Quinn Cook

The best players in the world are working so hard, I gotta work even harder.

I've always been a point guard, so being a coach on the floor, I've had to connect with every one of my teammates and find ways to motivate them, find ways to build them up.

For sure, I think that's the mission in all life, whether it's basketball, being a doctor, building a company. I think we take social justice and the lessons we're learning now, that everybody is learning.

Basketball is therapeutic for a lot of us. We all love, live and breathe basketball.

Yes, this is our job, but when we're having rough days and when we're going through tough times, we can all come to the gym and come to the locker room and let everything out.

Five guys on my high school team made the NBA.

I'm a gym rat, I'm a workaholic.

I wanted to win every day, I wanted to show them every day that I was an NBA player - from shooting the ball in practice, to being there early or forming relationships - everything in my power I tried to do.

My first 10-day contract in Dallas. It was long because we had five games in 10 days. Players get called up on a 10-day and their team might only have a schedule of three games. So I got to play in five games and I was fortunate for that.

I was fortunate to be in a great situation in Canton, be the leader of the team my rookie year. I got to show a lot of people that I was an NBA player on a nightly basis.

I want to relate with everybody. All I'll say is I'm home every summer, if we really want to play.

I mean, obviously when you've a lot of time on your hands, you get together and you're always always debating that team vs. that team, that player vs. that player, all these hypothetical matchups.

I'm a guy who comes home: I'll play outside, go to this gym, that gym, see all these guys.

I knew I was an NBA player and that I just needed the right opportunity in the right situation.

I'm always living in the moment.

Every phase of my life always hasn't been perfect for me. I've had to go through some adversity.

I'm in the NBA and I won a championship. I had some great things happen, but I'm not satisfied.

I try to keep my shoes as clean as possible and make them complement the fit.

I try to keep my routine as consistent as possible. I try to lift every single day. It's not powerlifting. It's not lifting to become the strongest man in the world. It's lifting just to stay in shape. Stay lean. Stay injury free.

I don't want to dress very loud. My style is straight to the point. Being comfortable is really the biggest thing, and a classic look is comfortable for me.

I believed in, I don't want to call it miracles, but God has a way of making things work out.

Wherever I go, I know my dad is guiding my path.

You get on an elevator with someone, you say hi to them, you speak to them. You give respect. That's just how I've always been.

I'm trying to be in the best shape of my life. I'm getting stronger and more athletic to help rebound and to guard bigger opponents.

At Duke, I wasn't able to score like I did in high school, just because we had so many great players, and I had to accept a role, which I was fine with, but it gave people another look at my game.