I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.
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.
And I continued to grow until I was 25 years old.
Being a typical Pisces, I might have experienced mood shifts, but I don't remember any depression, or needing to do anything, or to have someone bring me out of being depressed.
Goals determine what you're going to be.
I always try to keep a pretty conservative demeanor on the court.
I came from a broken home, so my mom was a major influence in my life.
I had to spend countless hours, above and beyond the basic time, to try and perfect the fundamentals.
I keep both eyes on my man. The basket hasn't moved on me yet.
I liked the game, I enjoyed the game, and the game fed me enough, and gave me enough rewards to reinforce that this is something that I should spend time doing, and that I could possibly make a priority in my life, versus other sports.
I pulled the plug on it at a time that I thought was right for me to exit.
I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence.
If you do things with a certain type of result and cause a certain type of reaction or effect, then you increase your market value. It's very much a competition for the entertainment dollar, and that's never been more clearly evident than in today's NBA game.
If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end.
I grabbed 19 rebounds in my first professional game, and somehow found a way to score 20 points. I felt real good about it. I felt that this was the beginning of something good.