“Guys is supposed to be able to be original and dress like how they want to dress. The NBA can’t dress no grown man.”

I made a lot of mistakes. And obviously, it cost me.

I just want kids all over the world to know you have to practice to be any good in this game; it’s too hard.

That’s the only thing that got me here is my teammates. My teammates and my coach. That’s the only reason I’m here.

Detroit was a bad situation for me.

I didn’t do this by myself, man. It was so many people, so many fans that came in there and cheered for me, night in and night out.

You hit road blocks in life, but I’m living proof that you can overcome those road blocks and become what you want to become.

I’m not going to be the same as I was when I’ve made so many bad mistakes.

I had to learn that some people are just not going to like you. I had to have thick skin when I would see what people would say or write about me.

I owe all of this to the guys I’ve played with and all the coaches that have helped me get to where I’m at right now. I’m honored to be here.

I went from the projects to a real house. It was a big difference.

You used to think the suspect was the guy with the cornrows; now you see the police officers with the cornrows.

Coach’s voice will never leave my head as long as I live.

I wasn’t afraid to be who I am. I didn’t think anything was wrong with it.

If you’re from Virginia, then you know some white people from Poquoson don’t like black people.

LeBron ain’t got none of my game, but his heart is all mine.

This is the thing you dream about when you’re a kid, even before getting into the league.

My style has changed and evolved mainly because I’ve grown to have more confidence in myself.

The world now seems a stunningly ignoble place. It has not really grown all that much worse but appears to have done so because we know so much more about it than we did.

The mob spirit has grown with the increasing intelligence of the Afro-American.

We have lots of roadside stands in Norfolk where you can just pick up vegetables that people have grown in their garden and put the money in a pot.

The first grown-up book that I read on my own was a nineteenth-century edition of ‘Tales from Livy’ that I’d found in my grandfather’s library.

When I see old movies with women in floor-length dressing gowns, or when they’re going to the store and they’ve got a pillbox hat with a net over the eyes and white gloves,

Growing up in America is like being taught to be stupid.

I’ve grown up a lot, I’m on my own, and I’ve learned some valuable life lessons.