Millions of guys play millions of basketball games every day of the week at the playground or the YMCA. But LeBron James gets $20 million a year because he can jam on all of those guys. We're always going to want to see LeBron and Kobe go at it.
Guys like LeBron, Chris Paul, Kobe... They all speak to me. It's just insane that all these top tier guys who have been in the All-Star game for so many years actually know who I am. I mean not in a million years did I think that Kobe would speak to me.
Outside the Raptors' organization, I definitely think guys like LeBron James, James Harden and Derrick Rose will show off some great looks. On our team, Kyle Lowry has amazing style. But we have a lot of fashionable guys: Patrick Patterson, Bismack Biyombo and Jonas Valanciunas are all really into fashion as well.
Chris Paul is one of those guys growing up, I guess I looked up to. Deron Williams was one of those guys, Dwyane Wade, Baron Davis.
We had guys come out of high school, Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, but all these guys could play.
I think any time you bring those guys in, one with a lot of playoff experience, with rings - those guys won - guys in the locker room gravitate towards those guys. Those guys have been there, so there's a lot that they can teach the guys.
For every LeBron James that jumps onto the scene, or every Derrick Rose that does really well in year one, you have a lot of others that take time to transition. Those guys are just brilliant in their own way, but a lot of other guys need a little help along the way.
Everyone deals with criticism in a different way. Some guys read it, some guys don't really listen to it, some guys try to stay away from it, some guys get angry about it.
Guys like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, they'll take bad criticism in a good way.
When you think about the guys who started Twitter, and the Google guys, and the Facebook guys and the Napster guys, and the Microsoft guys, and the Dell guys and the Instagram guys, it's all guys. The girls, they're being left behind.
There's been so many rivals, most of them Canadian guys like Rick Martel, Christian and Chris Benoit. Those guys were all ultimate professionals, every one of them.
Guys like Bryce Treggs, Chris Harper, Kenny Lawler, Darius Powe, Richard Rodgers, Jackson Bouza. All those guys are incredible. They run great routes and have great hands.
You have to compete with LeBron James and Steph Curry, those guys, night in and night out. You can't take a night off. You just have fun, be humble, but continue to work.
In 1977, I had Paul Rivera hotrod six Fender Deluxes for me. At that time, a lot of studio guys in L.A. were using those - not so much live guys but studio guys. They had terrific tone and great technique, and I was like, 'Well, I like having terrific tone even though I don't have any technique.'
You take 5 white guys and you take 5 black guys and put em together for a week and what you won't have is 5 blacks guys talking like, 'Golly gee, we really won that big basketball game' but you will have 5 white guys talking like 'Yo slick, whuzzup...we be shootin hoops and mad playin, slammed those mofos
I'm one of those guys, you be silent and get the guys on your side of the ball working.