“Beautiful fans of Oklahoma City, I can’t say enough about you guys. All the support you give our team. The home-court advantage we have is the best I’ve ever seen. We disappoint you sometimes, but we try our best every single night to win for you guys. And we want to win a championship for you guys.”

I Tweeted Keri Hilson the other day and she actually wrote back! I was so excited.

The majority of the time, you go out to eat with your teammates, then rest for the next day’s game. It’s not a vacation – most guys view the road as a business trip.

My mother taught me to always be strong and always work hard. She’s been working hard her whole life for me and my brother. I’m a lot like her in that I work hard for what I want. She taught me that.

Everything has been such a whirlwind ever since I stepped foot in the league and everything has been like a dream, so I’m just blessed to be in this position.

Everybody. No matter how they feel about me, everybody on Oklahoma City, on that team, of course I watch them. I support them. I want them to do well.

I want them to get a pulse on us as players, and a lot of players might not want that, but that’s what I want.

I failed so many times and got back up. I got through the toughest times with my family, but I’m still standing.

I’ve been second my whole life.

And last, my mom. I don’t think you know what you did. You had my brother when you were 18 years old. Three years later, I came out. The odds were stacked against us. Single parent with two boys by the time you were 21 years old. Everybody told us we weren’t supposed to be here.

I want to show people who I really am, especially aspiring basketball players who want to be at this level. That’s what I’m about.

Music has always been a big part of my life. It’s kind of like a refuge for me. I just use it to get away.

I look at my jersey and see the NBA logo, I’m like, ‘I didn’t think I’d be here.’

I’ll play all five positions if my team needs me to.

Work harder than your opponent.

I just loved being in the gym. It was tough at times. Sometimes I wanted to quit, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

I’ve been more content with just who I am.

Be nice to everyone and all that.

Normally, you have all this knowledge from all the films that you’ve done that you’ve accumulated over the years

All of it has an effect.

I love Obama. He’s my favorite president of all time. I have a giant picture in my apartment in New York that is of his Chicago Tribune cover, Mr. President.

A certain traveler who knew many continents was asked what he found most remarkable of all.

You aren’t really writing about what you did; you’re writing about how you feel.

Kids play make-believe all the time

Realizing that everyone (consciously or subconsciously) feels alone too – but no matter what, we’re actually ALL together – is what has helped evolve my way of thinking about it.