When I went to Philadelphia I was 26 years old and really sitting on top of the world. Family life, a professional career, plenty of friends and associates, and a good reputation, a wish list that could be the envy of many.

I grabbed 19 rebounds in my first professional game, and somehow found a way to score 20 points. I felt real good about it. I felt that this was the beginning of something good.

I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence.

But you know, if you live an affluent lifestyle, there are all types of trappings that are there that you have to be cognizant of, and you've got to try and communicate freely and gain understanding about and then keep moving on, because you know, sometimes lifestyles are chosen for us as opposed to us choosing them.

Throughout my journey in basketball, I always have someone to talk to in my father. I know how hard he had to work as an athlete.

Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you be like Messi? No, that's impossible. Can you be like Ronaldo? Yes, to a certain extent.

I started doing sports when I was 13 and competitively doing sports - where I was actually training - when I was 17.

You get into sports with the idea that you want to win. If you aren't trying to win, what's the point in being involved? Once you do get involved, you realize the team draws so much from the community, and it would be nothing without the support of it. You've got to give back. It needs to be a two-way street.