You know, many of you kids can't relate to what it takes to get to the top rung, the top of the heap, to have success. We're looking for things that come in a minute. It just doesn't happen.
There's all kinds of depictions of black men. You have the Denzel Washingtons and the Will Smiths; that's wonderful, but that doesn't represent everyone. There's a Russell Crowe... well, you know, there's a black Russell Crowe.
Had I done the movies that were offered to me in my prime, at the height of my career, I would have been alongside the likes of Denzel Washington. But, I chose not to do those movies.
When the new ownership came in, they made some decisions I wasn't pleased with. And when they changed the whole aspect of it, I just totally lost interest.
I've got to make some decisions just like any other player that has ever played this game, that eventually the clock stops, their basketball clock stops.
I'm not a religious person; I'm more of a spiritual person, so I follow the rules of the Bible that coordinate with and connect with the Hebrew culture.
I never think about records. I focus on my race and try to get onto the podium consistently. It's hard enough to do that.
When I'm starting a race, I just completely narrow down my vision and focus on what's directly ahead of me.
You have to be a student of the game to be successful, and it's promising when you can say that, with a world-record performance, I still have things to improve on!
We had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth and I think if that's not enough motivation I don't think you should be playing this game.
I worked with the same trainer that worked with Denzel Washington in THe Hurricane. It was three months of training, five days a week, 4 to 5 hours a day. This was followed by a month of choreography.
You don't have to follow what most players do by going to the top school. You can do anything at any school you're at, as long as you're focused and you work hard.
I don't think anything less than perfect, even though I'm a human being. The way I work and go at things is to better myself in perfect terms.
You know, when I have a bad game, it continues to humble me and know that, you know, you still have work to do and you still have a lot of people to impress.
I am passionately interested in understanding how my country works. And if you want to know about this thing called the United States of America you have to know about the Civil War.
And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it.
I am enormously honored to be one of the spokesmen of the New Age Womens Health Campaign, so you'll be seeing me in public service announcements and public appearances supporting the campaign.
Lucky! I can only eat glitter and rainbows. Darn my sensitive stomach!
As a player, you should look at the teams you might want to play for. The city you may want to live in. The system you may want to play in. The economy. The cost of living. Everything. It's about what's best for you.
On my best days, such as when I was a junior in high school coming off a 42-point performance and near triple-double, my dad was there to tell me I haven't arrived yet and bring me back to reality.
I have this burning desire to get out there and do my best. It's as if I'm keeping it all in a little bottle, and it's all going to come out when I do the best I'm capable of doing.
