Best Quotes From The #NBAVOTE All-Star Chat Series

Stars from all around the NBA are chatting with fans in China and around the world about their All-Star campaigns. Here’s the best of what CP3, Klay, Dwight, Isaiah, Vooch, Wall, Dray and Bosh had to say!

KLAY THOMPSON

[Traditional Chinese question] If Steve Kerr and Steph Curry both fell in the water, who would you save first?
Ha! Ahhhh man, good question. I’ll probably have to go with Steve first, because if I save Steph first, Steve controls the playing time so he’d probably bench me. That’s a tough one. But I’d have to go with coach Kerr so I don’t get benched. [laughs]

Can you beat the Bulls’ record of 72 wins?
72 wins? That’s a lot of wins. We might be on pace. We can. It’ll be very difficult. It would be a very special feat. I think we can, we’re on such a great flow right now, but you never know with resting guys and injuries. Hopefully we can. If there’s a team to do it in the near future I think it’d be us.

Who wins when you and Steph play 1-on-1?
It really goes back and forth. We haven’t played in a while, but it really goes back & forth. Whoever got more sleep the night before usually has shots falling.

CHRIS PAUL

Who’s a better dunker – Blake or DeAndre? And if they’re both on the attack, who do you throw it up to?
Blake definitely has the most power. The flair, too. If you’re talking about throwing a lob up and all you gotta do is keep it in the arena and they can catch and dunk, that’s DJ. I think people forget DJ is like 6-11, 7 feet and has that athletic ability.

Do you have to dance if you’re the last in the locker room?
Yeah, if I’m the last one in there I always have to dance! It was a road trip we were on and I was the last one probably 3 straight games, and everybody’s been a good sport about it…JJ Redick has probably the funniest of them all. Our goal now is to get some new guys involved. Blake, Paul, Pablo Prigioni.

How did CP4 react to your dunks?
As soon as the game was over I called him and asked him if he saw it and he was going crazy. He said daddy you didn’t just dunk once, you dunked twice. Before I leave for games and I hug him he said daddy can you dunk? Daddy can you dunk? I always send him to YouTube.

I think you’re the best point guard in the NBA. People are comparing Steph to you now – what do you think about him?
Man, it’s been pretty amazing. I wouldn’t compare myself to Steph because I don’t shoot like that. I’m thinking of all the guys I’ve guarded and I’ve never seen somebody shoot the way he is.

DWIGHT HOWARD

How many snakes do you have? Which one is your favorite?
I have 9 snakes. And my favorite is my first snake. His name is George, he’s a purple reticulated python. I had him since he was a baby, and now he’s 8 feet and a year old. I call him Curious George because when I first got him he found a way to break out and lay on my chest. He wanted to be next to me. He must’ve been scared.

Why do you play basketball? For love? For duty, life?
#ThisIsWhyWePlay Well there’s plenty of reasons. The first one is basketball brings me joy. Being on the floor’s the best thing ever. A sanctuary. The other reason I play is I enjoy entertaining people. They come to games to relax. Have fun for the fans.

NIKOLA VUCEVIC

There’s a long line of great centers in Orlando, from Shaq to Dwight. Do you think about that, or feel any pressure about that?
I mean obviously I don’t think about it, but I hear about it a lot. For me it’s at times an honor when people try to compare me to what Shaq did, what Dwight did. They took their teams to the Finals, had great numbers. They achieved something special, and I want to see how far I can take this team. If I have a good game people mention them and it’s nice, but I try to have my own legacy here

How did you react to Kobe’s retirement news?
It’ll be a big loss for the game of basketball, one of the greatest players and competitors to ever play. I’m sure people are sad to see him go, but he had an amazing career. I’m happy I had a chance to play against him a few times. I got lucky one time and blocked his shot. That’s something I’m really proud of.

When I was a rookie in Philly he needed like 25 to surpass Shaq on the scoring list and he had something like 26 in the first half! He made like 3 crazy 3’s from 5 feet behind the 3-point line. We’re all standing there like, what can we do? In games you see how good he was. It’ll be sad to see him leave but obviously he’s a little older now, so he left a great legacy behind him.

Who is your favorite past Magic player and why?
Tracy McGrady. I think he was just playing for the magic he was so good. A lot of people were fans of him with the Magic, he could score so many points. The way he played was fun. He could shoot it, dunk it, dribble it, do it all. He was an amazing player with the Magic.

DEANDRE JORDAN

Who’s the best dunker in the NBA?
Oooooh man that’s tough! And I can’t vote for myself? I gotta say Blake. It’s crazy. I’m a fan when I see my teammates play well and whenever he dunks I feel like I dunk. It’s amazing how athletic and acrobatic he is.

If you could shoot 100% but had to give up your dunk skills, would you do it?
Oh my. I know what my answer should be! But yeah…yeah I’ll give away my dunk skills to shoot 100%

Can you dunk any lob, or just from CP?
I think I can catch any lob! Just throw it up! But they’re a lot nicer when Chris passes them.

ISAIAH THOMAS

I am a current student at the University of Washington, what was your favorite class and what did you like most about UofW?
My favorite class had to be drama class. It was a lot of acting. It was a lot of fun. I was looking forward to that class throughout the week. Best thing about U of W is being a big college atmosphere, and enjoying college. Going to football games, people that love your presence. The teammates I had in college are lifelong friend. That’s the great thing about college. You don’t know where your relationship will go with them, and I miss that most about college. That was home for me.

Do you think you are the fastest player in the league? How did you get your speed?
I do not think I’m the fastest player in the league – there are a few faster than me. John Wall’s one. And a guy named Ish Smith, who plays for the 76ers, he might be the fastest with the ball in his hands. I’ve always been small and quick, and trying to become even faster has become who I am. For me, being small, I gotta be quick out there. It’s something I’ve always had.

What’s it like playing for the winningest team in the history of NBA?
It feels great, knowing that you have so much history in putting on that uniform, knowing it takes a lot of responsibility putting on the Celtics uniform in the way you play the game of basketball. You gotta give it your all because these fans expect nothing but greatness and this organization expects nothing but NBA championships. You gotta have that championship mindset.

JOHN WALL

You’re my favorite player! My friend traded you in his fantasy basketball league and he said it was the worst decision he made in 2015!
I appreciate it! Everybody’s gotta make those tough decisions, and the way I was playing early in the season I woulda traded me too

What’s Kobe like? Are you guys friends?
I don’t know if Kobe really has friends to be honest! He’s a great person to teach you. When he’s playing he’s one of the greatest competitors I’d ever play against. I feel like he’s always unstoppable. He’s gonna compete every minute, every second. He’s meant so much to the NBA.

When did you first dunk?
I think 10th grade of high school. That was great. I tried like 12 times in practice, and I finally made it and coach was like ‘alright, practice is done for the day’

Are you afraid of failure?
No. Never been afraid of failure. One thing that helped me a lot is my rookie year was tough because I was getting adjusted, and it was the first time I lost so many games in my life, total. My confidence dropped at times, and I got back to being myself and believing in my ability. That’s why I’m not scared

DRAYMOND GREEN

You are clearly a top 5 player in the league and one of the best passing big men in the history of the game. How have you developed such an uncanny ability to find your teammates for easy buckets?

1 – I have really great teammates who can score the basketball. 2 – My dad and uncle. When I was a kid, I was bigger than everybody else, but I had to play point guard because they said if I never grew again I’d have point guard skills.

We asked Klay this question yesterday, but if Steve Kerr and Steph Curry both fell in a river, who would you save first?

I’d pick Steph! We won a ton of games without Steve Kerr and I don’t think we’d have won without Steph. [laughs]

What was it like to get that triple-double against the Hornets, where Steph hit that 3 for you?

It was amazing to get the triple-double because it was 3 in a row and that hasn’t been done often, but when it came on that 3 it was even better because the way Steph just hoisted it, no matter who was on him because he wanted me to have it. That was amazing he wanted me to have the triple-double that bad.

In China our nickname for you means ‘chasing dreams.’ What is your dream for 2016?

My dream in 2016 is to be an NBA All-Star, win another championship, make the Olympic team and win the gold, in that order.

CHRIS BOSH

How often do you and D-Wade play video games in his basement?

We don’t really play video games much, but he has an old Ms Pac-Man machine. We got in a competition with close friends, seeing whoever can get the high score. It got out of hand, but I won it. It’s been re-set since then.

I gotta win at everything I do. I was playing one day and he was like ‘I’m getting a massage,’ and I was like ‘I know how to let myself out.’ I stayed there, and I kept playing. And I won.

You started your career in Toronto. How special would it be to play an All-Star Game there?

It’d be awesome. I’d have never thought the All-Star Game would be in Toronto. I’d think they’d stick to warm cities and everything and that would be that. When we were there we were like what if they have it in Toronto…yeah it’s not gonna be here.

Now it’s actually happening. Now that the city’s changed so much, the organization, the infrastructure, me…it’ll be special. I think of it as something where, when I’m done playing, how cool it’ll be. At this point in my career I’m looking at everything from a different perspective. It’ll be awesome.

Do you ever think of retiring? Would you want to be like Kobe where you’re playing as much as you can until the very end, or more like Garnett where it’s limited?

When it’s time to retire it’s time to retire. Don’t write Kobe off just yet!

Yeah, I’ve thought about retiring plenty of times. I’m 31, will be 32 in March. And that’s starting to be near the expiration date for a basketball player is, so it crosses your mind. It’s becoming more real. You see more young guys and it’s hard to continue being competitive, and I’m going through that now. While I’m playing well right now, I still think about it every day. It’s realistic. But until then I’m playing basketball.