Most people are multi-talented and good at a lot of things, so I just think it's smart, especially in this day and age where the competition is so fierce, in every avenue, to have a bunch of things you're doing.
Who's to say because you're just a basketball player, or you are a basketball player, who's to say you can't chime in on other subjects or other important topics?
I'm a basketball player. That's what I do and what I love but that's just not all who I am. I'm talented in a lot of different areas.
When you're an athlete, you've got the horse blinders on pretty thick. Your exploration of other things in life tends to be limited because you have to have such a focus on what you're doing. I wasn't a good enough player to stray from that focus and still keep my ability.
A lot of people just think I'm a big man, but I'm a basketball player. I am able to do everything that a basketball player can do - from playmaking and scoring to just passing the ball and just being a leader and post presence.
I'm just playing basketball. I just want to be a great player. That's it. That's all I'm thinking about. If the other stuff comes, it comes, but I'm just fortunate to play in the NBA Finals and just to play basketball, period.
You should never want to be a one position player. If you're a real basketball player, you should be able to play any position. That's the difference between really good players and average players.
Adam [Sandler] is a good basketball player, so he is a natural athlete, he worked with Sean Salisbury to make his footwork and delivery smooth, and he did a great job.
I've seen really, really talented teams that don't care about each other and are average, maybe above average is about as good as you're going to get.
I've always said when I broke in I was an average player. I had an average arm, average speed and definitely an average bat. I am still average in all of those.
I was a mediocre basketball player. But I was there, and I could remember the plays. And my basketball coach, after he retired from teaching, would come to my performances all the time. And I was very happy about that, because I was not memorable as a basketball player.
I am a basketball player, and I would like to focus my energy on basketball. The other things, I would rather not do. It is not something I am greatly interested in, but I know it is my responsibility.
Everyone is gonna have a bad day, everyone is gonna have a bad game. The questions are: How do you recover? What builds your character? I decided one day early on in high school that I wanted to be great at basketball, not just a good basketball player.
If you have a kid that loves basketball - that eats, sleeps, drinks, and thinks basketball, and all he knows is basketball - and he gets hurt, and he's your franchise player, you need to hold him back from himself.
Basketball was always my sport. It just took me until my second year of college for me to realize that I was a better baseball player than a basketball player. But basketball was always my number one love. Finally found out I was better at baseball and chose to pursue that route.
I am certainly not the most talented player in the world; there's many a more talented player than me.