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00:00I watch a lot of different players, guards, bigs,
00:03and I always, whenever I see a move that I think I can,
00:06you know, add to my bag, not every move,
00:07but moves that I think I can pull off
00:09and moves I think I can add, I try and take it.
00:11You know, whether it's from, it could be from Kyrie
00:14or it could be from, you know, Dirk Nowitzki.
00:21Appreciate you joining the show, my man.
00:22Yes, sir.
00:23Your first highlight is in the first game of your career.
00:27Yeah.
00:28Walk me through what you were thinking.
00:31Yeah, well, we had just got the rebound
00:33and I seen we had an advantage.
00:36So my teammate threw it ahead and it was just two on one.
00:40And I had my mind made up, I think,
00:43when I got to, like, a couple steps past half court,
00:46close to the three-point line that I was going to dunk it.
00:49Then I see him set up for a charge.
00:50I didn't think he was going to step in front of me, though.
00:52Yeah.
00:53When he did, I just knew I was going to have to go up
00:55and finish over him.
00:56This was your first game.
00:57How nervous were you before the game?
01:00I really wasn't nervous.
01:01I think I got all my nerves out during preseason.
01:04I had a couple of rough games in preseason.
01:07But then the last two or three, I think I did good.
01:09So going into the first regular season,
01:11I was already kind of comfortable.
01:13And I think it showed just with the way I played.
01:16I felt very under control and really just was kind of,
01:20it was another game.
01:21And then after the game, I didn't really realize,
01:23you know, how many points and everything I scored.
01:25And then everybody was kind of having a crazy reaction.
01:28So that's just what I remember about it.
01:31When you're playing against a player
01:32that you've seen growing up, maybe it's
01:34Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant,
01:37any different emotions going on through your head?
01:40I mean, yeah, my rookie year, definitely, you know,
01:43you have just the, you know, those
01:45are the guys you've grown up watching your whole life.
01:48KD, Steph, LeBron.
01:50And, you know, those are the guys
01:52that you look up to, you want to be like.
01:54And so when you get on the court with them your rookie year,
01:57it definitely is, I think, takes you back at first.
02:00You know, nerves get out, you start hooping
02:02once that gets out the way.
02:04But I think once you start seeing them,
02:07though, it becomes regular.
02:08And you realize, like, these guys, you know, they're cool.
02:11You can talk to them and stuff like that.
02:13So can you walk me through the moment on the start of this?
02:17At what point do you know you're going to do a crossover
02:19and kind of attack the basket?
02:22Yeah, so if you read, or if you go back,
02:25I kind of came off and Reeves was on me.
02:27Then he kind of switched off and it was Bron.
02:30And he was sagging off a little bit.
02:32And he was honestly standing a little straight up.
02:35And so I thought, you know, I could hit him with a move
02:37and get back to the baseline,
02:39because Reeves had just cleared out.
02:40And then once I got past him, I saw AD.
02:43And then I knew if I finished on the right side,
02:46he would go up and block that.
02:47So I wanted to kind of take his body out of it
02:50and finish on the other side
02:52and kind of use the rim as protection.
02:54Did that one feel a little special
02:55because of what we just talked about?
02:57No, I mean, I would be lying if I said
02:59I didn't feel like that it was dope
03:02because it was against Bron and AD.
03:03Yeah. You know what I'm saying?
03:04But yeah, sometimes, I mean,
03:06you just get those type of plays.
03:08You know, we had a good win that game.
03:10And it was a pretty good game for me.
03:12So that actually was a memorable game.
03:15You know, and the shoes I had on that game
03:17were like a special pair of shoes.
03:19When you're working out with Kevin Durant,
03:21we've seen it in the summer.
03:23What's the biggest learning that you had
03:25during the summer when you're working out with him?
03:27The biggest learning, I would say,
03:29was just his attention to detail.
03:32How serious he takes his workouts
03:34each and every day, every rep.
03:37And it really just kind of showed me that, you know,
03:39that's the level you gotta be able to get to eventually.
03:43So it just, you know, lit a fire under me, you know,
03:45because that's where I want to be.
03:46And working with him, you know,
03:48I feel like it took me to another level in a way.
03:52Is there anything from his game
03:53that you're trying to add to your own?
03:56I would say, yeah, just his footwork
03:58and his ability to get to his spots, you know,
04:00without taking, you know, a bunch of dribbles.
04:04He's very efficient in how he gets to his spots,
04:06how he rises up, how he scores in general.
04:09And that's something that if I was able to even get,
04:12you know, half of, you know, that,
04:14it would be scary just with my size and strength.
04:17So, you know, it's a way, way, way different game
04:20than college, guys are way faster, quicker, smarter,
04:23just in every way, you know, it's a better,
04:27much harder competition.
04:28So you have to just raise your level of concentration,
04:33of work, just to keep up, you know, just to, you know,
04:38survive, and then if you want to be great,
04:39you gotta, you know, times all that by five.
04:42So it's the best league in the world.
04:46So I love, I love what I get to do.
04:47Yeah.
04:48The game winner against the Bulls.
04:52Into Ben Carroll, sits on the clock.
04:54Pablo Ben Carroll, inside for the lead.
04:58Got it to go with 1.4.
05:00Bulls still have a shot.
05:01Was the play drawn out for you?
05:03Yes, the play was drawn for me.
05:05And so what are you trying to keep in mind
05:06as you get into the paint here,
05:07and you have Caruso guarding you,
05:08but there's also so many bodies.
05:10Yeah, no, I was honestly expecting the double.
05:13So I'm looking at Zach Levine the whole time.
05:16You know, I caught it,
05:17and I'm staring at Zach, staring at Zach.
05:18As soon as I saw that he wasn't coming to double,
05:20I knew that I could back Caruso down.
05:22Caruso is a great defender.
05:23He always gives me trouble on the perimeter,
05:25but I know I have the size advantage
05:27to be able to get in the paint and rise up over the top.
05:30So it was kind of an awkward shot.
05:32Like I shot it kind of with my, you know,
05:35turning the other way.
05:36Yeah.
05:36But when I, when I left my hands,
05:38I knew it was going in.
05:39Even when it hit the rim,
05:40I knew it was going to bounce in because it felt good.
05:43And how did it feel once the shot went in?
05:45Man, it, it was a relief.
05:47You know, that was a tough game.
05:49That was a grinded out game.
05:50Both teams under a hundred.
05:52I didn't start the game well,
05:53but I think I scored like 14 or 12 points
05:56in the fourth quarter and got going.
05:58And then so to finish off with that shot
06:00and just that tough win, it was great.
06:02Now the highlight against the Pelicans.
06:06I like the move.
06:07Ben Garrow, slick move as well on the handerer.
06:12I'm curious, when you,
06:13when you were watching tape and you were growing up,
06:16who were, who was a player you were trying to emulate?
06:18Cause this isn't something you see from a normal big man.
06:20Yeah.
06:22Man, I, I would say my two players were,
06:26were Carmelo and LeBron.
06:30Just in general, like, you know,
06:32from the headband to the way they shot,
06:34like the way they carried themselves.
06:36That's the stuff I always paid attention to growing up.
06:39But honestly, like I watched a lot of different players,
06:42guards, bigs, and I always,
06:44whenever I see a move that I think I can, you know,
06:46add to my bag, not every move,
06:48but moves that I think I can pull off
06:50and moves I think I can add,
06:51I try and take it, you know,
06:52whether it's from, it could be from Kyrie
06:54or it could be from, you know, Dirk Nowitzki.
06:57It really doesn't matter.
06:58Can you walk me through this play in particular?
07:00Like how much of this was just instincts taken over?
07:03What did you see that made you kind of attack the basket
07:06and also get the crossover?
07:08Yeah, this was just, like you said,
07:09instincts flowing down kind of in semi-transition
07:13and wanting to get off the dribble.
07:15I think that's one of my best abilities
07:17to be able to get downhill and be my defender one-on-one.
07:20And so I kind of got him off balance with the cross step
07:23and then went into a tween cross.
07:25And then once I got past him,
07:27I knew I had one more defender to finish over
07:30and wanted to rise up and finish strong.
07:32And that was the first preseason game of the year.
07:34So kind of wanted to set the tone
07:36just for the team and for myself.
07:38I'm just curious, when you look at yourself
07:41over these last 18 months, maybe even two years, I guess,
07:44what's the number one thing you've improved on?
07:48I would say my shooting.
07:52Shooting and ball handling.
07:54I've always been good with the ball
07:55and able to shoot a fair amount,
07:57but I think I've taken it to another level,
07:58especially from three.
08:01I think from my rookie year to this year,
08:04I took a big step.
08:05And then I think playing with USA
08:07helped me also work on my defense and rebounding as well.
08:10So I've really looked back at stuff I had to work on
08:15from my rookie year and tried to attack it
08:17in the off season and really, really work on it
08:19to improve for year two.
08:21Last question.
08:22The question we ask everybody is,
08:24you have highlights where you've done both.
08:26Would you rather break someone's ankles or dunk on them?
08:31I think a dunk on.
08:32Just for me, being a forward,
08:35I think a dunking on somebody kind of means more...
08:39For me, it's more satisfying.
08:41You break a guy's ankle sometimes
08:43and you never know.
08:44You might gotta make the shot or you might pass it
08:47and the teammate may or may not make the shot.
08:49So then it's just like a cool move.
08:51But dunking on somebody's two points might be a foul
08:55and it's more kind of an in-your-face type thing.
08:57Yeah.
08:58Paolo, thank you so much for the time, man.
08:59Really appreciate the insights, man.