Tattoos, cornrows, headbands, hip-hop. I never meant to start any trends. I got my butt kicked, but if that meant that the guys who came after me could be themselves, then it was worth it.
I wasn't a fan of the Sixers. My dad was a big Mo Cheeks fan, and he wanted me to be drafted by the Sixers. My thing was, if that could make my dad happy, then that would make me happy, you know what I mean?
I didn't take constructive criticism the way I should have. When I finally caught up to that, that's when I went to being the MVP.
It was a great experience for me - the ups and downs - because I became a man in Philadelphia.
Just understand that there's going to be some ups, there's going to be some downs.
I used to say my biggest accomplishment was just getting drafted, whether it was the first pick or the 100th or whatever.
I'm the biggest Westbrook fan, I think, there is. You know what I mean? Because he reminds me so much of myself as far as his heart and laying it on the line night in and night out. Just a guy that's going to bring it every single night.
What makes me feel good is all of the people that rooted for A.I. get a chance to say, 'He did what you never thought he could do. The critics. He did what you never thought he could accomplish.' This is a moment that me and my fans and my family and friends can share together because we always believed in the dream.
If I'm not getting older and more mature at 31, then something's wrong.
Just because you put a guy in a tuxedo doesn't make him a good guy.
God gave me all this; why waste the talent that he gave me? Why not go full throttle with it all and try to become in the class with the greatest players that ever played the game? That's just a great feeling.
It was just the greatest feeling to see a kid with your shoes on.
My friend... used to tease me about a tattoo I had right here, but it was so big, and what he was teasing me about - he said it looked like a flying monkey. It's supposed to have been a grim reaper holding a ball. But it did look like a monkey.
Being in a fishbowl, everybody looking at every move you make, talking about everything you do - it's just a hard life to live.
I had a lot of growing up to do. A lot of times, I learned the hard way.
I was recruited by every school in the country for football and basketball. And an incident happened in high school, and all that was taken away. No other teams, no other schools were recruiting me anymore.
I wasn't a point guard. I was a killer.
Larry Brown molded me into an MVP and a Hall of Fame player.
LeBron ain't got none of my game, but his heart is all mine.
I surround myself with people who make me laugh.
