If you're not getting better, you're getting worse.
Draymond Green
I know what hard times are like. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I've had struggles.
I refuse to be outworked, and I consider myself to have the heart of a lion.
I wouldn't necessarily say I'm arrogant. I'm just confident.
No matter what, no matter how I feel, always bring effort.
The more time you spend with somebody, the more your relationship grows.
Think about the deflections. The offense can't score every play. They're just trying to get a good shot. If I can deflect a pass, even if it doesn't cause a turnover, it will throw their timing off half-a-second. That half-a-second might mess up their shot.
Wherever you go in Michigan, you find that toughness. I don't know if it's the weather or the hard times. It's like, if I can make it out of here, I had to be super tough.
When I came out in the draft, people kept asking me, 'So are you a small forward or a power forward?' and I was like, 'I'm a basketball player.' Period.
My whole life, I've guarded guys bigger than me.
Michigan State means so much to my life and me.
Become a good all-around human being.
If you've got to second-guess talking to a teammate, what you have will never work.
In the NBA, there's always a guy who is only around because he can jump. He doesn't have a clue about the fundamentals. I learn more from the WNBA. They know how to dribble, how to pivot, how to use the shot fake.
At the end of the day, I continue to think I can get better, and that's always my focus.
I'm not going to worry about proving people wrong. My goal isn't to prove people wrong. You can't worry about what other people say.
You couldn't play if you weren't tough. You'd get bullied. Everybody who comes through the Civitan Recreation Center has to be tough. It's what we breed.
I have a great smile. A lot of people don't know that.
I may not be the most athletic, but I understand the game.
You've just got to earn my respect.
It's the way of life in Saginaw. If you're not tough, you don't survive.
I think when you look around this league, so much is scripted. And not scripted in a sense that the league is scripted, but when guys talk, it's like, 'Say this. Yeah, come out and say that.' Like, nah, I'm not doing that. I'm going to say what's on my mind. I'm going to say what's on my heart. It's just genuine speaking.
Every decision I make is, 'How is this helping me become a billionaire?'
I've gotten to the point where I'm comfortable guarding any position on the floor. It just didn't happen overnight. It came with a lot of work, a lot of film study and everything.
There's still nothing like a home-cooked meal. Absolutely not.
I had a great time at Michigan State, but no four years will compare to Saginaw High.
A guy that's going to do all of the dirty work, that guy that is willing to defend anyone and do the little things and not really care about all of that other stuff. I think every championship team needs that.
Everyone wonders why I talk junk, but I was doomed from the beginning.
I can throw all the good passes I want, but if they don't make shots, it's not an assist.
My fire is my gift and my curse. I harness it 95% of the time, but the 5% I don't, it works against me.
I've never been a guy who has said 'OK' about stuff. That's not me. That's not my personality. If I think something's wrong, I express that.
The goal is to win a championship. Every team enters the season with the goal to win the championship, but realistically, there are five or six teams with a realistic shot at winning a championship.
There is no chip coming off of my shoulder because, at the end of the day, you're still going to continue to be doubted.
Every time you make a jump, whether it's from high school to college or college to the NBA, you're going to hear questions about your athletic ability.
I've been pretty broke my entire life. I'm not going to live that same life, but I'm going to keep those same principles.
I'm a huge fan of basketball. Any time you get a chance to watch basketball, I do it.
I think Coach Kerr and his staff have done a great job with what they bring to the table.
I'm trying to make the Hall of Fame.
Be remembered for the right things.
That's one of my strengths, that I can adjust, and I can play with anyone.
You don't contest shots without expending energy. You don't get deflections - unless you walk into one every now and then - without expending energy. These are the things in basketball you have to really want to do.
So many times, I watch games and think, 'Man, why is that guy trying to score like that? He can't do it.' But he's been told his whole life, 'You have to go get 40 if you want to be one of the top dogs.' It's my goal to build a lane where you can be a top dog, and you don't gotta go get that 40. You can go get four and still be a top dog.
My uncle, my dad always made sure I had guard skills. But as far as defending everybody, that wasn't really my mindset until my rookie year.
I was a great help-side defender in college, but as far as really wanting to lock somebody up, that was never really my focus.
Are you going to back down to somebody? If not, you're giving yourself a chance.
I was always taught, even as a kid, playing against grown men, you get better.
I know when I need to be pushing it full speed; I know when I got to probe and allow the flow to open up, because, at the end of the day, on the basketball court, something's going to open up.
Just because it's a break doesn't mean it has to be fast all the time. It can be a secondary break, but you've got to allow the defense to break down.
When you play against people that's better than you, you get better.
I'm blessed, and... all the time, I sit and think, 'Wow.'
