“Always being an underdog, always being the player or the person nobody really knew, that always kept a chip on my shoulder.”
“I’m a family man now. I don’t need no distractions; I don’t need no big cities, no big lights, at this point in my career.”
“Regardless of how I feel, I always push through all of my workouts before I get ready for the game, because even though I might not like it then, even though I might be a little tired or fatigued, in the long run, it pays off.”
“I have a goal to be the best player every time I touch that floor. Just be the best me.”
“Usually I’ve had two jobs: be the best defender and the best scorer.”
“As soon as I discovered PlayStation, I was throwing hints here and there to my dad – cutting out the clipping of a video game, cutting out the clippings of the PlayStation, leaving it on his dresser. I remember on Christmas morning, I unwrapped my gift, and sure enough, it was the PS2. I’ve been a PlayStation guy ever since.”
“I feel like every year I get better, every year I learn something new, and I don’t plan on stopping.”
“I’m confident in what I can do.”
“I want every year to have a chance to compete for a championship.”
“I know a little bit how it is coming back from an injury, trying to find your rhythm.”
“I always just take pride in being a basketball player.”
“At the end of the day, people enjoy being comfortable. But that’s not what life is about.”
“I’m going to play at the highest I can, the best I can every night. Wherever that lands me, that’s where it lands me.”
“I can play in any offense and play off any player.”
“I feel like you can dominate a game in so many ways. That’s just always been my mindset, just play ball. Be a basketball player, and everything will fall into place.”
“You put two fiery all-stars on the same team, something special has to happen.”
“Once I changed my diet, I noticed I had a ton of energy – I was more lively and ready for the workouts; my body was better. I noticed it was definitely the stuff I was putting in my body that made me feel better.”
“Winning takes precedence over all of it. That’s the ultimate happiness. It’s not location. It’s not stardom. It’s not ‘where can I make the most money.’ It’s winning, and winning championships.”
“I think everybody, whether they have team goals or individual goals, I think everybody would like to be the MVP of the league. But that’s not what my focus is. My job is just to give everything that I have, play as hard as I can, and just try to win as much as possible. If that makes me the MVP, then so be it.”
“In a way, it’s like I want to come here, I want to play for the home team and put a Lakers jersey on. That’s always going to be something that I want to fulfill.”
“I’m going to get paid what I deserve off of what I bring to the table.”
“I’m not out in the streets. I’m not out in the club, at parties. I’m not really at movie premieres. After games, after practice, I’m home, I’m with my kids, I’m with my girl, and I’m chilling.”
“I’ve always been a guy to just let the game come to me. Just play the game.”
“Oklahoma, y’all truly made a big impact on me.”
“My thing is, I like if I go on that court and there’s a guy I don’t have to worry about.”
“LeBron is the best player in our league, but some people have a hard time playing with him.”
“If it’s a shot for me, if I can make a play, create for someone else, I’ll do that. A lot of times you run a play, everybody’s watching, everybody’s locked in, everybody’s pulling over, and it just makes the game tougher for me.”
“If my performance down the stretch lands me on the All-NBA, which I think I’m deserving of, then so be it. I’ll be happy.”
“I knew I had a lot to offer, and it was just about finding my niche and figuring it out.”
“I haven’t been in a position to be a free agent or know what that is like and then to have the chance to go where you want to go. That’s always been – I feel, with players, they want that option.”
“I love Indiana.”
“I grew up a Lakers and a Clippers fan.”
“For me, it’s all about winning. I want to be in a good system, a good team.”
“People saying I want to come here, who doesn’t want to play for their hometown? That’s a dream come true, if you’re a kid growing up on the outskirts of L.A., to be the man in your city.”
“I’m from L.A. I can say I love L.A. because I’m from L.A.”
“That’s really the biggest thing, being happy in an organization that supports you and helps you grow and a city that supports you and a training staff.”
“I know who I am as a player, I just want to help a team win.”
“I felt I was in a good place with Oklahoma.”
“I love fashion but I don’t necessarily have time to be looking stuff up.”
“I’ve never been a guy that’s been salty about the shots I’m getting. I just try to play the right way.”
“Nobody wants to play for a team that’s not competitive.”
“I felt I was immortal. I was invincible. I’ve made so many plays where guys go down, and I walked up clean from it. I did feel that nothing bad could ever happen to me on the court.”
“I’m big on my community and want to stay that way.”
“I don’t ever feel cautious about making plays. I tell myself that injuries are more likely to occur if I try to play safe.”
“As beautiful as Oklahoma is, it doesn’t have big lights and none of that. But that’s fine… I’m a low-maintenance, low-key, chill guy.”
“It’s always been a battle to play the Warriors.”
“I want to be a champion.”
“When I first fell in love with the game, and I’m outside playing in front of the house, I’m not picturing myself in an Indiana jersey or picturing myself in a Thunder jersey. I pictured myself in a Lakers jersey.”
“When I told the Pacers I wanted to play for the Lakers, that was true feelings. I wanted to come back home.”
“In Indiana, I knew the offense in and out. I knew spacing; I knew personnel. I knew the offense, how coach wanted to play me. So when I just wanted to take over and control the game, I could.”
“I don’t really classify myself as a scorer. I’m a ballplayer; I’m a playmaker. I like to set people up and make the game easy for everybody.”
“When I get the ball, I have to be ready to be in scoring mode.”
“I know what I bring to the table. I know my game offensively and defensively. I think I’m one of the best, if not the best, playing two-ways.”
“I’ve always been a guy to put pressure on myself.”
“I was kind of unproven. I didn’t play in a high-profile school, and with that comes the notion that, ‘He’s not ready.’ I felt I had questions to answer. Was I going to be ready to play against elite-level athletes?”
“I am a sneakerhead, and I grew up a sneakerhead.”
“Honestly, I think I have some of the biggest partners being in a small market, and I think it doesn’t really matter: you can accomplish anything if you have the right people around you and be driven.”
“My shoe has been going through evolution, and we having great feedback from the 1 to the 2 and the 2.5’s, so I think just consistency. The biggest thing I wanted to accomplish was a shoe that basketball players loved and felt like they have an advantage out of.”
“First and foremost, I want to give thanks to Indiana, as a state, for embracing me and my family for seven years of being there. I learned so much being there. They taught me so much.”
“I like to lead by people seeing me playing at certain level.”
“You’re not going to look at Paul and see him slacking, not carrying his weight. All the other stuff, ‘Paul doesn’t lead’ and all that? That’s fine. Go grab guys that lead, then. Let me help them lead.”
“At 23, I know I’m nowhere close to where I want to be and where I need to be and where I’m going to be.”
“I think me making the Select Team was huge. It was the chance for me to be around those guys and see their work ethic and how they prepare. I think that’s what I took the most away from it.”
“I had the Kobe jersey. I would do the Kobe walk. I would walk around the house doing the Kobe stare-down face. Anything you can name, I was idolizing him, trying to be like him.”
“I was always self-motivated.”
“That’s what this game is about, man. Wanting to perform. Wanting to win.”
“I just love playoff basketball.”
“Everyone in the league would say that they would love to go back home and play for their city. It’s just something about representing home.”
“There are more Pacer fans than Paul George fans.”
“I’m living my dream, getting to play in the NBA, getting to play basketball.”
“I might be nervous off the court, being booed. But being on the court, it’s my comfort zone. It’s basketball. It’s what I do. I’m not losing sleep over it.”
“The only thing I wanted out of Indiana was a chance to win my whole career there.”
“I’m not going to try and sit here and be Superman.”
“I’ve been inspired by many great players in this league, and it’s great to re-inspire younger generations and guys coming into this league.”
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