This is very special, winning the gold for your country.
— DeAndre Jordan
Everybody's schedule is crazy in the NBA, so that can't be an excuse.
To be the first person to do anything, you're a legend.
I was a kid growing up in Houston, didn't have a lot - three younger brothers, a single mom. It was tough.
I just try to focus in to what I'm supposed to do at the line and shoot the basketball.
I'm just so fortunate.
Oh, if I played in the All-Star game, I'm playing defense - hard for the first quarter. And I want to get a couple of dunks, too, like I do in a regular game.
What I am today, is from Houston and my friends, my closest friends, we all went to high school together.
I was born in a neighborhood called the Third Ward.
Honestly, I just try to take care of my body as much as possible: eating, recovery, just making sure that I'm always on top of staying healthy and making sure my body is 100 percent throughout the season.
It is an honor to represent my country in the Olympics.
The game is definitely evolving. It's becoming more guard-oriented. But, at the same time, we've got a lot of big guys who still kick butt. We'll never be extinct.
When your teammates trust you to make the right play, your confidence is building as every game goes on.
When they first told me, 'Oh yeah, you developed asthma,' I was like, 'What? There's no way. How do you develop asthma? You're supposed to be born with that.'
I've got great relationships with all of my teammates regardless of who it is.
I get upset when people score on us, especially when it's an easy basket. Everybody's super talented in this league, but you want to make it tough for guys.
I have to be a breakfast person. Because of how much and how hard we work out.
I really thought about being on one team for my entire career, and that was really important to me.
Tim Duncan is one of the greatest power forwards in the history of our game. Being younger and just watching him play, winning championships, that was always cool to be able to play against him.
To improve my free throws I went back to the mechanics and really learning how to have form and shoot the ball, so I have to get comfortable with that.
Honestly now, I'm so much more comfortable at the line and I've gotten so many reps up. Now I feel like when I shoot it, I go up so much more confident thinking, 'OK I'm going to make this one.'
It's awesome for your coach to trust you and have confidence in you.
Growing up, I was a parks and recs kid.
It's always a tough process when you're always the best guy on your team, in high school, in middle school, AAU and things like that. Then you come together, and you may not be the best guy on the team. You may have to adjust. You may not be a go to scorer. You may have to be a picker. You may have to be a rebounder.
It's very hot and humid in Houston. Being in L.A. for 10 years, that kind of spoiled me a little bit, so every time I got back home, I'm like, 'Damn it's hot out here.' But I love it.
Well, I'm definitely gonna focus on being a better all-around player.
We're never satisfied with where we are as players.
I want to be where I'm wanted.
Championship caliber teams don't lose two in a row and they damn sure don't lose three in a row.
As long as I'm respected by my peers and coaches, I'm cool.
I am a burger guy, but actually I'm more of a Mexican food guy.
I know what I can bring to a team and I want to do that.
I love using my platform to create unforgettable holiday memories for children.
For me, I care about my body, so whatever I put in it, I want it to be good to where I want to produce that. I'm a true believer in whatever I put in my body, that's what I'm going to produce.
That's the thing about the NBA; there's another game.
My grandma tells me, 'Do you focus when you're up there?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I think about shooting a free throw.' I don't miss them on purpose. I promise, I'm not betting on the games.
People can talk about how much they care about you, but the small things like this, people taking time out of their day to come and support, it's amazing.
You can get reps up in the gym as much as you want, hours and hours, but when it comes to a game, there's so many different aspects going on, so many different things.
The leadership aspect of U.S.A. basketball has really helped me out a lot.
I love anything to do with kids, anything to better our youth and put a smile on anybody's face is really what I do it for.
Anyone who is a post man who's a huge offensive threat, I definitely want to play against to try to limit them to as few points as possible. It's a challenge for me, but I love it though.
Houston is awesome. I love it.
I've been a fan of 'Call of Duty' for a long time.
Yeah, I don't shy away from the line anymore.
I want to have a chance to contend.
The more and more you touch the ball in the post and get game reps, you just get comfortable and confident and I think that's a big part of the game.
In order to be a great team, you've got to have focus no matter what's going on.
I think that's a good thing to have a camaraderie aspect with the team.
When you're respected by your peers, that's amazing.
I've become a huge fan of the subway, even though I've gotten lost... well, not lost, but went the wrong direction on the subway a couple of times.
