Brilliant during the Spurs' demonstration against Indiana on Thursday, the 21-year-old French interior took stock at a press conference.
The atmosphere, the context : “It means a lot… As for the national anthem, we just have to put the music on and people sing along. Maybe they'll get a chance to sing next time. It's not disappointing to see the audience like that… It was great. (…) Normal match? Each match, there are feelings that come together and things that differ. But it was different, different support, we tried to use the circumstances to our advantage. And it was easy to do it here… Big support from the public. What if I enjoyed the evening? Yes, it's clear… It's a perfect evening, the victory and the style. We’re enjoying this evening but we’ll meet tomorrow for the next one.”
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All Star Game starting list announced later tonight : “It would be incredible but I don’t think about that at all. There are games to focus on. It is always the fruit of collective results. I would be very happy if that were to happen.”
How to concentrate in this context : “I know that to have a great match you have to concentrate on the details without trying to do incredible things. It is the multiplicity of simple and collective actions that make the match incredible. I am proud of my team. They focused on the little things and we had one of our best games of the season. (…) We had to concentrate on the tactical instructions, the coach's advice, the little things, the efforts, not trying to do incredible things, the spectacular will come by itself.
Impose a return of Spurs in France to the NBA: “We’ll see. It is not my role to make this kind of decision but the French public can influence the NBA more than me to force them to bring back the Spurs thanks to their fervor.
How he would like to be remembered after his career : “I would like to be remembered as someone who didn’t take shortcuts, who made the right decisions, loyal and hard-working, but also innovative.”
-What allowed him to have this type of match : “My teammates. These are special conditions but not just for me. My teammates, the coaches and myself. It’s the combination of wanting to do what’s right for the team.”
If he has moments of doubt : “There is always a little demon in the back of the head that whispers things and wants to raise doubts but you have to fight it at the source. There are some from time to time, but never about deep things. It’s work every day to keep this positivity and not doubt.”
Where he ranks this game since his NBA debut : “It’s one of those that is most close to my heart. In terms of pure performance, in the Top 5.”
Choix de com', with interviews on TF1, France Inter and Piscou Magazine: : “I was a reader of Piscou… Three interviews? The desire to present myself to the French public on the biggest stage and balanced in environments that correspond to me and speak to me, never made for children.
His feeling when he addressed the audience : “Proud to bring together so many people with just two words (smile). Proud of us, of me, of being French. It confirms what I thought was going to happen.”
Comments collected at a press conference
