DeAndre Jordan Quotes

I had the Kobe jersey. I would do the Kobe walk. I would walk around the house doing the Kobe stare-down face. Anything you can name, I was idolizing him, trying to be like him.

All I used to want to do was shoot fadeaways like Kobe because he was my favorite player.

Oh, I think, watching Magic, him being one of my... I'm one of his biggest fans, and just trying to emulate what he did, going out on the playground, and also playing with older guys.

You walk into the playgrounds in Shanghai and Beijing, and you see youngsters who are shorter, shaking and baking and having attitude. And Jeremy Lin is going to inspire all of them.

Dirk Nowitzki has been my hero for many years.

In my era, where I'm from, I only had Donald Whiteside. He's from Englewood and he's the only one that came out of Englewood. Other than him, I really didn't have anyone else to look up to that was from my area. So in seeing him, I never gave up hope, just kept playing and then I realized that I might have a future in basketball.

First time we played together was when I was in seventh grade, he was in eighth. There was a lot of buzz in the city about Jabari Parker, rightfully so. He's obviously a major player. I was just blessed to have him one year ahead of me, so everything I did, he already finished. I've been really blessed to have him by my side.

I was a big fan of Shaq when I was little, but I don't think I'm going to play too much like him, though.

When I grew up I was a huge Michael Jordan fan. That's not very unusual for people to like him, but I just liked reading his books, especially where he came from, getting cut from his high school team. I thought he was a good person, a good role model to look up to.

I grew up - obviously I'm from Philly, where Kobe is from, so we grew up idolizing Kobe. He meant everything to us.

Oh, yeah - I could see myself as a catch and shooter, come off curls and shooting. I really feel good about shooting the ball.

I had this DVD that my coach in Cameroon had mailed to me when I first came to America. It was an hour-long tape of Hakeem Olajuwon and some other legendary big men. I probably watched that DVD every single day for three years.

In high school and stuff I would watch Kobe clips.

LeBron James has always been the biggest one - I just love to watch him. I'm a big fan, and he's a big inspiration of mine.

The greatest set shooter ever? Larry Joe Bird. Period. The best coming off screen? Reginald Miller. And the best off the dribble? Steph Curry.

I always watched Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, and I said I could be playing on the court with them.

Around sixth or seventh grade, I fell in love with Tim Duncan and his all-around game. That's when I started watching him. Then my father introduced me to Hakeem Olajuwon. Those were the two guys I modeled my game after.

NBA's spacing's really helped. Teams gotta really respect my jumper.

Every since I started playing basketball, I wanted to be just like Kobe. To get to see him play in person, and to meet him, was just a dream come true.

I want to be one of those point guards who knock down shots you have to get over the top.

Like most kids, I grew up idolizing Michael Jordan and continue to work relentlessly to reach his iconic status on the court.

I hope my son becomes the next Steph Curry.

When I was a kid, if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was easy - the next Lisa Leslie.

Everybody says Jalen Rose is somebody I have to watch, even though he's a little older than me. It started back in high school. Everybody called me 'Little Jalen.'

I told Grant Hill back there – I just got done playing against him – as a second grader I had a Pistons Grant Hill jersey. That was the first time I walked into a gym. That’s when I fell in love with the game. My mom, I think she just wanted to get me and my brothers out of the house for a few hours. When I walked into the gym, I fell in love with the game.