His statistics (3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 9 minutes on average) are not obvious, but Noah Penda scored points with his teammates and his coach. The former Le Mans player, who will turn 21 on January 7, has understood the role he can play for the Magic. Hardworking and rigorous, his state of mind allowed him to gain playing time and make two notable debuts against Boston and Chicago.
Before the Magic’s defeat against the Knicks, the Frenchman took stock of his start to the season. He explained to us the reasons for the Magic’s good form, and shared his joy at finding himself in Vegas facing his friends, Pacôme Dadiet and Mohamed Diawara.
Noah, you’re finishing the first third of the season. How do you analyze your start to the season?
Honestly, pretty good. I have a lot more playing time than I thought. I work a lot, I’m progressing well, so it’s nice to see the results immediately, because that’s not always the case. I’ve had opportunities to show what I can do and I’m trying to take them. Afterwards, for the rest, it’s always the same thing: the same mentality. You have to stay prepared for any eventuality and continue to work.
Rudy Gobert told us yesterday that the advice he gives to his young teammates is to find how to impact the match other than by scoring points. You have the perfect profile to do this. Do you share this mentality?
Yes, as you say. Obviously, I will be asked to do some of the “dirty work”: all the things that can relieve the other players on the team. This is also what brought me here. So I must not forget what allowed me to get here and to have playing time from the start of the season. We also have to avoid mistakes to gain the trust of my teammates and the staff. And then, I try to bring energy to the team. I have to continue like this.
We were talking with Pacôme Dadiet about how to stay ready when you don’t necessarily know if you’re going to play. How do you approach this situation?
Staying ready starts well before game day. There’s all the training, all the outside work, the little rehearsals we can do on off days, etc. I think the more you work, the more likely you are to be comfortable when your opportunity comes. And then, once you’re in the game, you’re still a basketball player. You have to be ready to act if you are called. When you’re on the pitch, you’re focused on the match, you don’t really have time to think.
From a collective point of view, you are in great shape after a sluggish start to the season. You have won seven of your last ten games and you are in the semi-finals of the NBA Cup. What was the trigger?
I think we just got to know each other. We had a completely new team at the start of the season, and people expected immediate results without giving us time to create automatisms. Even though the NBA is a league where many teams play similarly, there are still significant differences from one team to another. It takes time to adapt to a new team, to new systems. Everyone has found their place in the identity of the team and today, everyone is pulling in the same direction.
“I told myself I wouldn’t get the money I earned this season”
Does being in Las Vegas change your daily life? Is the atmosphere different because there is a trophy at stake?
I don’t think it’s much different. Either way, my role in the team remains the same, no matter the match. On my scale, it doesn’t change much. Afterwards, it is certain that I did not participate in the entire media circuit or in the media day interviews, unlike certain other players. So I can’t say it’s the same for everyone. But for me, on a daily basis, nothing really changes.
There are six French people in Las Vegas, with at least one player on each team. You’re obviously all here to win, but have you interacted off the field?
Yes, with the New York players — Pacôme, Mohamed and Guerschon — we crossed paths a little off the field. Afterwards, unfortunately or fortunately, we have to remain professional: we can’t be too buddy-buddy. But it really makes me happy to see them here, especially Pacôme and Mohamed, whom I have known for almost ten years. The fact that we’re all there at the same time is a great story.
If you win the NBA Cup, do you already know what you will do with the financial reward?
I told myself that I wouldn’t get the money I earned this season. I try to invest it. As long as I don’t need it, I’d rather not touch it, and we’ll see where it takes me.
Comments collected in Las Vegas.
