A Quote by Nick Young
I went from almost not playing in the NBA to playing on a championship team.
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The idea of playing the point and leading a team to the NBA championship is what drove me to get up every day and work on my game as a kid.
A lot of people don't understand that playing in the NBA, the toughest thing is to win an NBA championship. I was in the NBA 15 years. I'd been in the playoffs. I'd been in the Finals. But it took me 15 years to finally win one.
Every team I play, I'm playing them like we playing the Golden State when they had Kevin Durant. Every point guard I play, I'm playing Steph Curry. Every shooting guard I'm playing, I'm playing James Harden. Every three-man I'm playing, I'm playing LeBron and KD.
When you're playing a superhero, you're almost playing two different people. I separate when I'm playing Jefferson Pierce and the days when I'm playing Black Lightning.
I wasn't drafted. I was just playing really good basketball, enjoying playing basketball with my national team and never really thought: 'I have to get to the NBA.'
I've used my experience from playing sports in almost every aspect of my life. Playing soccer is where I found my voice, and playing softball was where I learned precision, and in every game I learned to play as a member of a team - to work not for my own glory, but for a shared goal.
We grew up in an age of playing reserve team football at the stadium. If the first team were playing away, you'd be playing at home, at Highbury, and there would be one man and his dog there. Even though you'd psych yourself up, you still don't get that push.
It's a new NBA, man. Guys are playing on a new team every year now, and it has nothing to do with how good of a player you are, it's just how the NBA is.
Team sports are very important for shaping personalities. It's important that kids understand the mentality behind playing team sports and playing for one another and playing with friends.
Obviously, when I was playing in the Championship, I always dreamed about playing for England, putting on the jersey.
I have high expectations for myself. I'm not out there playing the game just to be playing it. I want to win a championship.
Some people asked me if it was going to be a downer to come back and play on a college team after playing on a world championship team, and I don't think they understand what it is like to play here.
When I was coaching at Kentucky - I was a grad assistant and I just got through playing and we won the NCAA Championship in 1978, so I stayed after I got through playing - we had Japan's national team coach Mototaka Kohama come to Lexington to spend the year and study basketball. He and I became great friends, so we hung out together.
It wasn't about the money. I was just playing basketball, playing with my brother, happy being in the NBA.
Once you get out there and start playing basketball, whether the NBA or college or whatever arena you are playing in or who you are playing in front of, the juices start going, and you want to just go out there and play to the best of your abilities.
Obviously playing on a team like the Cavs in 2014, they were championship contenders, not allowing a ton of young guys to come in and play through mistakes. If you weren't helping the team have success you weren't really afforded a lot of different opportunities.
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