Manute Bol taught my family the game of basketball.

My whole life, every time I've been down, I've found a way to turn it around.

I don't play for recognition.

At 13, I concentrated on my school work and playing sports, which, to this day, is something I still believe is very, very important.

I know how to put the ball in the hoop.

Here in the U.K., I want basketball to get better. I want the kids to have more playgrounds. I want the kids to have more attention. I want basketball to be on TV more often. But I really don't care if I walk down the street and somebody recognises me or not.

I wouldn't like to be invisible for a day. But if I was... I'd probably be up to no good.

I never knew a regular childhood, but I was always surrounded by love.

When I started playing basketball, I hated it because football had always been my sport.

There are a lot of people in Chicago that I miss. I was there one year out of high school. So I basically grew up there.

Because I was the youngest boy, I was always my mom's favorite - and my brothers were always tough on me.

I think it's always going to be strange for me facing the Bulls.

It's no good playing through pain if you're damaging yourself.

I am big fan of Arsenal.

It is just a great honour to be representing Great Britain.

We talk about players going broke, but we don't talk about why that is happening.

Chicago is where I have always wanted to be.

I'm not the same person on the court. I'm different when I'm off the court. Off the court, I don't need to be aggressive or anything.

I think that my offense comes from what I do with my defense.

Playing defense hard gets me going offensively.

I always believe every team that wins has to go through some things.

Earlier in my career, a lot of guys wanted individual numbers and to do well individually.

I've always wanted to have some sort of academy or program that links education and basketball.

I know I make a lot of money, but for me - I came from nothing, so it's always been about the love of the game.

Every single team that I've played for, every single person would tell you that I've given it everything every single day.

Sometimes people take struggling on the court to an extreme level.

I don't mind someone saying I'm not good enough. It hurts more when someone says you're faking an injury.

For me, I had a close family. There were others like me who were going through a lot of rough times, so we always came together. It was understood that we would overcome hate, as long as you surround yourself with love and what's real.

The best thing I learned from Manute was to be selfless. He was always about his people. He was about helping others.

I get up early and go to bed early.

We had a court, and my brothers would play outdoors, with rims barely hanging in there.

I'm a big believer in that I'm here for a reason, and I don't want to forget where I'm from.

There are a lot of people you never hear about that helped me a lot with my career and helped me become who I am that I've known for a long time and I still stay in touch with.

I believe leaving school early was the right decision to make, but at first, I wasn't sure. But my coaches told me to follow my heart and there wouldn't be any regrets, and that's exactly what I did.

London is where I grew up, and I know it better than any other place.

I've been in situations in my career where I've had slumps and struggles. I always stick with it and just keep working.

The way I play, I'm always moving. I like to move the ball.

I really didn't want to play basketball for the longest time, but I just wouldn't stop growing. But I always wanted to be a professional soccer player.

I was just a lanky kid, just tall.

At some point, when I was in Chicago for maybe eight years, I never thought I would leave Chicago. I wish it would have happened that way, but everything happens for a reason.

A lot of freshmen will come in and say they can do what Carmelo did, but not everybody is Carmelo Anthony. He was a special player. Syracuse was a great fit for him.

I've seen players in the past who wanted to stay with their team, and it didn't work out.

The older you get, the more you appreciate where you are and the more confidence you have in what you can do.

I've never been in a place where I've walked in the street and actually feel home, where I don't feel like a refugee.

I really feel great when I help somebody.

I think injuries happen. You can prevent a lot of them, but some of them you can't.

Being from the Sudan, there is a lot of stuff going on in Sudan, so I try to do a lot there with my foundation. That's my way of giving back.

From where I came from, the way I was raised, when somebody does something for you, you always want to give something back to them.

I work hard. I never want to live with that feeling that I've disappointed somebody.

I've played with a lot of injuries.