Brittney Griner

“I love the freedom that comes with being an adult. No one's telling you what to do, nothing's planned out. You know what you have to do, you can get to practice two hours before or walk in at the last second.”

“I'm just being myself, honestly. I know society puts it, Oh, this is masculine and this is feminine. I don't put myself in categories.”

“Defenders tend to leave me open on the elbow and when I step out, so it was only the smart thing to do to start to knock down the shots so they can't leave me open up there.”

“We're given this platform and this voice and this audience. We can either use it for ourselves or we can use it to bring awareness to issues that are going on in the world. I'm definitely on the side of using that microphone for good because you can touch so many people.”

“You always have those people who are very opinionated - and I thank them soooo much for their opinions.”

“Domestic violence is never okay no matter what the situation is.”

“When I'm not playing basketball I could be doing a lot of things. Honestly, I could sit on the couch, kick my feet up, play some video games - some 'Modern Warfare.'”

“When I'm on the court, I'm not thinking of anything. I'm just playing and free.”

“When I was young, I never dreamed about winning a national championship. I didn't even play basketball. But I was tall. And long. And had large hands. I was made for the game. It found me later in life, compared to most collegiate athletes.”

“When I go into a sports bar, some of the people I wouldn't think would watch women's basketball are there watching.”

“When I was a rookie, I had to shag balls out of the stands. It was my rookie duty.”

“I always say I don't want to change the game - just add to it.”

“Defense is my favorite part of the game and what I want to be known for.”

“I'm a competitor, you know. I don't want to play just to play; I want to play to win, and I wanted to win it all.”

“I got called a boy all the time. Going into the bathroom, I still get the shocked look, like, 'Are you supposed to be in here?' But I'm so used to it now, I'm just like, 'I'm a girl, I'm in the right bathroom.'”

“I have seen some horrible stuff said about me.”

“If I'm blocking shots or changing shots or even preventing players from taking shots, I'm helping the team and we are likely to win when our defense is playing well.”

“I want to go as hard as I can, and if I look like a guy out there playing ball, well, hey, I feel sorry for the opponent.”

“My teammate in college, Melissa Jones, lost her sight in one eye. Hers wasn't a hit to the eye; she fell and hit her head on the court, and then someone fell on her.”

“I think that's what makes life beautiful: everyone is different and we can all learn from one another.”