C. J. McCollum

“Lowry is a pitbull. He's a gritty player who scores in a variety of ways, but he's also one of the few guards who also does the things that go unnoticed on the stat sheet.”

“Preparation is everything. You don't like being interviewed by someone who hasn't done their research.”

“Sometimes recruiters and scouts are missing on players. Going after the guys who are really hyped, five-star players and guys that are playing in grassroots and are seen all the time. Then there are the players that developed internally. They go to small schools and they continue to work on their games and they blow up later.”

“You gotta really enjoy off days.”

“When you're watching from the bench, you can pick up on everything - where guys like to shoot the ball from, how teams defend the pick-and-roll, which big men are good at hedging the screen and so on.”

“Growing up in the inner city, you might not see a lot of different career paths and different jobs.”

“I've been playing basketball since I was five.”

“A lot of people have compared being an NBA rookie to being a fraternity pledge. It's not really intense like that. It's more like being an intern.”

“When I started playing professionally, it made me realize that I had a voice in the league, one that gave me the chance to share a different side of our day-to-day life and the things that were happening on and off the court.”

“Draymond Green is one of the best in the league at grabbing a defensive rebound and starting the break.”

“When I think about defending Kyrie, I think about respect. His shooting percentages were close to 50/40/90 as a 19-year-old rookie. When you come into this league with numbers like that, defenders have to respect your jumper.”

“Over the course of my life, there have been so many people who have invested in me and provided me with opportunities to grow.”

“For me personally, I like a smooth pinot noir with a lot of cherry fruit flavor. In the proper mood, I like a little earth and a little spice as well.”

“I spend a lot of time in the gym working on moves, working on difficult shots, figuring out ways to create space, becoming a tough-shot taker and a tough shot maker, especially down the stretch.”

“You have to learn how to win in this league. It's a process.”

“I have a responsibility and a job as a guy who gets paid a lot of money, I'm expected to perform. And 82 games in 6-7 months is a lot, and it's hard on the body, and you're not gonna play perfect every night. Even Ray Allen misses shots, even LeBron misses dunks.”

“Growing up I was a Cleveland Browns fan and my mood would change based on how they were playing. If they were losing I wasn't as happy, I wasn't as excited, I was a little sad.”

“I got hurt my senior year of college. I ended up breaking my fifth metatarsal after I pulled out of the Draft. That was a good experience for me to kind of find myself, figure out a plan for post-basketball because obviously it doesn't last forever.”

“One thing I love about guards in this league is that you can be a 5-foot-9 pit bull or a methodical 6-foot-7 jump-shooter, and still succeed in your own way.”

“Growing up in the inner city, a lot of kids didn't think reading was cool. I'm trying to show them that it is cool and the importance of growing and learning outside of their everyday lives, which is a lot of times sports.”