Amar’e Stoudemire is motivated to improve defensively.

“Defense is the key to win championships, that’s something I’m dedicated on also, to become a much, much better defensive player,” Stoudemire said. “It’s going to happen. It’s a matter of preparation and practice and getting that chemistry down on that end of the court.”

Stoudemire trained with Hakeem Olajuwon for two weeks in Houston.

“There’s so many moves that I picked up from Hakeem,” he said. “Just developing my post [game] has been phenomenal for me. When I came out of high school, I was thrown the ball and [told] do what you do best. I never got a chance to develop my game as far as [in the] post. Working with Hakeem is gonna be a great advantage for me.”