“You’re going to go through ups; you’re going to go through downs. But staying steady is most important, and being able to bounce back is also very important.”
“For me, personally, I feel like that’s my duty while I’m on this earth is to serve others and use my blessing to bless others. If I’m not doing that, I feel like I’m not serving my purpose. That’s my goal, that’s my passion, and that’s what I intend to do for the rest of my life.”
“Everybody has losses, and sometimes they’re worse than others, but you can always bounce back.”
“I want people to have clean water. People in this country take it for granted, the ability to drink clean water whenever they want. There are millions of people far less fortunate in this world, and it’s my duty to do as much as I can to change that. I don’t see that as insurmountable at all.”
“Who I am is a guy who’s going to do whatever the team needs.”
“I’m going to play the right way, I’m going to know my role, and I’m going to be who I am.”
“Thanks to the great fans of Milwaukee. Their work ethic truly inspires me every night.”
“I think a lot of the problem with foreign aid and things like that is you go in, give a bunch of stuff, and then it runs out. It’s about helping them learn how to continue to be sustainable and live.”
“Regardless of what the stakes are, our attitude and our mindset doesn’t change.”
“Giannis is selfless.”
“My best asset to my game is my IQ. I play the game thinking the game first.”
“For me, keeping it simple is the best way to live life, to not complicate things, to sort of keep things in perspective.”
“I think we live in a country where we go overseas, and we fight other people’s wars, and we fight terrorism overseas internationally, but we don’t want to fully acknowledge the terrorism that goes on domestically.”
“I don’t pay attention to accolades or any of that stuff because I think it can serve as a distraction, so for me, I just focus on winning games, trying to make the playoffs.”
“I just go out there to show them I’m going to play the right way regardless of what position or what situation I’m in.”
“I think, as a rookie, what guys need to be judged on most coming in the league is feel. Not skill, not shooting, not stats, not even passing, but that feel for the game, the ability to read situations and make the right play.”
“When you’re running next to a guy who’s about to lay it up in transition, you just get out of the way because you know Giannis is coming to block it.”
“When you have a year of experience and also the experience of playing in the playoffs, it just makes a world of difference.”
“I know what my role is.”
“My whole career, I’ve been an underdog, I’ve been underestimated. Therefore, I’ve had a chip on my shoulder my entire career. Being drafted in the second round when you think you’re supposed to be in the first round, a lottery pick, the chip grows bigger. And you have more to prove.”
“A lot of scouts and people are enamored with athleticism and youth. So they take that any day over mature, high-quality basketball players.”
“I think my play will talk for me, It will show people, and it will show the league.”
“I pride myself on what I do every night. I pride myself on my work ethic and how I carry myself. I want to be mature in my approach but focused and disciplined.”
“I don’t let people score on me. I think that’s my biggest asset.”
“I was thinking about the NBA after my fourth year, but I also realized I could get my master’s paid for and have another year on the court to raise my draft stock even higher. I felt if I could do those things, I could have my cake and eat it, too.”
“I want to make a difference.”
“I want to play for a team that has a strong defensive reputation. One that relies on a system and where assists are valued. And a team that needs what I do – making other guys better, leading a team, being a defensive stopper every night. I want to be a good fit.”
“My five years at Virginia truly prepared me for the NBA and for life after the NBA.”
“Thanks to Coach Bennett for a great education in basketball and for making me better.”
“I saw from a very young age the value of clean water in communities in Africa. I made a promise to myself that once I reached a time and place in my career where I could do more, I would.”
“I think college has helped me.”
“Playing four years of college, you learn a lot; you learn more about yourself than anything.”
“My older brother was always in the gym, and I saw how hard he worked. Around middle school, I was in there with him, and I started to love it. But it wasn’t like I had a basketball in my hand at age 2.”
“People would downplay how good I was, or my athleticism would be the knock, and that added fuel to the fire.”
“I don’t play for the attention; I work on my skills every day so I can go out and play my role to the fullest to help the team win. That’s my No. 1 goal when I step on the court.”
“When you’re getting an opportunity and playing well, that’s all you can ask for.”
“A Final Four would be pretty amazing.”
“In college, I prided myself on defense and guarding the best player every night.”
“The game is about making the right decisions.”
“It’s not about making the most shots or even dunking the ball or any of that. It’s about being consistent every day you step on the court.”
“Defense is about will and effort and a certain toughness you have to have.”
“I think, at heart, I’m a leader.”
“I think I always naturally lead on the court by just working.”
“You have to keep shooting, even on tough shooting nights. You have to believe the next shot is going in.”
“It takes experience to get through your lows.”
“We try to pride ourselves in having a chip and being hungry every game.”
“LeBron is one of the greats. He’s going to hit tough shots. You have to be able to live with them and limit everyone else around him.”
“The big thing that Giannis brings to the game for us is pace, being able to get up and down the floor and play fast. We got to continue to do that and not lose momentum when he comes out of the game.”
“I think it speaks a lot to Coach Kidd and my teammates to trust me as a rookie to make plays down the stretch. When they put that confidence in you, it’s hard not to try to make plays.”
“A lot of times,, you are not going to fit in; a lot of times you are going to have to skip those parties to get to where you want to be.”
“Policy is the way you can change the world.”
“Starting you automatically gets into your rhythm faster. Coming off the bench, you’re colder; it can be harder at times.”
“Before I came to Milwaukee, I’d heard the city was the most segregated in the country. I’d heard it was racist. When I got here, it was extremely segregated. I’ve never lived in a city this segregated.”
“I’ve been a bit surprised, and encouraged, by the NBA’s support for athletes that speak out. Compared to the NFL, it’s night and day.”
“Kaepernick is a hero.”
“Soccer is still my favourite sport.”
“I was lucky I had a mom who had seen it all. From seeing my grandfather march in the Civil Rights era, she understood the depth, character, and stability you need to go through racism. She taught me not to accept it to but deal with it and be better than it.”
“I have great memories from childhood. Of course, the divorce, when I was 11, was tough. But my mom, especially, did a great job in raising us.”
“My parents never planted the seed that anything was impossible. They planted the seed that things were doubly hard for a black man. My brothers and I made sure we outworked people and were better than everyone we were around.”
“It’s amazing how sports is a way to control the masses. But it also unites people.”
“I’m not a guy who really gets nervous.”
“I stay in character at all times regardless of whoever’s playing well, the team isn’t playing well. if we’re up or down, I’m going to stay in character.”
“Being raised, I think, in a household where your parents really taught you never to let people see you sweatin’ – that’s the motto I live by.”
“I wasn’t sure how it would unfold once I got to the NBA, but I knew if I got to the NBA, I could then have the platform and have the resources and the connections and the people around me that had more connections and more resources to help me really impact a lot of people’s lives.”
“I think Africa is the most interesting continent on the planet. You look at a country like Egypt, and you look at a country like Ghana. It’s just completely different, and the people look completely different. It’s just a fascinating continent with the most culture.”
“I don’t pay attention to what people think. I don’t really care what people think. All that matters is my teammates and my coaches.”
“I know we have a lot of poverty and we have a lot of problems over here in the U.S., but for me, I’ve been outside the country, and that’s really where my heart is – to help others outside.”
“I didn’t party. I didn’t go out. I didn’t really hang out with friends as much as other guys.”
“When guys were going out to parties, I was going to the gym. I figured, for all my mom sacrificed for me, it was the least I could do.”
“My grandparents really wanted me to go to Harvard. They thought that was writing your ticket for the future. How could I turn that down? But my mom knew I needed a balance. She knew that I loved basketball.”
“Momentum is everything in this league.”
“As a three shooter, seeing one go through the net, that’s all you need to just be shooting it confidently again.”
“It differs from game to game, how aggressive I should be.”
“I think winning games is my biggest asset, knowing how to win.”
“I had a pretty bad injury the end of my freshman year in college, and that taught me just to be patient.”
“Things aren’t always going to go your way. You wake up one day, and things are rough. But then you wake up the next day, and things are going great.”
“There are going to be ups and downs, but you have to have a steady mindset, regardless of the situation you’re in.”
“If you have an open shot, and you’re a shooter, and you’ve put hours and hours on the practice court shooting the ball, you shoot the ball in the game. It’s just that simple.”
“I love being around kids. When I see a kid that wants to talk to me or wants my autograph, I see myself in them. I just want to be a good example and be very approachable and want them to know that I’m just a regular guy, too.”
“I think just consistency. That’s the hardest thing to do in this league, especially for a rookie. There are going to be ups and downs.”
“Guys are coming into the league a little more mature when they take the three or four years in college.”
“I don’t think any other college coach could have prepared me as well as Coach Bennett, just in terms of mental toughness, being able to grasp concepts and retain information.”
“In my family, graduating and getting your bachelor’s is just the beginning. It’s only expected. You’re underachieving if you don’t strive for more than that.”
“You always have to think in the back of your mind that someone’s working harder than you, someone’s getting better than you. That’s what drives me every day. I always think there’s someone out there working harder.”
“I think it’s the way I’m wired, the way I’m built. I want to improve. If you’re not improving, someone’s passing.”
“I’m a guy that’s all about not trying to take the easy way out or get out of things too early.”
“I always look forward to playing great players, great scorers, because I pride myself on my defense.”
“I’ve heard a lot about what second-round picks usually do – whether it’s D-League or whether it’s not playing – but for me, I have high expectations of myself regardless of where I’m picked.”
“My game from college has translated into the pros.”
“I knew who I was coming into the NBA, so I knew what I could contribute to a team, and I just had a high level of confidence in myself and what I could do.”
“I think who I am on the court is who I am in person.”
“I’m a guy that tries to eat right. I try to keep my body right. I try to do all the right things. But like everybody else, I have flaws. I slip up. I eat the wrong things sometimes. I have cheat days. I think I make mistakes just like everybody else, but I try to minimize them.”
“When you have a coaching change, when you have trades, an injury, when you have all these things happening – these are all things that are out of your control. Quickly, you start to understand that, really, the only thing you can control is going out and playing hard every night and being ready for your opportunity.”
“It’s easy for especially NBA players to get caught up in the stress of the job, to get caught up in negativity and in what other people think, and it’s hard, but the best way to live is to keep things simple and enjoy every day.”
“I’m not flashy. I’ll do nice things on the floor, but I’m not going to do the really impressive dunk or make the really impressive block. I think that’s what fans enjoy most about coming to basketball games, but that’s not what I provide night in, night out.”
“I see guys like Colin Kaepernick in the NFL. Guys like Marshawn Lynch, they’re sitting down; they’re making statements. They’re standing up for what they believe in, and I think it’s terrific.”
“I think teams make the same decisions every year based on the same information and based on the same decision-making. I think a lot of it is flawed, but it’s the way they draft.”
“When you bring a winner onto your team, he knows how to win, he’s going to help your team win, and that’s the goal at the end of the day.”
“The better the competition is, the more skilled guys are, the more fundamental you have to be.”
“I help my team win. That’s overall what I do best. If you watch me play, I’m usually going to be on the winning team. Whether it’s scoring enough points or rebounding enough or guarding the best player on the other team, I’m gonna do what it takes to win.”
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