other things. You have to work a little bit harder.
Growing up in the inner city, a lot of kids didn't think reading was cool. I'm trying to show them that it is cool and the importance of growing and learning outside of their everyday lives, which is a lot of times sports.
Growing up in the inner city, you might not see a lot of different career paths and different jobs.
To graduate in four years as a student-athlete with no summer school is quite a feat.
I do a good job of taking care of my body.
I take a lot of pride in being flexible, preserving my body. After a workout, I ice both feet, my calves, knees and stretch.
As players we're held accountable for poor performance, I think the same should be said for journalists.
I think being able to make the playoffs alone is an outstanding accomplishment alone and something not a lot of people get to experience in their careers.
Writing and speaking and communicating, it's something important to me, and something I want to get better at.
I like Malcolm Gladwell.
I accept who I am. Rapping is not my forte.
There's a whole world out there. And it's huge.
I'm not just a dumb basketball player who got lucky and graduated from college. My ratio for professor to student was nine-to-one so it wasn't like I wasn't going to class. I was going to class every day.
I try not to worry about nothing I can't control. I can't control rumors.
I think you should look at it as a blessing that other people would think you're valuable enough to be mentioned in a trade. It could be worse. No one could want you.
I think I'm the first player in NBA history to average 20 points a game and shoot two free throws per game.
I wanted to do a lot of things in wine, but I didn't know how to do it. So before I invested in anything, before I really put my dollars into it, I put my whole heart, soul, mind into it so that I really understand the severity of each outcome, the severity of success and the severity of failure.
I think, when you get to know somebody on a personal level were you truly understand what makes them tick, what they play for, things they like to do in their spare time, you're around their families, I think you're kind of able to kind of coexist more when you have a relationship.
I've been a guy who's never really been satisfied. Work hard, try to figure out ways to improve, try to figure out ways to sustain a certain level of play.
Even since I've been in the NBA, a lot has changed with the game.
I spend a lot of time in the gym working on moves, working on difficult shots, figuring out ways to create space, becoming a tough-shot taker and a tough shot maker, especially down the stretch.
I work really hard on my craft.
My mother, my father, my brother, they've done a tremendous job of preparing me and helping me get right in having confidence.
I think that's the biggest thing in this sport is when you prepare, you have extra confidence.
It's been a tough 2020, honestly, for me personally, for a lot of people in the world in general.
Canton has meant a lot to me.
As a kid growing up in Canton, Ohio, you never see yourself in a position to play in the NBA, much less have somebody pay you to wear shoes.
I always say, it's not the shoes; it's the player. If you can hoop, you can hoop.
You get better by playing, honestly. That's where you develop as a player is to play through mistakes in game action.
Over the course of my life, there have been so many people who have invested in me and provided me with opportunities to grow.
As a competitor, you always want to receive the best rewards. But you understand that it is a team sport, and you understand the better your team plays, the more you are rewarded.
I had a few brief, brief interactions with Coach K. Mainly us beating them in the NCAA Tournament back in 2012.
I was 5-6, a little chubby, spot-up 3-point shooter. So I couldn't blame the schools for not recruiting me. But then my junior year, I was 5-11, hit a little growth spurt.
Preparation is everything. You don't like being interviewed by someone who hasn't done their research.
In order for us to have changes in society, we have to do a better job with listening to each other, listening to stories, listening to experiences and sharing things. That's the way you're able to come to a better understanding of people in general. We have to do a better job in society. It starts at the top.
You have to learn how to win in this league. It's a process.
It's nice to say you have goals and that you want to win championships. But until you get thrown into the fire, you can't truly grasp what it takes to accomplish those goals.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Portland basketball fans are the best basketball fans in the world.
Other fans might stop coming to games when their teams fall in the standings. Blazers fans just pack the house even more.
Life in the NBA can be one big constant distraction, especially when you're on the road. You're always moving from one place to the next, always on the phone, checking texts, social media, all of that stuff. It takes you out of yourself.
We don't have those bougie, not-into-it, wouldn't-be-caught-dead-in-the-free-t-shirt hoops fans in Portland. We've got those pinwheel-tattooed, bleeding-red-and-black, still-rocking-that-Walton-jersey, ride-or-die, realer-than-real hoops fans in Portland. The love is real. The support is real.