2. “I’m not the guy who’s afraid of failure. I like to take risks, take the big shot and all that.”

3. “I’ve never been afraid of big moments. I get butterflies. I get nervous and anxious, but I think those are all good signs that I’m ready for the moment.”

4. “I can get better. I haven’t reached my ceiling yet on how well I can shoot the basketball.”

5. “There’s more to life than basketball. The most important thing is your family and taking care of each other and loving each other no matter what.”

6. “I know I have a place in Heaven waiting for me because of Him, and that’s something no earthly prize or trophy could ever top.”

7. “I do a little sign on the court every time I make a shot or a good pass and i pound my chest and point to the sky – it symbolizes that I have a heart for God. It’s something that my mom and I came up with in college and I do it every time i step on the floor as a reminder of who I’m playing for.”

8. “I want to practice to the point where it’s almost uncomfortable how fast you shoot, so that in the game things kind of slow down.”

9. “I can’t say enough: how important my faith is to how I play the game and who I am.”

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10. “I’d rather be a non-All-Star playing in the Western Conference finals than an All-Star who’s sitting at home in May.”

11. “Be the best version of yourself in anything you do. You don’t have to live anybody else’s story.”

12. “Being a superstar means you’ve reached your potential, and I don’t think I’ve reached my potential as a basketball player and as a leader yet.”

13. “Basketball isn’t just a sport. It is an art, one that must be mastered to succeed.”

14. “If you don’t fall how are you going to know what getting up is like?”

15. “Make sure and work your butt off every single day, and I hope I inspire people all around the world to just be themselves, be humble and be grateful for all the blessings in your life.”

16. “Success is not an accident, success is actually a choice.”

17. “I really cherish everything that basketball brings; and I think, for me, it’s been a great ride and I’m not done yet.”

18. “I try and use every game as an opportunity to witness… When I step on the floor people should know who I represent, who I believe in.”

19. “Basketball was mine, and that’s what’s carried me to this point.”

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20. “Success is born out of faith, an undying passion, and a relentless drive.”

21. “Success comes after you conquer your biggest obstacles and hurdles.”

22. “If you take time to realize what your dream is and what you really want in life—no matter what it is, whether or in other fields—you have to realize that there is always work to do, and you want to be the hardest working person in whatever you do, and you put yourself in a position to be successful. And you have to have a passion about what you do.”

23. “We have to have the mentality that we have to work for everything we’re going to get.”

24. “I can do all things.”

25. “I love playing basketball; there’s no doubt about it. It’s something I’ve been doing since — what, mom and dad, two? With Fisher Price goals. My here; we were talking about it yesterday. She used to be my commentator. She used to be Bob Fitzgerald for me counting down the scores. I hit a game-winning shot or whatever, and I’d stumble over and give her a high five, stuff like that.”

26. “When it come to basketball, I was always the smallest kid on my team. I had a terrible, ugly, catapult shot from the time I was 14 because I wasn’t strong enough to shoot over my head, and I had to reconstruct that over the summer and it was the worst three months of my life. You’d think there are no hurdles or obstacles that I had to overcome, but even when I got to high school I wasn’t ranked. I wasn’t ranked. I wasn’t highly touted as a high school prospect. I had nobody really running, knocking on my door saying “Please, please, please come play for our school.”

27. “Sometimes people make it seem like you have to have certain prerequisites or a crazy life story in order to be successful in this world. But the truth is you really don’t. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you have or don’t have, what you lack or what you have too much of, but all you need to have is faith in God, an undying passion for what you do and what you choose to do in this life, and a relentless drive and the will to do whatever it takes to be successful in whatever you put your mind to.”

28. “There’s more to me than just this jersey I wear, and that’s Christ living inside of me.”

29. “Each game is an opportunity to be on a great stage and be a witness for Christ. When I step on the floor, people should know who I represent, who I believe in.”

30. “It represents a Bible verse I wear on my shoe. Philippians 4:13. It says ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ It’s also my mantra, how I get up for games and why I play the way I do.”

31. “Kids put life into perspective. I never have a bad day. Life happens and you get bad news sometime, or things don’t go your way at work – for me that might mean I lose a game or not play well – but that doesn’t affect my mood from day to day. I love going home and seeing the smiles on my daughters’ faces being happy to see me, and that makes everything all right.”

32. “It’s all about winning. Stats really don’t matter, I mean, guys have great series and all that, and people take notice and take their place in history with those stats and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning and what you can do to help your team get to that point.”