Recently, former NBA player Iguodala participated in Irving's live broadcast program and talked about his growth experience.
He said: "In the place where I grew up, no one has ever really entered the league. So, you don't know what level you can reach. The only thing you can be sure of is that you are still outstanding in the environment you are in. We have witnessed players like Rhode Strickland. Your father was really good back then. Although everyone knows the talents of these people, no one can break through the stage of freshmen in college. They all gave up halfway and ended up being trapped in the same place."
"They simply failed to meet the requirements in their studies. This situation caused the athletes in our place to encounter psychological obstacles, just like the whole growth process was cut off. So as we grow older, this thing became my biggest knot. I kept telling myself, 'Listen, I must break this curse for all athletes from similar environments.' This is all my spiritual support The reason I chose to go to Arizona to go to college is simple, I said, 'I'm going to go the farthest from home so I can't go home. ' That's my complete plan at that time. '
"I was so excited to leave home because I thought, 'I'm going to be the kind of athlete who won't be trapped in my hometown. ' That's it. A teacher once told me, 'Oh, you're a good basketball player. But after you get out of here, you'll accomplish nothing . ’ This is what the school teacher said to me. ”
"It was a bit crazy to hear an adult say that to you when he was 12 or 13 years old, and I even wrote about it in my book. My academic development went further than I did as an athlete. From middle school to high school, I was the only black male in the class. So, on the first day of school, the teacher would ask, ‘Wait, are you sure you were not in the wrong classroom? ’”