A Quote by Nikola Jokic
I'm just playing basketball, the same way I have always played, from juniors and even back to middle school, I'm just doing it the same way. Nothing different. Just a team game, playing and having fun and trying to play the right way.
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When I was a kid, I played basketball religiously. I begged my mom to get me voice lessons because I wanted to learn to sing the right way, but at the same time, I was playing Junior Olympic basketball, and I was playing point guard for my school. But I was wanting to get into entertainment, into music and film and television.
One of the main things I take away is just the way the boys approach the game and carry on. You are in the dressing room and it is very much just about getting in and doing as well as you can, putting everything you can and having fun. There is no underlying context to it other than just playing the game.
Because [Russel Westbrook] is so rare and impacts the game in so many different ways, you see the usage and the amount of time he's playing and say, 'is this sustainable?' I look at it the other way. Are we playing the right way, are we playing together as a team, and what are his minutes like? This is not a guy that's playing 42 minutes a night. When he goes out there he's going to play to who he is, and I think he also understands that in order for our team to be the best we can be he's got to incorporate and help everybody grow as players.
I'm just trying to establish myself, play the game the right way with my teammates, have fun, make the right plays, and get adjusted to the pro game. It's different from college. It's a little bit faster, so I'm just trying to get as comfortable as I can on the court.
Mostly, I was into powerlifting when I was in high school. And I just continued to train the same way I was taught - to powerlift. Once I started doing bodybuilding, there were no real differences, just different exercises. A different way of training with more repetitions, but it was still the same lifting of very heavy weights to get stronger.
Back when I played, basketball was all about fundamentals, about hustling, getting those loose balls, all those rebounds under the basket. That equals up to 12, 14, 16 points. You can lose a game with that much. It's different watching basketball now. People don't play the same way. It doesn't matter if you score, if you can't stop the other team from scoring. Our coach used to kick our ass if we didn't. I was told if you saw more of the other team color under the basket than your own team color, you ain't doing your job. Everybody should be under the board, trying to get that ball.
The way that I was taught to play baseball, and to me the way baseball has always been, is... Look, we play 162 games. It's a grinding, hard-nosed game. And even when I was a kid it was about not showing up your opponent. It was about playing the game with class. But, obviously I think you should have fun doing it.
I was impersonating people way, way, way early, as far back as I can remember. And I would do people on my street for my parents, I remember. And in school, I did the same thing with all the teachers. It was just like, I mean, it was something I loved to do. I don't think there was a time when I wasn't doing it. I was always doing it.
I played sometimes about as dull as you can play it. I did things the right way, you know. I think I modeled my playing ability after one of the all time greats, Joe DiMaggio. You always found Joe, when he played, you know, he always threw to the right base. He ran, he caught the ball. He did all the right things. He was an idol of mine in the outfield. He played the game the way it was supposed to be played.
I'm just trying to have fun, and maybe the way I hold myself kind of freaks people out. I don't feel like an outsider, and I think my friends feel the same way I do. Now that we're playing to larger audiences, maybe we're weird to some people. But I'm trying to express what I am.
There's not a whole lot to do in Athens. When I was 13, I just started entertaining myself by writing songs. I'd sit in my room for 10 hours playing the same song, stacking vocals, trying out different drum beats, realizing no one would ever hear this but having so much fun. I guess I got my voice from just doing that so often.
The motivation for me is just the game itself, just playing the game the right way and trying to win, compete every time I step out there on the floor. That's motivation enough for me to go out there and play well.
The point with me is that it's always been, even with the stand-up, that the music has to be right. You have to take it seriously. You have to try and play it as faithfully as possible. That way it helps the comedy. Rather than just playing it in a silly way.
I go all the way back to the Hot Boys days and being 13, listening to this dude. Just remembering the staple he put on the game back then all the way to now, to have that longevity years beyond it. So for him to actually acknowledge what I'm doing right now and seeing it as a path, the same way the longevity he created, it's a great feeling to actually share that same stage and a moment with him. Wayne ain't no new jack to this game. He influenced a lot of styles and a lot of sounds. I would say I was influenced by a recent sound and flow, and cadence that he brung to the game.
I played the flute in elementary school, but when I got into high school, they didn't have any flutes; they gave me a clarinet and said, 'Play it in the same way, just hold in a different position.' I really didn't care much for it.
I loved playing Walternate because he was completely the same character, version 1985, and then it developed in such a different way, physically and mentally. So, to be able to play that, in the same television series, as playing the other ones was a fantastic gift for me.
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