I want to have a bank account that represents me being a pro athlete.
Everyone needs to move - if you're a pro athlete, a contortionist, a computer programmer, or just somebody who wants to play with their kids.
I quit high school to be a pro skateboarder out of Ohio, which is just asinine, but it was meant to be.
I wanted to be a pro athlete. I knew that.
I always wanted to be a pro athlete. When I was younger I wanted to be the first person to be a pro at three different sports, but then realized how impossible that is. At 15 I stopped playing other sports and focused on tennis.
You stay sharp. You go back into the gym. You work, put that work in, get that conditioning up, you lift. You pretty much know as a pro athlete what you need to do to get yourself back. But none of that, for me, means as much as playing.
I don't care what anybody says: a pro athlete is going to be a role model. I tried to use that as a positive influence, to let kids know we are regular people.
I had little or no expectations coming in. I was thrilled when I was drafted in the first round because that meant I was going to be given a full year's chance to make the team.
I think sometimes you just need to play in this league. As a rookie coming out of college, you don't understand the real significance of being a pro unless you're playing other pros. It doesn't help you to play sporadically here or there.
I turned pro as a 20-year-old, won a world title a year later, and remained a world champion ever since.
Being a pro athlete doesn't mean you treat your body right, even though it's so important to what you do. Being a runner and training for important races has taught me more about how to fuel than swimming ever did. I realize it's a process and part of the commitment.
I would say, at least once a week, I get approached by a pro athlete or a celebrity or someone who wants some work done.
I never met him. But just growing up where Deacon Jones did, he motivated me to be great, showing the NFL was possible.
I moved to Spain, and at all the tournaments I'd play, I would be really good in my age. That made me realize that I could be a pro.
I have been a Bruin since the start of my pro career and there is no place I would rather play.
You want to play as long as you can. The old, unwritten rule: If you make it to the NBA, you play as long as you can - and you play one more year.
After I got to the NBA, I had one goal: stay in the league for a while.
People thought I was cocky because I didn't talk much. When I first turned pro, reporters asked me who was going to win. I'd say, 'I am' because it was the easier than giving some long, drawn-out answer.
I've been a sports fan all my life, and like most other actors, I'm convinced I could have been a pro athlete if Hollywood hadn't come calling.
There's so much that goes into being a pro athlete that people have no idea about.
I think there's nothing sadder than a pro athlete who plays past his prime.
In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.
Obviously, signing on with Puma right when I turned pro, it's been a great fit for me to show off my colorful lifestyle as far as where I grew up and how I grew up, growing up on a public driving range and growing up around action sports my whole life. Not exactly the normal road that guys take to get to the PGA Tour.
At one point that's all I cared about, being a pro athlete. But I realized I wasn't athletic enough.
Every player dreams of a big league.
