Nicolas Batum (Lisieux, France, 12-14-1988) feels that he has come back to life, to be born in basketball, resurfaced in these revitalized Clippers. The NBA does not usually wait for anyone but there is always a place for types of generosity and the spirit of improvement of the proven forward, today a fundamental contributor to society Paul George & Kawhi Leonard.
Shaped his mental strength by the sorrows from the 2 years, when he saw his father collapse and die in a basketball game, Batum finished hardening, making himself tougher, when he overcame a near-break in basketball in 2020, so devastated inside after his sad end in the Charlotte Hornets what did you think of the retreat. It hurt him not to satisfy those who demanded so much to justify the 5-year and 120 million contract he signed with the franchise Michael Jordan in 2016, so much so that he even asked for forgiveness.
But that was entirely justified, since they festered crying inside Batumi before matches, overwhelmed by the fear of death until his son was less than 3 years old when he remembered what had happened to his father when he was that age. He was going to say goodbye to basketball when Tyronn Lue He recruited him to make him one of his trusted men in 2020 at the Clippers, this season from the bench.
The good numbers as a substitute measure the joy with which the ex of Blazers and the Hornets live basketball again, with 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists in 22 minutes with 40% in three-pointers and a plus-minus of +2.7. From inside and what can be expected from these Clippers and from the French team, he sits down to talk for a few minutes with MD, a relaxed and reflective Nico Batum.
He looks very good on the track and playing an important role in the team when two years ago he almost retired.
I went through a bad situation in my former team. For 3 years I am happy again playing basketball. Playing for the team, playing for something, having my role at this stage of my career…I’m happy about it.
Like you, other NBA players such as DeMar DeRozan and Ricky Rubio have also spoken about their mental health problems in recent years and more and more. How do you value it?
It’s a good thing. We perceive the problems that are outside such as inflation or Covid-19. From the outside it seems that we do not care, it only looks like we are rich. But we also go through hard times and you need to open up and talk, no matter who you are. We go through injuries, seasons of not playing, problems with the family… We are human.
“The players also go through hard times and we need to open up and talk”
Tyronn Lue was the one who ‘rescued’ him from retirement, he even went so far as to say that he ‘saved’ his life. How has it influenced his resurgence?
I have a great relationship with him, a great relationship, he has given me a role. With so many players on this team my role is very easy, I don’t have to do anything very special, I just have to be myself, be ready to go out on the court, play, fit in with Kawhi, George, Norman Powell… I fit in with everyone and you already see what you have to do.
Do you remember any special conversation you had with him?
None special, every day we have one.
What role exactly do you give him on the court?
I don’t have a specific role, I’m like a ‘glue’ guy. I don’t mind going out and not scoring points, I’m 34 years old and I’ve been in the NBA for 15 years, it’s all about making life easier for others in the simplest way I can. It’s about taking open shots, giving the attack rhythm, defending hard, facilitating ‘spacing’…
Nicolas Batum, with his ‘saviour’, Tyronn Lue
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George look great. Are they one of the big contenders for the ring if they stay healthy?
We are one of those teams, we are playing for something big. There are many players around them and each one knows their role well, Luke (Kennard) the shot, Zubac controlling the paint, we have great point guards, Marcus Morris also does a good job… When we are together we know how to space out the court and it is very easy to play as a team.
He has a contract until 2024 and he still has some rope left in the NBA, but do you see yourself playing in the future for ASVEL Villeurbanne? Tony Parker, now president of the club, dropped it.
I don’t know (laughs). The NBA suits me, I don’t know, maybe… I love this league, as long as I have the chance to stay, I’ll take advantage of it. I am in the best league in the world, in the best team in the world… I am going to take advantage of this gift.
“The ring? We’re playing for something big”
This last summer he resigned from Eurobasket to focus on preparing for the season. Will we see him again in the French team this coming time? Wembanyama will also play and the inside game they can have together with Gobert as Embiid chooses France will be even more interesting.
Buff, since we have those three guys… I’ll take a break again (laughs). We are going back, we have a good team, we have the Olympic Games at home ahead of us… Yes, I will be back. I will retire from the national team after the Olympic Games, that’s for sure, but I have two summers left for sure, this and another one, two great summers are coming.
Batum, at the Tokyo Olympics, where he won silver with France
-In recent years Spain has always beaten France with the Eurobasket final as the last precedent. The last time you won was in the 2014 World Cup. It was said that you had the best team in the Eurobasket, what are the keys?
Yes, also the 2015 Eurobasket… You have Sergio Scariolo. We have a better team on paper, but look, there was Slovenia with Doncic, Serbia with Jokic, Greece with Antetokounmpo… But Spain did it again, they are a good team, they know how to win. There follows Rudy Fernández, I played with him (in the Blazers) and I love it, it seems that he is going to play forever (laughs). Anyway, you also have a good generation of young people coming up.
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