I like criticism. It makes you strong.
LeBron James
You can't be afraid to fail. It's the only way you succeed - you're not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that.
You have to be able to accept failure to get better.
I always say, decisions I make, I live with them. There's always ways you can correct them or ways you can do them better. At the end of the day, I live with them.
I'm going to use all my tools, my God-given ability, and make the best life I can with it.
There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don't put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.
You know, God gave me a gift to do other things besides play the game of basketball.
But sports carried me away from being in a gang, or being associated with drugs. Sports was my way out.
Basketball is my passion, I love it. But my family and friends mean everything to me. That's what's important. I need my phone so I can keep in contact with them at all times.
My father wasn't around when I was a kid, and I used to always say, 'Why me? Why don't I have a father? Why isn't he around? Why did he leave my mother?' But as I got older I looked deeper and thought, 'I don't know what my father was going through, but if he was around all the time, would I be who I am today?'
I don't know how tall I am or how much I weigh. Because I don't want anybody to know my identity. I'm like a superhero. Call me Basketball Man.
I have short goals - to get better every day, to help my teammates every day - but my only ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. It's all that matters. I dream about it. I dream about it all the time, how it would look, how it would feel. It would be so amazing.
I think, team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed.
I am just happy to be part of the Nike family.
For me, already being part of a single parent household and knowing it was just me and my mom, you'd would wake up times and hope that the next day you'd be able to be alongside your mother because she was out trying to make sure that I was taken care of. But all I cared about was her being home.
In fourth grade, I missed 82 days of school. Out of 160.
But ever since I was a kid, I was always the winner.
Warren Buffet told me once and he said always follow your gut. When you have that gut feeling, you have to go with don't go back on it.
Well, I mean, to me, I think my ultimate - my ultimate goal is winning championships and - and I understand that me going down as one of the greats will not happen until I, you know, win a championship.
Every night on the court I give my all, and if I'm not giving 100 percent, I criticize myself.
I treated it like every day was my last day with a basketball.
You know, my family and friends have never been yes-men: 'Yes, you're doing the right thing, you're always right.' No, they tell me when I'm wrong, and that's why I've been able to stay who I am and stay humble.
I don't read books much.
My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me.
Where I grew up - I grew up on the north side of Akron, lived in the projects. So those scared and lonely nights - that's every night. You hear a lot of police sirens, you hear a lot of gunfire. Things that you don't want your kids to hear growing up.
I mean, when you grow up in the inner city and you grow up in a single-parent household, that's - those are humbling times, you know?
I was a Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan fan growing up.
Once you get on the playing field it's not about whether you're liked or not liked. All that matters is to play at a high level and do whatever it takes to help your team win. That's what it's about.
I hate letting my teammates down. I know I'm not going to make every shot. Sometimes I try to make the right play, and if it results in a loss, I feel awful. I don't feel awful because I have to answer questions about it. I feel awful in that locker room because I could have done something more to help my teammates win.
When you have that respect from your teammates, it makes it a lot more comfortable.
As a professional athlete a lot is going to be said about you - but I just try to move forward and try to achieve my goals.
I laugh and joke, but I don't get distracted very easily.
I love showcasing my talents - not only to my hometown fans and my own team but to the world.
You know, when I have a bad game, it continues to humble me and know that, you know, you still have work to do and you still have a lot of people to impress.
But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I'm upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.
Sometimes in the past when I played something might make me lose focus, or I would go home after a game where I thought I could have played better and I would let it hang over my head for a long time when it shouldn't.
I hear my friends and my mom tell me I'm special, but honestly, I still don't get it.
I make impact plays. I make game-changing plays.
Akron, Ohio, is my home. I will always be here. I'm still working out at my old high school.
I don't want to be called a point guard, but I can't stop it.
I played football for a team called the East Dragons on the east side of town. We only had six regular season games. And six games I played tail back and I had 18 touchdowns in six games. That's when I knew I had some athletic ability.
I went through a lot of battles in high school.
I'm just a little kid from Akron.
Cleveland fans are awesome.
Akron, Ohio, is my home. It will always be remembered. Akron, Ohio, is my life.
My game is really played above time. I don't say that like I'm saying I'm ahead of my time. I'm saying, like, if I'm on the court and I throw a pass, the ball that I've thrown will lead my teammate right where he needs to go, before he even knows that that's the right place to go to.
I do have motivation. A lot of motivation.
There are some teams and logos you see, no matter where you are in the world, and you know exactly who they are and what they mean.
I won at every level - all the way since I started playing the game of basketball at nine. I've won at every level, won championships at every level. And, you know, it won't be fulfilled until I win at the highest level.
Being the only man in the household with my mom definitely helped me grow up fast.
