Formula 1, French rap, DeRozan, the Bulls… Nikola Vucevic’s big interview

With 23 points and 13 rebounds on average, Nikola Vucevic is having a great month of February, and his performances are welcome to support DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine, his two All-Stars teammates. While the team is still very much diminished, the Bulls are back in the driver’s seat of the Eastern Conference, and Basket USA took the opportunity to review his first eleven months in Chicago.

Less than a year ago and after nine years in Orlando, you were traded to Chicago. How do you feel today in this new city?

I feel great. I needed a period of adaptation, that’s normal. It’s natural after nine years in Orlando. But today I am well accustomed to the city and especially to the cold. But it was mostly because of my family. In Orlando we had a fairly well organized life and everything changed suddenly, especially with the children, it’s a bit complicated. If it had been just my wife and I it would have been easier, but we managed to find the ingredients to adapt to this new life.

It was the first time you were traded during the season…

I knew it was a possibility…. The team wasn’t going in the direction I wanted and the GM also had his own idea and desires. It wasn’t exactly what I would have liked. They wanted to develop younger players, and I’m 31 and want to win now. Even though I wasn’t surprised because I was expecting it, it’s always weird to change teams in the middle of the season and as you said, it was the first time. Nine years in Orlando, where I lived great moments, where I knew the playoffs, where I became an All-Star and especially where I became a father… It’s a club and a city that is close to my heart. Orlando is my home. In fact, I still have my house there, I spent time there during the All-Star Game break. It’s hard to leave Orlando, but it’s a new opportunity for me and I’m very happy here in Chicago.

“The positive energy of the team is contagious and it’s very motivating.

The Bulls are leading the East and are having a very good season

We’re playing very good basketball. Even if the injuries and Covid have not spared us, we are progressing well and calmly. We are still a new team. We’ve been together for a short time and it often takes time to set up. And we, on the contrary, we realize beautiful things rather quickly. There is a great energy in the club, in the team and especially in the city. It’s a basketball town, a town that has seen the Bulls win. I think if someone had told us at the beginning of the season that we would be 1st in the East at the All Star Break, everyone would have signed right away. We are happy but this is just the beginning. We have to finish strong the last 25 games to attack the playoffs. It’s only the regular season and we are aware that everything will be more complicated in the playoffs.

How can you explain that the collective cohesion took so quickly?

I think we are a group of guys motivated by winning. Winning is our goal, but we are here to win collectively. Everyone likes to share the ball and when you already have that ability then it’s a good start. Then it is true that we have DeMar who is having a very good season, Zach who is playing like an All-Star and me, after a complicated start, I am getting into my rhythm. I find my rhythm and I feel more comfortable in what the staff asks me. We have very good players and that helps us win. The positive energy of the team is contagious and it’s very motivating. At the beginning of the season, we played against teams that were maybe not as strong, but we had to win those games. That helped us gain confidence. It’s a mix of things, but we want to keep working.

It’s all the more remarkable that the Eastern Conference is dense and very competitive

It’s clear that it’s been a long time since it’s been so strong! There are going to be some very good games in the playoffs. Milwaukee is very strong, the trade of James Harden will make the Sixers very strong especially since Joel Embiid is having a great season. If the Nets manage to be complete, they will also be very hard to beat. Then there is Miami who is such a well-oiled team collectively. The rigor of the Heat is no longer to prove, it is hard to play them, especially in the playoffs. But we must believe in ourselves. We have the weapons to fight against these teams. It could be a big series but I repeat, we have a chance against everyone. After that, we have to stay in the Top 3 to keep the home advantage. We hope that everyone will be at 100%, because it is one of the most important things. We have a collective, a strong team and I know that we can respond.

Even if you found an All-Star level in February, were you frustrated to score less?

Winning remains my priority. That said, I know what I am capable of on the court and I felt that I was not doing it well. At least, I wasn’t at the level I needed to be. Nevertheless, I knew my shot would come back, my hook would come back. I was frustrated because I’m a competitor and you want it to come back quickly. Especially since it’s a new team, new season and you want everything to work from the start. Naturally you get a little frustrated when things don’t go as planned. But I stayed calm, I continued to work. Little by little, it came back and it’s been two months that everything is going well. But what makes me happiest is that we are winning and with the manner. After that it’s natural. Last year, I had perhaps the best season of my career, I am All-Star and you want things to continue. Unfortunately sometimes it doesn’t happen as planned. On the other hand, I never got upset, I always stayed the course and the desire to work. I think that seeing the team win, seeing the team progressing well allowed me to put things into perspective and above all not to doubt my ability to be important.

Twelve years later, the reunion with DeMar DeRozan

Chicago this year is also the duo DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. The three of you form a complementary trio. We feel that you are capable of bringing Chicago back to the top of this league.

It’s working so far and it’s clear that at the beginning some people thought that the LaVine-DeRozan duo wouldn’t work. And yet, they have shown that it works because I think they are well surrounded. I took longer because I’m a pivot and I had to adapt to them. They are two backs, and they often have the ball in hand, so I had to try to find my place and especially the positions where I could be effective on the field. There are three of us, but there are also the rest of the players next to us. We form a real collective and that’s the most important thing. Today, DeMar is very strong in the mid-range, Zach is very strong in transition and especially capable of shooting 3-pointers, and I’m very good on pick-and-roll or post-up.

By the way, twelve years after college, you find DeMar in an NBA team… It’s always a pleasure to play with someone you like.

Twelve years… Time flies…. What makes me happy is that this summer we traded for him to come to Chicago and to have him back there with me is very pleasant. He’s someone I’ve known for a long time, we both played in college. Then we meet again in Chicago. Mostly you see how our careers have evolved, what we’ve become. It’s always interesting to look back at who we were in college and see the great NBA players we are today. It adds some excitement, for sure. It’s something special about sports. We tend to always think about the outcome. Everybody thinks that winning is the most important thing. I don’t think so. Being happy is just as important. That’s why playing with friends should be one of your priorities. And having intense moments with people you like is always special.

“The Raptors were champions with Kawhi, but the foundation of that team was DeMar.”

If you know DeRozan so well, you had to be affected by the criticism of his lack of leadership or the fact that he wasn’t going far in the playoffs?

Honestly, I try not to pay attention to everything that’s said around it. It’s a fan media thing, people like to talk and it’s true that it’s part of the business. Everybody has the right to have an opinion, but often the people who talk have never played basketball at a high level and that’s the problem. You want to tell them, “Go out there and show us what you can do. DeMar, I’m with him every day in practice and I see that he’s a huge champion. I want you to know that it’s very complicated to win an NBA title. Of course, people can say that he lost in the playoffs. That’s true but how many times has he played LeBron? Playing LeBron in the playoffs, it was almost impossible to beat him. The proof, for eight years in a row he went to the NBA Finals, that’s huge.

What is certain is that DeRozan has never played so well and that his longevity impresses

DeMar is a player who does great things and has done so for a long time. Longevity in the NBA is a huge thing. To be able to perform at an All-Star level for 10 to 15 years, playing every other day, that’s not for everyone. To be able to raise your level of play in the playoffs, that’s something else. To finish with DeMar and the fact that he didn’t win a title in Toronto, we must remember that he played three times in a row against LeBron James in the playoffs. He’s a wall. But we shouldn’t forget everything he’s done for the city. If Toronto was able to explode in the eyes of everyone in the NBA it is also thanks to him. The Raptors were champions with Kawhi, but the foundation of that team was DeMar. It’s like saying John Stockton and Karl Malone sucked because they didn’t win against the Bulls and don’t have a title. But, that was Michael Jordan across the street….

“They stole Lewis Hamilton’s title, it’s not fair”

Speaking of rivalry and alien, we saw last season that you were a very big fan of Formula 1, and you had vibrated for the fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen with this last Grand Prix completely crazy…

That’s nonsense! You can’t change a rule in the middle of a race, in the middle of a Grand Prix. It’s crazy, it’s unheard of! I’m a Mercedes fan, a Lewis fan but above all a Formula 1 fan and I don’t understand. We have the impression that it was made for the fans to add spectacle but it is not the sport. They changed the rules of the safety car. Of course, with the accident, the race is neutralized and Lewin was heading for the title and it was perhaps not what the fans expected…. But, it is a fact of the race and we have no right to change it. They stole the title from him, it’s not fair.

Last year, you were able to attend a Grand Prix

It was in Hungary and the experience was really nice. Because of the Covid, we unfortunately couldn’t visit the paddocks but I hope to be able to do it again soon this year. I’ve been a Formula 1 fan since I was very young. It’s true that at one point I gave up a little, during Vettel’s domination. But like many people, I have regained a taste for this sport thanks to the Netflix series and today I miss very few grand prix. For the record, for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, we came back late from a trip. I had slept very little and I put the alarm clock to see the race.

Another passion, music, and we imagine that you have checked the date of Booba’s concert, on September 3, 2022.

I’ll be there, that’s for sure. It’s going to be a big concert and I’m happy to be able to participate. Usually it’s in October or November, but now I’ll be available and I want to be there. It’s simple, as soon as I saw the poster, it was inconceivable for me to miss the event. It’s going to be incredible, I’m expecting a great show, feats and hits. I don’t want to miss it.

“It’s the US rap music of today that I don’t like. It’s too repetitive, the lyrics are poor…”

Did his hits accompany you to the United Center locker room?

Of course! I also listen to Niska, and his last album is a killer. I have a lot of respect for Niska. In the locker room or in the gym, I often play French music, I love it. Afterwards, I sometimes play Booba in the warm-up. I’ve always said that French rap music was my childhood and I love listening to it in the car or when I’m playing.

So the Super Bowl concert was your style?

It’s a period of rap that I was listening to. Actually, it’s the new US rap that I don’t like. I’m a big 50 Cent fan. I love Eminem… All those rappers I still listen to today. They are legends, timeless songs. I really enjoyed the concert and the show was well done. Seeing Snoop and Dre on stage was perfect. Everyone really enjoyed the show. I repeat myself, but it’s the US rap of today that I don’t like. It’s too repetitive, the lyrics are poor… The music is sometimes not bad, but it’s quick. On the contrary, French rap, there is a lot of talent, a lot of hits !