Kenneth Faried Photograph By Carlos Serrao for ESPN The Magazine

"I'm a 6-foot-8 power forward in the NBA, where everybody is 6-10 or taller nowadays. And I went to a small school. People would say, He didn't play with the Floridas or the Kentuckys or Louisvilles.' At first there was a whole bunch of doubt, but I just brushed it aside and kept moving. You have to stay fearless, stay comfortable in your own skin and stay focused on what you want to do in life."