When you're on the court with guys that know basketball, it's a universal language for us.
— Greg Oden
I'd be lying if I said that it didn't suck to see Durant doing so well.
I Bust-A-Move! Old-school style too: like, I'll bust a Robot out in a second.
I was a professional rehab/workout guy for four years. I wasn't even a basketball player - just a guy who got paid to exercise.
I can be fine and not smile.
I do like to go bowling a lot.
I don't want to be one of those guys who is just there. I want to be a guy that's on a team that makes it and be an All-Star and has a chance to always win an NBA championship.
I'll know that when I play a good game, a decent game, and I know when I can play a lot better and aggressive, when I can take over a game myself.
I'm from the inner city of Buffalo.
My mental state is perfectly fine.
I know we're going to be connected for a long time, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. He's a really, really good player. I'm a pretty decent player. So I hope things work out.
I could've signed with a team after Portland cut me and just sat on the bench and collected paychecks, but that's not my style. That just seems really unethical. Besides, money doesn't matter to me. I've got enough money.
I know I'm one of the biggest busts in NBA history, and I know it will only get worse as Kevin Durant continues doing big things.
I just realized that basketball and going to the NBA was a possibility, and that's something that I want to use to better my family and possibly help the world if I can.
I don't think I was that bad when I was on the court. I felt like it could have just got better if I had more time on there.
It wasn't like I was clinically depressed, but I was so down. I think I was probably depressed. Nothing went my way since college, and I put my head down and kind of pitied myself. That wasn't the right way to go.
I've got an old body.
It's homework. It sucks.
I'm just gonna be who I am, who God made me, what my mom taught me to be.
Like I would love to be a ladies man, but it's like... uh, you're seven feet tall, and you need to shave!
There's more to life than basketball, and at some point, it's going to end anyway.
I hear it each day. If I'm not smiling, if I don't have the biggest grin on my face, then it's like I'm always down.
I wish I was always photogenic.
I don't want to be one of those guys that people just talk about. I'm not good with people talking about me. I'd rather be the guy that just goes out and proves himself, and there's nothing left to say.
You gotta be nice. The way I look at it, why not be a nice guy to people?
I want an Ohio State degree, and not all of their classes are online, so it might have to be after I retire.
I've been watching 'Two and a Half Men.' That's my number one. Then 'Gossip Girl' and '90210.'
When a girl sends me 100 pictures, I have to send something back every now and then.
That's the worst part about all of the injuries and the criticism. It would be one thing if I had been healthy for five years and just sucked when I was on the court. But I can't prove what I can do because I can't stay healthy. Not having control over the situation makes it tough.
When I was out there on the floor, I think I did pretty good for myself... I've never really had enough time to play and actually improve.
I wanted to be a dentist when I was younger. But then I started to get big and realized that my hands were so big, I'd kind of scare the little kids away.
If you're out there, and you can't do it, that makes you a bust. Well, I was never really out there. I was never Greg Oden in the NBA.
I'm going to try to jump over people, and I'm going to try to run all day. If my body lets me, I'll do it.
When I was in Portland, there were some dark times for me.
For starters, Portland isn't a great city to live in if you're a young, African American male with a lot of money. But that's especially true if you don't have anybody to guide you.
Me and my brother used to love when my dad walked in with a pizza. We used to watch Nickelodeon every Saturday night. That was, like, the greatest time ever.
It doesn't say how much you played on your championship ring.
When my knee feels good, I'm always going to feel I can do more.
Everyone else has days when they don't want to smile, when you just want to come in and be regular.
Me being in shape allows me to be more mobile and do better things, make bigger plays.
I know it's a team game, but, you know, the great ones can do that - have their team involved and take over a game.
My mom didn't have a lot of money.
I know my knee's going to heal. I know it's going to get back. I just don't know when.
In the media, from the little bit that I have read... there's not a lot of pity. There are some people, usually older people who have been around or people who really know basketball. Other people in the media are usually like, 'Well, stop getting injured.' You know, like I can control it.
My cousin got wrapped up in the NBA lifestyle and threw parties at my house all the time. So I got wrapped up in it, too.
It's frustrating that my body can't do what my mind wants it to do sometimes. But worrying or complaining about it isn't going to fix anything.
Is there any proof that I'm a bust? All there is proof of is that I have bad luck with injuries.
Don't get me wrong: if I was healthy, I would love to continue playing, but I'm not healthy.
All I know is what I've lived through, so this is what I know.
I've got to warm up to warm up and then play. I understand that now.
