My father wasn't around when I was a kid, and I used to always say, 'Why me? Why don't I have a father? Why isn't he around? Why did he leave my mother?' But as I got older I looked deeper and thought, 'I don't know what my father was going through, but if he was around all the time, would I be who I am today?'
When did I know I had talent? I think it started when I first started playing sports, organized sports.
But sports carried me away from being in a gang, or being associated with drugs. Sports was my way out.
When you have that respect from your teammates, it makes it a lot more comfortable.
I need music. It's like my heartbeat, so to speak. It keeps me going no matter what's going on - bad games, press, whatever!
My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me.
I hear my friends and my mom tell me I'm special, but honestly, I still don't get it.
Being the only man in the household with my mom definitely helped me grow up fast.
When I was 5, some financial things happened, and I moved seven times in a year. We moved from apartment to apartment, sometimes living with friends. My mom would always say, 'Don't get comfortable, because we may not be here long.'
Akron, Ohio, is my home. It will always be remembered. Akron, Ohio, is my life.
Sometimes in the past when I played something might make me lose focus, or I would go home after a game where I thought I could have played better and I would let it hang over my head for a long time when it shouldn't.
Akron, Ohio, is my home. I will always be here. I'm still working out at my old high school.
But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I'm upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.
For me, already being part of a single parent household and knowing it was just me and my mom, you'd would wake up times and hope that the next day you'd be able to be alongside your mother because she was out trying to make sure that I was taken care of. But all I cared about was her being home.
Commitment is a big part of what I am and what I believe. How committed are you to winning? How committed are you to being a good friend? To being trustworthy? To being successful? How committed are you to being a good father, a good teammate, a good role model? There's that moment every morning when you look in the mirror: Are you committed, or are you not?
You know, God gave me a gift to do other things besides play the game of basketball.
I'm a pretty funny guy, and I would love to do a comedy with a bunch of funny guys - movie-star guys, where they could help me through it.
I am just happy to be part of the Nike family.
You know, my family and friends have never been yes-men: 'Yes, you're doing the right thing, you're always right.' No, they tell me when I'm wrong, and that's why I've been able to stay who I am and stay humble.
Basketball is my passion, I love it. But my family and friends mean everything to me. That's what's important. I need my phone so I can keep in contact with them at all times.