DeAndre Jordan
I love anything to do with kids, anything to better our youth and put a smile on anybody's face is really what I do it for.Collection: Smile
It is an honor to represent my country in the Olympics.
I have to be a breakfast person. Because of how much and how hard we work out.
My grandma tells me, 'Do you focus when you're up there?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I think about shooting a free throw.' I don't miss them on purpose. I promise, I'm not betting on the games.
Everybody wants to play late, everybody wants to be clutch.
For me, I care about my body, so whatever I put in it, I want it to be good to where I want to produce that. I'm a true believer in whatever I put in my body, that's what I'm going to produce.
I've become a huge fan of the subway, even though I've gotten lost... well, not lost, but went the wrong direction on the subway a couple of times.
I love using my platform to create unforgettable holiday memories for children.
I get upset when people score on us, especially when it's an easy basket. Everybody's super talented in this league, but you want to make it tough for guys.
When you're respected by your peers, that's amazing.
I know what I can bring to a team and I want to do that.
I've got great relationships with all of my teammates regardless of who it is.
I think that's a good thing to have a camaraderie aspect with the team.
I am a burger guy, but actually I'm more of a Mexican food guy.
When they first told me, 'Oh yeah, you developed asthma,' I was like, 'What? There's no way. How do you develop asthma? You're supposed to be born with that.'
In order to be a great team, you've got to have focus no matter what's going on.
As long as I'm respected by my peers and coaches, I'm cool.
When your teammates trust you to make the right play, your confidence is building as every game goes on.
The more and more you touch the ball in the post and get game reps, you just get comfortable and confident and I think that's a big part of the game.
Championship caliber teams don't lose two in a row and they damn sure don't lose three in a row.
The game is definitely evolving. It's becoming more guard-oriented. But, at the same time, we've got a lot of big guys who still kick butt. We'll never be extinct.
I want to have a chance to contend.
I want to be where I'm wanted.
Yeah, I don't shy away from the line anymore.
We're never satisfied with where we are as players.
Honestly, I just try to take care of my body as much as possible: eating, recovery, just making sure that I'm always on top of staying healthy and making sure my body is 100 percent throughout the season.
I've been a fan of 'Call of Duty' for a long time.
Well, I'm definitely gonna focus on being a better all-around player.
I was born in a neighborhood called the Third Ward.
Houston is awesome. I love it.
It's very hot and humid in Houston. Being in L.A. for 10 years, that kind of spoiled me a little bit, so every time I got back home, I'm like, 'Damn it's hot out here.' But I love it.
What I am today, is from Houston and my friends, my closest friends, we all went to high school together.
Anyone who is a post man who's a huge offensive threat, I definitely want to play against to try to limit them to as few points as possible. It's a challenge for me, but I love it though.
It's always a tough process when you're always the best guy on your team, in high school, in middle school, AAU and things like that. Then you come together, and you may not be the best guy on the team. You may have to adjust. You may not be a go to scorer. You may have to be a picker. You may have to be a rebounder.
Oh, if I played in the All-Star game, I'm playing defense - hard for the first quarter. And I want to get a couple of dunks, too, like I do in a regular game.
Growing up, I was a parks and recs kid.
I'm just so fortunate.
The leadership aspect of U.S.A. basketball has really helped me out a lot.
It's awesome for your coach to trust you and have confidence in you.
I just try to focus in to what I'm supposed to do at the line and shoot the basketball.
You can get reps up in the gym as much as you want, hours and hours, but when it comes to a game, there's so many different aspects going on, so many different things.
Honestly now, I'm so much more comfortable at the line and I've gotten so many reps up. Now I feel like when I shoot it, I go up so much more confident thinking, 'OK I'm going to make this one.'
I was a kid growing up in Houston, didn't have a lot - three younger brothers, a single mom. It was tough.
People can talk about how much they care about you, but the small things like this, people taking time out of their day to come and support, it's amazing.
To improve my free throws I went back to the mechanics and really learning how to have form and shoot the ball, so I have to get comfortable with that.
To be the first person to do anything, you're a legend.
Tim Duncan is one of the greatest power forwards in the history of our game. Being younger and just watching him play, winning championships, that was always cool to be able to play against him.
Everybody's schedule is crazy in the NBA, so that can't be an excuse.
That's the thing about the NBA; there's another game.
I really thought about being on one team for my entire career, and that was really important to me.