00:00 When you get hurt, you realize how much you need these certain body parts and the hip
00:04 was definitely a big one.
00:06 It hurt a good amount.
00:07 A couple picks later, you know, I'm getting picked and living the dream right now.
00:13 You are going to Miami for my friend and you're going to go down there and you're going to
00:16 play with Dwayne Wade.
00:17 What can fans expect to see?
00:25 Injuries man, they present a roadblock that you weren't even prepared for.
00:29 It's heavens out the blue.
00:31 That dream I had as a kid inside me to be the best and to win championships.
00:35 I just keep that fire with me even when things aren't going great.
00:39 Just keeping that confidence and that big picture.
00:44 Learning to deal with things that are out of your control.
00:46 We all try to be the best.
00:49 You got to have the right outlets and the right team and people around you to help you
00:53 deal with that or you can kind of just shrivel down to a point that's not supposed to be
00:59 you.
01:00 Growing up in a house full of athletes, my siblings played, my dad played professionally.
01:09 Just growing up in that environment, I kind of just gravitated towards that style of competition.
01:14 Growing up in Texas, you know, I was super like football first, football was my first
01:17 love, but eventually I was still so skinny and I got ran over once.
01:22 So that was it for me in football.
01:26 We were a very, very competitive family.
01:29 It could be taking the trash out, like who's going to take the trash out the fastest, who's
01:32 going to dust the room the fastest.
01:34 We were extremely, extremely competitive.
01:37 We were always, I feel like, either playing one on one or something or on the same team.
01:42 I guess our best moment, my brother and I was the state championship and hitting the
01:47 buzzer beater.
01:48 Other than that, I feel like he probably picked on me a lot, made me tough.
01:53 But yeah, just brotherly love.
01:54 We had a few cousins or older siblings.
02:00 He was the baby that we always beat on Justice, but it's just funny how all things turned
02:05 out, right?
02:06 Like we went from beating up on him to like, maybe he was in eighth grade, ninth grade
02:09 to like, yo, you can't play outside.
02:11 Like you got way bigger dreams than running the court today on this cement.
02:16 So it was interesting to be a part of that whole process.
02:18 He said it right every game during the tournament, Justice, big shot, ways home.
02:24 For sure, right when I saw here.
02:27 Tough shot.
02:28 He said it every single game, the big shot.
02:32 Duke just seemed to fit me just overall as a person.
02:36 Coach K has been, you know, grooming young men and ballplayers for forever.
02:40 So just the track record, you know, they kind of had it, had it figured out.
02:44 I think Coach K's ability just to adapt, you know, year to year, error to error, whether
02:48 it's, you know, recruiting four-year guys or one and dones.
02:53 We were raised not to complain, right?
02:54 I think Justice was raised not to complain about being the youngest.
02:57 I think I was raised not to complain about that I wasn't 6'5" like everyone, right?
03:02 We were so focused on all of us achieving our dreams that we've sometimes forgot to
03:08 just sit still and sit in our emotions.
03:12 And sometimes those emotions weren't good and it was okay for them not to be good, if
03:16 that makes sense.
03:18 You mentioned to the Miami Herald you went through these dark times.
03:22 What was your hardest moment in those first two years when you were in the midst of that?
03:26 It was just kind of a duration of time, you know, just a period of, you know, extended
03:30 months, you know, almost, you know, years at a time, just not really being happy.
03:37 Just getting confidence and believing that, you know, you can just go out there in general
03:41 after an injury.
03:42 It takes a lot.
03:43 You got to have, you know, good people to lean on and to trust and put your faith in.
03:48 Living one day at a time and trying to figure out each moment and be present.
03:53 My rookie year was loaded with, you know, big time vets from D-Wake, Chris Bosch, Lou
04:00 Alldang, Mario Stoudemire, Mario Chalmers, trying to help us all figure it out.
04:07 So it was a good mix and they kind of really guided me through that first year.
04:13 One thing that was hard was just the timeline that we kind of had put on things.
04:17 My body just wasn't living to that timeline.
04:19 It was living at its own pace.
04:21 So whether it's an injury or, you know, becoming an NBA champion or different things someone's
04:27 trying to accomplish in life, you know, you have this strict timeline that we always try
04:30 to live to and it's great.
04:31 You know, you don't want to be too complacent or just sit back and let moments fly by.
04:36 You got to run your race and stick to your own pace and sometimes you just got to listen
04:40 to your gut or listen to your body.
04:42 You know, for myself as an athlete, I'd be like, "Okay, you know, I'm just living at
04:45 my own pace, my own timeline."
04:47 While still trying to be ambitious and still trying to work hard and accomplish things,
04:51 but just understand that sometimes the pace and the speed of things just aren't in your
04:55 control.
04:56 But, you know, just your mindset and mentality, if you have those things in order and straight,
05:01 then the results or whatever you're trying to get done, eventually, you know, will take
05:06 care of itself.
05:07 It wasn't just one thing that helped me get over the hump or just made every problem go
05:12 away, but just doing the things that made me happy and brought me peace, whether it
05:16 be meditating, really be journaling, talking to family, friends, having a core group of
05:22 people that opinions actually matter to you.
05:25 You know, they're actually invested in the process, invested in your results and they
05:29 care about you and they're not just going to tell you what you want to hear.
05:33 So I think that's what makes blocking out the noise easier for me, is I know, okay,
05:37 those people there, they're going to keep it real.
05:39 They're going to tell me the truth.
05:40 Yeah, you have that mutual support and, you know, you find strength with.
05:47 Not all basketball players, not all men of color are able to get out and be an inspirational
05:52 story for everyone.
05:53 And I tell them all the time, like, there's nothing as an older brother that I can be
05:56 proud of because I wasn't able to do that, right?
05:59 But you are able to figure that out.
06:01 Because being an athlete is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, whether you want to be
06:06 or not, you're a role model to these kids.
06:08 They want to be in your shoes, so help them be better than you are or reach their dreams.
06:15 I just try to use my platform to one, just have fun and be creative and execute my own
06:20 ideas, but then also just to uplift and inspire.
06:24 I've definitely had people younger than me come up through the ranks, like, you know,
06:27 even just my story and me being open about it, they'll say that that helped them or seeing
06:31 me bounce back from injury and come back stronger, that helped them.
06:34 You just got to keep the main thing the main thing and you can't always just run and flee
06:39 when adversity hits.
06:41 Trying to be someone you're not, whether on social media or in person, trying to live
06:45 fast and grow up too fast or have it all figured out by 25, I think it's just almost a mindset
06:50 and conditioning thing that we got to kind of sort through.
06:55 Like my brother says, it's a great day to have a good day.
06:58 Just trying to be 1-0 every day, I think it sounds simple, super simple and cliche, but
07:04 just trying to win the day, whether it's an off day or a game day as an athlete, whether
07:09 it's just a day as a dad.
07:13 I really, unfortunately, I don't try to live too far in the future.
07:16 I can't book a flight two weeks or a month in advance.
07:21 So for me, it's just, hey, what am I going to do today?
07:24 How am I going to be able to wake up and look myself in the mirror at the start of the day?
07:29 I want to win collective and individual accolades in the league, but just continue to prove
07:33 myself and to be an NBA champion and just to be surrounded by my family and my friends
07:40 that I love.
07:41 I mean, that's the goal is to be a champion.
07:43 Gaining that respect around the league.
07:45 You know, again, you know, there's ups and downs, but I think just the respect and also
07:50 just having fun, you know, as my son continues to get older, just sharing those moments of
07:54 me on the court and him being at all the games and the rest of my family as well.
07:59 It's just, you know, continue to create memories.
Comments