Nikola Vucevic (R) of Montenegro shoots during the second round match against Greece at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, the Philippines on Sept. 3, 2023. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
In an interview with Xinhua, Montenegro center Nikola Vucevic reflects on the evolution of global basketball.
MANILA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Maybe Nikola Vucevic is a perfect center that every coach dreams of.
Montenegro made a breakthrough in their second appearance at the FIBA World Cup, creating a big surprise by building on their 25th-placed finish in the previous edition to move into the last 16 this year.
Having played five games in Manila, Vucevic has been billed as the team's pillar, as the Chicago Bulls star showcased a series of stable performances by providing 19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. In Montenegro's debut at Mall of Asia, the two-time NBA All-star even went 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Sometimes the stats can be deceiving, as some of Vucevic's merits can't be embodied by numbers. Dribbling, rebound, jump hook, long-range shot, as the play progressed, people found that Vucevic can do almost everything a coach expects from a center.
Nikola Vucevic (R) speaks to Xinhua. (Xinhua)
The 32-year-old told Xinhua that he has gained a lot from his point guard experience in his childhood.
"When I started, I played as a point guard. I wasn't the tallest guy in my team, so the coach put me as a point guard. This did help me develop a lot of my skill set," he said.
"And I think, especially nowadays, the way the game it plays, you have to be able to do that if you wanna stay at a high level," he added.
Vucevic noted the games have been changing all the time, and every player needs to follow the trend, otherwise they will be outdated.
"Three or four years ago, everybody would like the style of the Golden State Warriors, playing small and quick. Now it's changed a little bit as it always changes around the best teams, the best players, and then everybody will try to be like that," he explained.
"So it always evolves and changes, and never stays the same, which makes you have to always be able to adapt. I think the best player is able to do that. If you get stuck in your way of playing all the time, once the game changes, over time you will get stuck in the past."
Vucevic (L) in action against Egypt on August 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
Vucevic recalled that when he started his NBA career in 2011, no center liked shooting 3-pointers, but things have changed a lot since then.
"At that time, there was still a lot of posting up and big men never shot 3-pointers. Maybe they would try mid-range, but it was still in the paint. And as the game evolves, we started shooting, now you have big men who can dribble and play different things. So you have to improve and figure out ways to be a good player in different setup."
"There is a lot of really good examples like Brook Lopez. He was one of the best posting up players in NBA, but now he starts to shooting 3-pointers."
Vucevic (R) gestures to his teammates against Egypt. (Xinhua/He Changshan)
Vucevic's opinion was echoed by Basketball Federation of Montenegro president Nikola Pekovic, who emphasized that long-range shooting is an essential skill.
"You need to shoot 3-pointers, that's for sure," he said.
"I never shot 3-pointers in my life and I still played at a high level, but now it's very difficult without that ability, you can tell," the former Minnesota Timberwolves center grinned.
"It's about mobility, running and everything you can see. There are not any more super big guys and they are running everything, because no fans would like a result of 65-50, they want to watch 100-90, so what you need to do is to run, shoot and dunk," he noted. ■