There’s another moment from the series I want to ask you about. You had just scored against Wemby. You’re coming off the court, and the camera caught you saying something like — we’re not supposed to curse here — he can’t “fudge” with me. What was that in response to? I was just being competitive. I have tremendous confidence in my ability and what I do and the work I put in. It’s the finals, and you’re on the biggest stage against one of the best players in the world, and I wanted to prove again, after all these years, where I stand in the N.B.A.

You had to take it a little personally, just as a competitor, to hear how much people were talking up Wemby before the finals. He deserves it — he’s a generational player. He’s extremely tall, and he’s God-gifted with intangibles that none of us were able to get. I mean, I’m seven feet, thank God, but 7-foot-4 would’ve been cool, too. He deserved it, but I’ve earned my stripes in this league, too.

You know, you’re known for being a sweet guy. Even just talking to you now, you smile easily, you were joking around in the green room. But I can imagine that being a professional basketball player pushes you toward a kind of —— Aggression?

Aggression or hardness. Is that something that came naturally, or did you have to develop that side of yourself? I was definitely more aggressive when I was younger. I had a mean streak, because I understood what it was to be the young kid playing with the older kids. There’s no respect given to the young kid. I had to go earn it. Every day I learned how to earn it when I was 13 playing U-16 basketball, U-17 basketball, going out there and competing against the best of the best at age groups way higher than mine. And when you’re doing that, you understand you’ve got to bring that kind of aggression to the game. As I got older, I had the finesse, I learned the physical attributes, I got my strength and my maturity going and I also learned how to maintain it. My mom taught me really well how to take that aggression and utilize it to my advantage.

You spoke very movingly about your mom in an on-court interview after Game 1. You lost her during Covid, and you talked about how she was there with you. Did you think during the playoffs, I am here trying to commemorate my mother? You know, I’ve dedicated my life to this game. Precious time I could have been hanging out with her, enjoying life with her — I spent it in the gym working on my game, working on my craft, getting treatment on my body, getting ready for the next game, mentally not always being 100 percent present because I’m thinking about that opponent coming up. I’ve sacrificed so much for this game. It would be a disservice to her if I didn’t try to capitalize on this opportunity as much as possible. I wanted to make her proud.