I want you to think about your grandfather's integrity and grit when you're staring at the ceiling of your barracks room, but I also want you to think a little deeper.
A lot of these teams really forget that part of success comes with having veteran leadership. You see a lot of teams forget that and start letting go of these old veterans. They don't realize how important it is to have a veteran voice in your locker room or on the bench. It's important to have guys who have been there before.
Largely in the beginning, I did a lot of extra work because I was lighter than all the other guys. I was at a massive disadvantage, so I had to put on weight. I started with eating. I had to really focus on my diet.
Just being raised in a home where my mother, from as early as I can remember, always taught me to be thinking about other people first, basically that our service was going to be the measure of our success.
I see these college kids taking these crazy shots, and it's like, taking that shot is going to leave you without a job. You're not Steph Curry.
That's what university life is all about. Challenging, questioning, enjoying good people and good friends, and pushing yourself to the limit.
Your grandfather is and will always be your hero, your inspiration. He fought in World War II, came home to Little Rock, Arkansas, and worked for 50 years as a mailman in the segregated south. Not once did he get a job promotion in five decades. But he kept working all the same.
You need to learn a practical lesson. Grit alone is not going to save you from sinking.
In the NBA, you're taking a bunch of different talents, and you're managing them. You have to give them a system; you have to give them a belief. That's why coaches like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich are so great: because they gave the team confidence in the system and in their ability to execute night in and night out.
Coming in, I had no idea basketball would be a career for me, but I grew 7 inches in college and was fortunate to have a great career in the NBA. The experience taught me about service, what our great country was built on, the sacrifices people have made, how to work together and trust the people around you to accomplish a great goal.
Most proud moment: Winning the championship in 2003 with a great team, retiring, and going out in the perfect way. Had a great journey and knowing it was the right time to focus more on family and community activities.
I think everything works in cycles. I was fortunate enough to come along in the golden age for big men. There were guys like Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing.
Obviously, I'm not working out the way I was when I was playing. I do yoga. I swim a lot. I'm drinking a lot of good, healthy mixes. I got myself a Vitamix.
I have the unique distinction of being on the only Olympic team to lose without controversy, and the only Pan Am Games team to lose without controversy.
Yes, I played in '92 with the original Dream Team, and then again in '96 with what they labeled 'Dream Team III.'
Michael, to me, he was an assassin. He was one of those guys that prepared himself extremely well and was relentless in his attacking. And there are a few guys who have that mentality. I think Kobe Bryant has that type of mentality, and LeBron has that type of mentality.
USNA had a great engineering school, which was one of my interests, and I knew I would benefit from the great discipline and accountability that Navy provides.
Marc Gasol, he's more of a true center. There are guys who play that traditional center role, but the game is also played differently now.
We went through a nice stretch of big guys. But soon, everyone is going to realize that there's only one Steph Curry.
I played for a long time, and there's not many guys I would say, 'O.K., take any shot you want.'
