Quotes from DeAndre Jordan

We're never satisfied with where we are as players.

Everybody's schedule is crazy in the NBA, so that can't be an excuse.

I think there are always growing pains with teams.

Growing up, I was a parks and recs kid.

To be the first person to do anything, you're a legend.

As long as I'm respected by my peers and coaches, I'm cool.

When you're respected by your peers, that's amazing.

I think what's bad is that there aren't centers in the All-Star voting anymore.

I have to be a breakfast person. Because of how much and how hard we work out.

In any situation in order to excel and reach the pinnacle with a group of people, there have to be sacrifices.

I was born in a neighborhood called the Third Ward.

I mean, I've definitely found my thing, what I'm good at. Certain things that guys do keep them in the NBA a long time, but I've found what I'm good at, and I'm only going to continue to get better at that.

Everybody's goal in the NBA is to win a Championship - that's the ultimate.

The playoffs are tough. It's a different game.

When you're younger, everyone wants to be a point guard. Everyone wants to shoot fadeaway jump shots all day. Nobody wants to be a big man. Nobody wants to go stand on the block and just set picks.

Everybody wants to play late, everybody wants to be clutch.

The more and more you touch the ball in the post and get game reps, you just get comfortable and confident and I think that's a big part of the game.

I want to have a chance to contend.

Championship caliber teams don't lose two in a row and they damn sure don't lose three in a row.

People can talk about how much they care about you, but the small things like this, people taking time out of their day to come and support, it's amazing.

I was about 6-foot-3 my freshman year of high school, and after the summer, I was about 6-foot-8. It all happened so fast. I went into the summer being tall, and when I came back, I was a giant. My knees, man, they were throbbing all the time. I couldn't sit in the car for long stretches; my knees felt like they were going to explode.

Dirk was obviously a player that I looked up to. In high school I actually wore No. 41 in honor of Dirk. He was the first player where I was like this guy is seven-feet tall and shooting jump shots and shooting threes, this is what I want to be like.

Every decade the game changes and evolves, but by no means do I think the center position is dead, because there's still a lot of great centers.

Defense all starts with the ball and the rim-protector is the last resort, the last line of defense. I take pride in that.