I don't want him to hurt himself. I don't want him to choke on something. You're just so concerned for them, and it hurts you. It's so alarming, man. I feel it for the people around me, but it's deeper for my son. Only a parent would understand.
With Biggie, I thought his flow and his swag was better than Tupac's, but I thought Tupac's passion and ability to relate to the average person was better than Biggie, and I thought Nas was kind of like both, with a lot substance going but a lot of swag.
I always enjoy when CJ gets rolling because it's not just the fact that he's doing it for our team; it's the way it looks. Smooth. Crossovers. Crafty. Tough shots.
I know, personally, people said a lot about what kind of defender I was. So I wanted to get better at it.
I love music. In a lot of my downtime, I spend time listening to other people's music or other people's rhymes and writing my own.
I want to have hit records, but I'm not searching to say, 'All right, I need this to be in the club. I need this, that.' I'm just making quality music.
For me it's just amazing that I grew up watching Tim Duncan and KG and Kobe and Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson and all those guys and now it's like, 'Man, I can't believe they actually got old.' It's like they actually walked away. It's crazy to think about, but the game has to keep moving.
When I get done playing basketball, I'm definitely not going to be a rapper. I'm not going to be an old person who is focused on being a rapper.
I feel like when it comes to rap - like, real rap music - and knowing the pioneers of rap, I feel like there's no competition for me in the NBA. Other guys can rap, but they're not as invested or as deep into actual music as I am and always have been. I think that might be what the difference is. I'm more wanting to be an artist.
I'm loyal to Portland. I want to play my whole career here, but at any moment, they can decide we want somebody else.
Most parents are able to be with their kid every day. Every day of their life, their parents have an opportunity to be with them, and we don't have that luxury as professional athletes. That's the hardest thing.
Pressure is the single mom who is trying to scuffle and pay her rent. We get paid a lot of money to play a game. Don't get me wrong: there are challenges. But to call it pressure is almost an insult to regular people.
Some shots, for me, are a good shot even if it's forced. The way it might look to a person watching, they might look at it like, 'That's a tough shot.' But for me, it's not a tough decision. I'm committed to those shots, and I spend time working on them.
