I've been doing music since sixth grade.

I don't like video games.

I like Batman, I like basketball, and I like to rap.

I wanted to go the NBA and win a championship because I've never seen a grown man cry the way Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan cried when they won a championship.

I never said to myself, 'Get to the NBA, be an All-Star, make a $100 million contract.'

Usually, if I do a good job in the plus/minus category, I know I've had a good game.

I need music all the time - just to get my vibe where I want it.

All the time, I play with a rhythm; if I'm too far out of the rhythm, I feel out of place.

The way I have played throughout my career has been sporadic.

If the offensive player starts losing confidence, that gets the defender's confidence up - and I think the team can feel it.

Everything was always a pretty up and down for me. It's always been an uphill battle as far as getting respect goes.

If I bring positive energy to the court, most times, I can get that back.

I feel like I can defend three different positions: point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards who don't want to play too much in the post.

I think I am a good help defender as well as just bringing a lot of communication to the floor.

Some people are going to like me; some people won't.

I'm going to miss shots. I'm going to make plenty of mistakes. It's not going to be perfect.

I'm playing basketball. It's my dream job. So I'm a pretty happy camper.

There are certain guys that are obviously a lot more talented than myself and a lot of the other players in the league, but... once you gotta play against me, all that's out the window.

I have respect for everybody in the league.

Ever since I was little, I wanted to win the NBA championship.

Some guys play so straight, and that may be their thing; like, a lot of guys are good playing like that. I can't play like that. I have to flair out. I have to yell. I gotta scream. I gotta talk trash - that's how I get myself going.

In high school, I had gym, and with me just being so competitive, I would go too hard in gym class.

Some people read. I like to put words together.

I love fashion.

Back home, if you get scored on, you're the weak link. When I started getting good, they were like, 'If you're going to play on our team when we go play pick-up, and you start getting scored on, we're not going to let you play anymore.' I started learning how to help other people out with my defense.

Off the court, I think people will like me.

If somebody scores on me, I'm going to be mad.

My worst day, I'm just going to try and smile.

I was told I was going undrafted. That's what I was told by everybody. I guess I wasn't good enough in everybody else's eyes.

I can't have people always having their opinions floating my way.

I like playing in Chicago.

If an athlete plays the guitar, they say, 'That's so cool, he can play the guitar.' But if a guy raps, they say, 'Please don't be another rapper,' only because the rappers are so bad. I promise I'm not anything like that.

I'm not making music to get played in a club.

A lot of people celebrate the '80s. I was a '90s guy. The best music, and basketball, was at its high in the '90s, with all of the best players, playing the best style of basketball in that era, and Michael Jordan winning six rings in the city I grew up in.

Everybody in this league waits on an opportunity when you don't play the starter minutes, when you don't play the type of minutes you want. And with each given opportunity, you got to be ready to come out and perform.

I'd rather somebody expect a lot out of me than nothing at all.

I can't begin to try to articulate the competitive nature I possess.

Truth is, none of us professional athletes are ever 100 percent healthy. We just decide what we're going to tape up and push through without making it worse.

My high threshold for pain will allow me to battle through pretty much anything if I find a way to run and slide.

To me, rapping is an art.

I express myself through song when I can't let people in on my thoughts otherwise. I need the creative process.

The NBA actually encourages balanced living. Realistically, basketball only takes up about six hours of your day before it becomes counterproductive.

Rap isn't that time-consuming for me, compared to an ordinary artist. I do not stay in the studio all day.

As I go back and look at the film, if I look at my first year, every time I caught the ball, I was looking to do something.

It doesn't matter what position they put me at; I've just got to make sure that I come out and play right.

I just want to win.

I think when I started playing against some of the best guys on the AAU circuit, I started to look at myself and say, 'I am one of these guys.'

Everyone will say something about confidence or something if you miss a couple shots. You've just got to keep shooting.

As long as we win, I'm happy.

When you have a lot of communication, it picks up the aggressiveness with everybody on the court.