"They're not even looking at your eyes, they're looking at the tattoos on your face."
Warriors center Willie Cauley-Stein wants to be known for more than just his high-flying exploits on the basketball court or his array of body ink.
In a recent conversation with The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears, Cauley-Stein opened up about his passion for art and how it has stimulated his on-court play.
"I want people to think I'm some thug, then talk to me and be like 'this dude is intelligent ... completely different than what we thought.'"@THEwillieCS15 shares a view of his life off the court as an artist, and talks about being more than meets the eye.
via @MarcJSpearsESPN pic.twitter.com/Sjl9bGnI6J— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) November 20, 2019
"The stigma on me was like ‘He cares about art way more than he cares about basketball,'" Cauley-Stein said. "But to me it was like, the art was fueling basketball.
"If I was to paint a picture right before a game, I was probably gonna go off that game."
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The big man has been an integral part of the Warriors this season. Nagging injuries have left Cauley-Stein as the lone healthy center on Golden State's roster.
But whenever his NBA career ends, it looks like Willie has another talent to fall back on.