Marcin Gortat reveals he wanted to punch Dwight Howard, distrust in Doc Rivers / News - Basketnews.com

Marcin Gortat credits coach Sasa Obradovic for shaping his career and character, reveals what NBA Europeans sometimes think of Americans, and talks about dirty tactics on the court, potential nail-cut rule, and his biggest what-if.

Credit: AP, AFP – Scanpix Credit AP, AFP – Scanpix

Former NBA center Marcin Gortat sat down with Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype to discuss his journey from being the No. 57 draft pick to surviving and thriving in the league.

Marcin Gortat

Position:CAge:39Height:211 cmWeight:109 kgBirth place:Lodz, PolandProfileNewsStatistics

The 12-year NBA veteran shared stories about former coaches and teammates, challenges in the NBA, and reflections on his career.

To start things off, Gortat expressed that if he were to join the NBA today, he would still opt for the route of dominating in Germany (at RheinStars Koln) instead of attending a college in the USA.

He highlighted the key role of his coach, Sasa Obradovic, in shaping his career and character.

"Yeah, I'll do the same thing. I'll do it the same way. Most importantly, I would like to pick my coach, Sasa Obradovic," Gortat said. "I would love to be with him. Wherever he went, I would go with him because he was very important to my career. He set up. He made me a player. He built my character from scratch. He made me who I am today. And I learned a lot of things from him.

"I will not say I learned a lot from the German League. It was a good, strong league, and now it is even stronger than it used to be. But Sasa Obradovic was the guy who made me as a player, and he was the biggest difference-maker in my career."

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However, Gortat cannot say the same about NBA champion Doc Rivers, whom he met in the Los Angeles Clippers, his last NBA team.

"I didn't have the best time with Doc Rivers, unfortunately. He's a good dude and great to talk to, with incredible stories and a rich history in the NBA. However, I wouldn't trust his coaching decisions. I just don't have confidence in them," Gortat noted and went on to explain what he meant by saying that:

"I just don't trust him in many different areas. I've been with some of the greatest coaches in the NBA, and one of the best was Stan Van Gundy. Stan is an incredible coach who prepares you for every game and practice. When things get tough in a game, and Stan calls a timeout, you know you'll get valuable information and a play that puts you on the right path. He's a leader on the bench, and you can trust that next year, Stan will come up with something to make our team better.

"Just listen to what Stan tells you, and good things will happen. Randy Wittman was also a great coach, and I'd say the same for Alvin Gentry. While more focused on offense than defense, Alvin was an encouraging coach who gave you confidence, making you feel important to the team.

"Now, going back to Doc, I just don't trust him. I couldn't trust him, and that's it," Gortat pointed out.

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Over his lengthy NBA career, Gortat met many European players.Discussing the camaraderie among them, the 39-year-old Polish great attributed it to shared cultures, matters, and the ability to identify similar topics and situations.

"We have similar cultures. That shows who we are; we have the same values, culture, and jokes, and we can spot the same issue or situation in a room," Gortat emphasized. "For example, you have one of the guys walking into the locker room with a golden grill and shiny diamonds, and he steps in, smiling all over the place. Everybody else thinks it is normal. Then all of a sudden me, Jan Vesely, or Tomas Satoransky, 'We're sitting here looking at this like, what is this? This guy looks like a clown. He's wearing gold diamond teeth. It's ridiculous.'

"Next, you see an African-American coach walking in with his super baggy clothes," he continued. "I'm talking about a potato bag hanging on him as a suit, and we're looking at him, like, 'What the hell is this?' We all crack jokes, like 'You could make three suits out of this material; why would you make this suit? You look like an idiot in this suit.'

"So, we see those differences. We, as European guys, can spot a lot of things the same way. And we can catch a lot of things the same way we speak about when Americans talk about Sunday football, weekend Premier League games, or Barcelona-Real Madrid games, so we just have a different culture and different values and different things that are interesting for us."

In addition, Gortat revealed the toughest players for him to guard in the post throughout his career.

"Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins. Yeah, Dwight and DeMarcus, these two were the toughest," he named his former opponents. "DeMarcus was challenging because he is super skilled but also is a bit of a loose cannon. And then Dwight, due to his physicality and unmatched athleticism, man, that stupid strength was just overwhelming."

Gortat also shared the intense experience of battling Howard during Orlando Magic practices (2007-10), highlighting the physical toll it took on him and expressing frustration with Dwight's aggressive playing style.

"Oh my God, it was a nightmare. Covering Dwight in the game was a different story than covering him in practice," Gortat revealed. "There were practices where I almost punched him in the face. I was like, 'Alright, that's enough; I'm about to freaking hit you in a second.' I was on the verge of losing my cool because I was mad and pissed.

"I mean, I was bleeding in every practice, man," he added. "Every practice, my lip, my teeth, my hands were scratched. I still have all the scratches, everything from Dwight, my chest -- everything. I mean, he never cut his nails; Jesus Christ. Like I said, I was bleeding every single time.

"And when Dwight fouled because we didn't have whistles in practice, every time I'd be like, 'C'mon, guys, this is a foul,' and instead, he'd say, 'Marcin, you're the worst referee in the NBA.' Like, thanks. So I'm just gonna punch him in the face. I mean, there's no basketball. I'm gonna literally gangster his ass right now on the court. I'm gonna jump him. I'm gonna beat him up because that's how it was."

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Referring to these experiences with Howard, Gortat endorsed the idea of an NBA rule requiring players to cut their nails, citing the health part of avoiding unnecessary cuts and injuries.

"I mean, there should be a rule about it," Gortat stressed. "It's bad, not from a cosmetic standpoint of whether your nails look good or not. I'm talking about the health aspect -- how many times you cut into skin, how many times you're shaving the skin because, obviously, you're swiping for the ball, but it's like you're trying to scratch people's hands, and you end up shaving off their skin.

"You know how many times I get hit in the face and get cut on the body? Yeah, I agree. There should be a rule, but you've got to cut the nails."

Gortat then shared some less-discussed aspects of on-court behavior, mentioning that players often resort to unconventional tactics during games, such as grabbing opponents' private areas.

"Oh man, I don't know if it's appropriate for me to say this, but they do a lot of things. I mean, you know, when people box out, they will try to grab your balls and squeeze. I swear to God, they do some crazy stuff," Gortat said.

"A lot of things happen on the basketball court. Chris Paul will grab your leg or punch you in the nuts, too. It happens all the time," ex-NBAer added. "So when you set screens, you gotta cover up your nuts and lift weights to make sure your core is strong."

Last but not least, Gortat regretted not joining the Toronto Raptors when they pursued him after he departed the Clippers. Later on, Canada's representatives won the NBA championship.

"I wish that after I was waived by the Clippers, I had gone to the Toronto Raptors. They called me six times, and I didn't go," Gortat unveiled. "I could have been an NBA champion today. Instead, I decided to go to Golden State, and they lied to me.

"They said, 'No, no, no, we don't need a big. We're gonna take this small guy. You gotta take an additional guard.' And two or three weeks later, they signed Andrew Bogut from the Australian League. That hurt."

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