LaMarcus Aldridge

“I knew I wasn't soft. I knew I could play on this level and I knew that being in the paint was just a physical position that I wasn't strong enough for. I wanted to get myself strong enough where I could be dominant down there.”

“My biggest thing I've learned is just putting time into getting ready. When we're young, you just go on the court and just hoop. But I think as you get older, it's more about, making sure everything is firing and making sure everything is ready to go and warmed up.”

“You have to do your job and put your best foot forward and focus on what you have to do to win.”

“Since I've gotten stronger, I can hold a guy off and get a rebound.”

“When I was born, the umbilical cord came wrapped around my neck, so when I came out, I wasn't breathing.”

“I like my little shell. I like my little circle of three or four people that I'm close to. I think that comes off as bad to people that don't really know my personality.”

“I don't like change.”

“Man, I'm pretty spoiled in San Antonio. I don't do media every day.”

“The Spurs really are a family.”

“If you believe in God, you shouldn't worry. I know I'm one of His children and that He will stand by me.”

“I grew up in low-income areas and I've seen people take negative energy and just accept it. They give into and end up living a pretty rough life. At a young age, I just knew I wasn't going to give in because I didn't want to end up being one of those people in the neighborhood that didn't have anything and lived a hard life.”

“I feel like, I go out and play hard every day and I'm going to practice every day, I'm going to block shots.”

“The key to win is playing defense.”

“I think I play well getting up and down the court.”

“I'm a private person; I'm pretty to myself.”

“I'm actually a better passer out of the post than I am in pick-and-rolls.”

“I think working so hard in Portland to earn the right to have it be my team and to have my own team over the years and try to play at a high level, that was hard-earned.”

“I love Portland and I have so much history there and I knew it like the back of my hand, so the decision to leave was never easy.”

“I came from poverty and a tough household where we didn't have enough money to really eat, to where I am now. I know it was God giving me the guidance.”

“I don't forget nothing. It's a vault up here.”