Hi Gary. How are you? I’m great, how are you doing?
I’m good. So, you’re in London because the NBA have announced next year’s Global Games match, which will be between your Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers on 12 January. First impressions of the city? It’s my first time here and I like it. It’s a pretty cool city. I like the whole vibe and everything.
When will you start making plans for next year’s trip here? I haven’t got that far, I’m not sure but I know my family will want to come as they have never been to London. I am intrigued to see who will come out to watch this game.
What NBA posters did you have on your wall growing up? I had Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Michael Jordan and Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal].
Shaq doesn’t play your position. What did you like about him? He does not. Shaq was just a beast. He is dominant. You had to love Shaq and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t. He should have won more titles, but that’s another story.
Did you watch Kobe’s last game at the end of the last campaign when he scored 60 points? I did. We were actually playing Portland in our own final game, so we were checking in throughout. We would come to the bench and check Kobe’s stats, at half-time we tried to watch the game, and once our game was over we all rushed to the locker room and caught the last five minutes of it.
Kobe must have been someone you grew up idolising? Kobe has always been that guy, especially for me. He played in the league for 20 years, and I am only 21, so he has always been there. He is the Michael Jordan of our era and just to be able to step on the same floor as him was crazy.
I bet. You’ve had some pretty impressive dunks in games the last two years. Are you a better shooter or dunker? I mix it up. Depends on what I need at the time.
Your mum was in the Denver crowd last year and missed a big dunk of yours, right? She did. She did. This is what’s wrong with society now, everybody is just on their cell phone and smart phone, not paying attention to what’s going on. Everybody is just looking down at their phone. That’s probably what she was doing, or talking to someone in the stands not paying attention, one of the two. [Pauses] I’m still not letting that go, very disappointed. No, it’s cool, she saw enough of the highlights, plus she got a little TV time so I think she was loving that. She still eats that up.
Is the dunk contest something you would look at in the future? A lot of guys turn it down. I am more of an in-game dunker. I’m not one with all the tricks but in a game, I can throw it down for sure.
What keeps you busy in the offseason? [Chuckles]. Basketball. Basketball is really everything. I travel a lot, but really I try to stay low key. In the offseason I try to find some time to relax. I’m not on a strict schedule, you can do whatever you want but basketball is a part of everyday life. It’s everywhere we go [points to the ball next to him like it’s his baby]. That and relaxing.
Do you have an impression of your former college coach and the always croaky Tom Izzo at Michigan State? I don’t think I can get that on tape right now. I got some funny Izzo stories for sure.
Anything clean to share? I wouldn’t say anything too clean, but we had some good times.
What’s the air like in Denver? It’s different. When you first get up there it’s hard to breath. When I flew into Denver to workout it was tough. After a few days you get acclimated to it, and when you get back to sea level you feel like you can run for days. But if you stay down at sea level, going back up is a whole lot harder. It’s never-ending.
You have an Italian team-mate, Danilo Gallinari. Has he cooked you a special dish yet? He has. Gallo actually made some pasta. I don’t really eat pasta like that but it was good. Chef Gallo, he does it all.
Maybe that was the reason you went from starting six games your rookie season to 76 in your second. Actually, seriously, how did you earn that huge jump? I just put in the work. I worked hard that summer after my rookie year. I continued to work last season and, simply put, I never stop working.
You’re going to have a tough time playing the Golden State Warriors next season after they signed Kevin Durant. Everyone is. Would you rather guard Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry? I would rather guard Steph. KD is seven foot, it is hard to defend a seven foot guard.
Did you see much of No1 pick Ben Simmons’ game in Summer League last month? I saw him play one game. He has great vision and I think he can play. I don’t think the comparisons to LeBron James are fair to him, but I can see where it comes from. His height, how good he is with the ball, he plays the point forward position like LeBron. But I think they should let Ben Simmons be Ben Simmons, stop trying to compare him to James. That is not a bad comparison at all but he is going to have his own game and his own legacy in this league.
Your opponents in London, Indiana, hold a special meaning for you for several reasons. They do indeed; the standout moment in my career so far was probably my first NBA game. To have my debut in Indiana – where I grew up – against the Pacers, where all my family and friends are, they were in the crowd. It was a surreal moment because you’ve always dreamed about playing in the NBA and when it happened, well … The other moment was when I got drafted. That’s when I knew I was going to play in the NBA.
What was the last concert you went to? [Stares into his hands for a long minute]. Was it last summer or this summer? I honestly don’t remember, but it was music.
You play too much basketball clearly. So much basketball. I have my own personal concerts every day, in my room.
If you were going to hold your ideal dinner party, which guests would you have – dead or alive – aside from Small Talk of course?
Oh, aside from you? Now that’s tough. I’m always wearing Michael Jordan’s shoes, so it would be cool to have him there. You’ve got to have Lil Wayne there, that’s my guy. Muhammad Ali, me being from Indiana and him being from Louisville, Kentucky – that’s only half an hour away. I’ve been to his museum and I would hope he could visit mine.
OK. A couple of quick ones for you. What’s your favourite food? Depends on the day, but most likely chicken wings. Buffalo wings.
Can you tell me a joke? [Laughs – maybe that was the joke?] No, I don’t have too many jokes.
Can you tell me one thing about the sport you call soccer? I used to play when I was younger.
Really? I played in little league, maybe it was second grade, I should have given it a shot. I love playing Fifa, so that’s one thing. I kind of wish I could play better.
Who is your favourite American? Myself. I love myself.
Thanks for your time Gary! Thank you Small Talk, see you in January!
