I'm a father; I'm a friend. I think I've got the biggest heart in the world. A lot of times, that's not a good thing. It's a gift and a curse.

I don't really care too much about what people who don't care about me say about me, but a lot of times, you know, I get tired of defending myself.

I didn't do this by myself, man. It was so many people, so many fans that came in there and cheered for me, night in and night out.

So many people supported me and believed in me. They made it so easy for me to believe in myself, because I didn't want to let them down.

I wanted my fans and my family and my friends to be proud of me.

That's the only thing that got me here is my teammates. My teammates and my coach. That's the only reason I'm here.

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.

LeBron ain't got none of my game, but his heart is all mine.

Detroit was a bad situation for me.

As far as how I expressed 'practice, practice, practice' over and over again, I wouldn't take that back because, obviously, that sound bite is great for the media and for the fans, because they love it.

If you're from Virginia, then you know some white people from Poquoson don't like black people.

Either you give in, or you fight. That's all I know, being where I'm from. You fight for what you want. You go after what you want. The only thing I could do was give up or keep fighting for what I wanted in life.

My dream was bigger than anything else. My fight and me wanting to fulfill what I wanted to be in life. That was enough to keep me strong enough to endure anything.

I just feel this is my planet.

I wasn't a point guard. I was a killer.

You don't want to hear about how much money I donate to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America or to AIDS awareness or to give out scholarships. You don't want to hear about that.

People and what they say don't bother me like they used to. When I was younger, I really couldn't take it because I couldn't understand where the criticism was coming from.

If we lose games, and I don't score a lot, they gonna say I'm not scoring enough.

Sometimes it used to hurt so bad when people used to say stuff about me. It still does. But I'm at a level now that I'm like, 'I ain't surprised that they said this or that about me.'

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.

You gotta do what you gotta do. And I had to figure that out, and I used to - I couldn't stand the media, but I realized they have a job. They gotta do what they have to do.

Doing this for so long, I realize that the media - you have a boss. And your boss wants you to provide the best material that you can. And he might put pressure on you to do it a way that you feel is unconstitutional. You might not like it. But you still gotta feed your family.

I wish the media and people that work in media would realize sometimes - and I know it doesn't pay your bills - but sometimes just sit back and think, like, 'Man, what if this was my child? And somebody was doing this to them? And they had to go through it? If somebody bashed them like this?'

Don't nobody wanna talk about or hear about somebody donating money to a charity. You wanna hear about what Bin Laden is doing and what you think is on his mind.

I wish there was a season where I was playing and didn't have no aches, no pains, no bruises, no nothing.

Everybody talks about that one when they first meet me. 'Man, I still remember the play you shook Jordan.' Everybody gonna always remember it because it was Jordan.

You look at guys on the court, man. You got this guy with this brand of shoe, and this guy with this brand - they're just wearing the shoe. But it's a whole different feeling when you got a shoe on, and it's yours.

All I ever wanted to do was wear Jordans. I think there was only one or two pair I never had.

If I'm not getting older and more mature at 31, then something's wrong.

I couldn't have accomplished the things in my career if I didn't practice, and the worst part about that whole thing is when a kid comes up to me and says 'Allen, I don't like practice, either.' I've got to straighten that kid right then.

I just want kids all over the world to know you have to practice to be any good in this game; it's too hard.

I'm not going to be the same as I was when I've made so many bad mistakes.

You can hide from the devil, but he'll always find you.

Larry Brown molded me into an MVP and a Hall of Fame player.

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.

That's where I'll get the love in my heart: from, the fact that little young guys can look at the obstacles that I had to go through to become a Hall of Famer and know it's not so bad when it comes to them trying to accomplish the same goal.

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 knew I was gonna be the number one pick, but I didn't know.

I'm a Hall of Famer, and I can go outside today and go to a restaurant or wherever, and somebody will come up to me and say, 'Practice? We talkin' 'bout practice?' Man, I am a Hall of Famer, and that's all you can think about?

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.

All my tattoos are tattoos that I wanted to get, but I couldn't afford.

Coming into the league, if I would've had money, then obviously I would've had more tattoos.

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'm just a regular 24/7 dad now.

Being older, I can't imagine a parent not wanting to be in their kid's life. I will just never understand it. To me, it's priceless.

I surround myself with people who make me laugh.

Guys is supposed to be able to be original and dress like how they want to dress. The NBA can't dress no grown man.

I felt like I was better at football than I am in basketball.

I've accomplished so many things in basketball. I financially secured my kids' life and their future. I'm just happy. I'm just blessed. So anything that I'm not awarded doesn't matter because I've been rewarded enough in this lifetime.

I gotta win games. Because if we lose games, and I score a lot, they going to say I'm scorin' too much.