What kid who was playing basketball didn't have the dream about going to the NBA? It's the biggest and final step.
My dream is to get to the NBA, obviously. But it will be when the time is right.
I remember as a young player I had this dream of playing in the NBA.
When I was a little kid, I looked at my mom, stepdad and said, 'I want to be an NBA player,' just because I love to play the game of basketball like 24/7.
I want to play in the NBA. I'm dead serious.
My goal was like to play in the NBA. I didn't want to leave my country, my people, my friends - even my school.
I have friends growing up in Egypt. I have friends in England. And they just can't believe that what I used to say, it used to be almost like a joke. I used to say I'll be in the NBA one day.
When I was growing up, I never thought I would play in the NBA.
It was my dream for a long time to play in the NBA. When I was drafted, it was a challenge for me. I decided to go and see where I was compared to the best players in the world.
I think the only thing to consider is do you want to try to coach in the NBA and for me it never was an issue. I never really had that desire.
That's my main thing: I want to be on the level those guys [Derrick Rose,Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant] are on.
I always wanted to be in the NBA, but I never really thought about being the No. 1 pick until high school. So once it happened, it's like a dream come true and more.
I'm a black kid from the ghetto of Coney Island, Brooklyn, who only ever dreamed of playing in the NBA. So to have that dream come true but then go on this second journey in China... it's so far beyond anything that kid could have imagined.
I've always wanted grandpa to be proud of me, and I want him to see me play in the NBA.
Being from Flint, especially in the basketball community, is a big deal. Basketball in Flint, you're pretty much like a god there if you play college basketball or are lucky enough to make it to the NBA.
Everybody wants to be in the NBA. That's the whole goal. I'm no different than that.
When I was eighteen and I won the European Championship - that's when I realized I had an opportunity to play in the NBA one day.
I played baseball too, and flag football, but basketball was the easiest for me. Then when I was 12, my dad asked me what I wanted to do, and I said 'Be an NBA player.' Since then, he started training me.
I want to become the first European floor leader to succeed in the NBA. I want to be the standard-bearer and prove we can succeed here.
Well, like every kid playing basketball, I dreamed of being an NBA player.
Growing up, you want to make it to the NBA. That's everyone's goal.
I wanted to go the NBA and win a championship because I've never seen a grown man cry the way Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan cried when they won a championship.
I wanted to play in New York when I was in my prime and I was young, fierce, lock-down [defender]. Madison Square Garden, that would have been sick. But right now, China is way more adventurous for me.
