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Former Magic guard disagrees with many
“It’s not stressful”: Jason Williams on international NBA games
The NBA’s Global Games are always highlights, especially for foreign fans, but they also bring with them a lot of stress. NBA legend Jason Williams reports on his experiences from international NBA games.
The Orlando Magic have a tight program in Berlin, the German players in particular are dragged from one event to the next in Berlin, there isn’t much time left. Moritz Wagner stated that he would stay at least one evening for a meal with the family. Otherwise, the Wagners and da Silva are completely on track.
The Magic played at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday evening German time before taking a charter to Europe straight after the game, where they landed in Berlin on Monday morning. Training took place on Tuesday. Moritz then came to Magenta Mitte (Deutsche Telekom’s headquarters in Berlin), among other places, to record a few minutes of a live episode for his podcast “Can’t you say that?” Guest there: teammate Tristan da Silva, who ultimately had to step in because the older Wagner brother had to go to the next appointment.
Jet lag and competitive disadvantage
Combined with the time difference (“flying east is always bad,” said Wagner), that’s a big burden, and despite all the hustle and bustle, there’s still a game to be played on Thursday in the Uber Arena against the Memphis Grizzlies, who hardly have any appointments that go beyond media availability at training sessions.
The attraction is clearly Orlando, which, together with the NBA, brought numerous former players such as Nick Anderson, Dwight Howard, Bo Outlaw, Marcin Gortat and Hedo Türkoglu to Germany. There is also Jason Williams, also known as “White Chocolate” in the capital, he gained fame as a spectacular guard for the Sacramento Kings around the turn of the millennium.
International games from a player’s perspective: “It wasn’t stressful”
Williams also experienced such a trip with the Kings; in December 1999, the guard played two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Tokyo, which is even further away than Berlin. “It was great for me because we were together as a team for so long and were able to present our game in different cities,” Williams told basketball-world.news about his experiences at international games.
And the stress factor? “Stress for me is when I have to defend Kyrie Irving or Russell Westbrook. These trips were not stressful for me. Through basketball I came to countries I had never been to and got to know different cultures. That is priceless for me and I am grateful that basketball made this possible for me.”
Williams now lives in Orlando, so it’s the Magic that the 50-year-old is following. “I see them as contenders, even if Franz is still injured at the moment. But it’s also clear that Franz makes the team much better,” said Williams, who announced with a laugh that he wouldn’t come if Franz Wagner didn’t play.
Will Wagner play? This is still unclear even one day before the game. Williams broke his “promise” and is now in Berlin. Does he know more and does Franz really play? We’ll find out on Thursday.
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