Jabari Parker

“It was always a goal of mine to be in the NBA.”

“I want to always serve other people. It could be the youngest guy in the gym that looks up to me or the oldest fella. I just want to be there for them.”

“I just want to be a good person, to be a good man for my family, and to my community and just to keep on playing this game that I love.”

“I think what I wanted mostly to experience in college is playing college basketball and learning.”

“We carry home with us, all the good and the bad and the in-between.”

“Mostly in high school, when peer pressure took its big hold on me, that's when I started getting into my faith, and that helped me out so much.”

“I have big goals and dreams.”

“I look at myself as one of the silly, goofy kids that walks around the halls and has fun. I'm just like everybody else.”

“Sleep is so essential.”

“I know what it was like to grow up in Chicago and see the same problems every day.”

“I'm lucky to have the support and the platform I have, and I plan on making the most of it.”

“I want to be just like Michael Jordan. Chicago greats get noticed around the city. People have a lot of respect for them. I look up to those guys a lot. I want to be part of that family.”

“I try to fulfill my role and my responsibility as much as I can.”

“You don't need a ton of moves to get to where you want to be. You don't have to expend energy in a wasteful way. That doesn't mean not playing hard. It means playing smart.”

“Basketball is not who I am; it's what I do.”

“I have dreams after basketball.”

“I know nobody likes practice, nobody enjoys it, but you have to build some type of excitement and expectation and learn something.”

“I love sleep. I find sleep to be a hobby.”

“Old cars have things to say. With an old car, you have to be extra observant about everything. You have to listen and pay attention - to how the engine sounds, where the oil levels are at, if it's running hot, all of that. You've gotta be tuned in, and I like that. New cars, to me they just feel like plain sheets of metal.”

“Everyone thinks I'm so different, but it's a good different. My faith keeps me grounded.”