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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 26, 2017

Domantas Sabonis

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Q. Were you aware a year ago at this time getting ready for the NBA Draft and where you are now, what are your thoughts on this past season?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: I think the season overall has been good. There was ups and downs, but overall I think I learned a lot from the coaching staff, the players, this organization, on how they do stuff and approach everything. I think I learned a lot, and I got better as a player.

Q. You didn't play Summer League last year because of the Olympics, but are you planning on playing Summer League this year?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: Yes, we have a schedule with the Thunder, and I'll be playing Summer League.

Q. This is your first off-season as an NBA player; do you know what you're going to be doing yet? Is that still something you need to figure out, like how to work that?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: In terms of my game or just overall?

Q. Anything, just kind of what you do with your life, how you're working out, just everything.
DOMANTAS SABONIS: So yeah, we've talked to the Thunder, and there's a specific schedule for me this summer, just to improve on my game, the Summer League, playing national team, just everything to prepare me for next season.

Q. How about lifestyle wise? Is there anything that you plan on doing? Is it weird to have so much free time?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: It's not that much free time for me. But yeah, I plan on going home for a bit.

Q. Are you excited to see your family? What do you think you'll do when you go back home?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: So I'll be going home for my brother's wedding in June, and then beginning of August I'll be there for the national team, so I'll be there with my family, too.

Q. The start of the season you had challenges. You said the game was really fast. Once you got to the middle part, you talked about it started to slow down. When that went away, what were the other challenges for you later in the season that wasn't really an issue at the beginning but you just couldn't see it because you hadn't had that much time on the court. Can you remember anything that you were able to -- that was a challenge for you late in the season?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: Just basically being ready to play against different opponents and different styles of play. Houston was playing small ball. Just being ready to come out in those situations and contribute to the team and just -- yeah.

Q. What did starting as many games as you did this season do for you in your rookie season?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: I think it helped me a lot just to gain experience, to learn the game. I thought I knew what I was going to come into in the NBA, but you never know. It's your first season; everything was a lot different, and I think this season helped me a lot to prepare myself for the next year.

Q. How did you feel when you went from starting all those games in a row to going to the bench role? How did that affect you?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: I think it didn't affect me either way. I was prepared to come out and play and help the team in any way I could. I kept working hard, just being prepared for when my name was called.

Q. What did your dad say when you went from a starter to a bench player? What was that conversation like?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: He just said, be patient. It's your first year. You still have many more to come. Just keep working hard, and everything will come.

Q. For you was there a noticeable difference when you were going up against other starting big men in the league and then coming off the bench, kind of a difference in talent that gave you a little bit more confidence out there?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: You don't really notice it as much. You just come out and try to play as hard as you can and try to contribute to the team. Maybe if you think about it, but I think the main focus was for me to come out and be ready to play.

Q. What was your toughest moment this year?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: I think I was struggling a bit this season in the middle of the season and just staying positive and keep working hard and just keep working on my game and just being prepared for the games.

Q. How do you work it so that you're not kind of discouraged in those moments? Do you have teammates telling you stuff? Do you like handling it on your own?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: I like to handle it on my own, but I'm really lucky to be part of this organization because the coaching staff and my teammates help me a lot through it. They just kept pushing me forward, telling me to stay focused, and just keep playing basketball.

Q. What was going through your head the first time you met Steven Adams and Enes Kanter and Mark Bryant, all these big dudes you're going to have to deal with all year?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: They're a great group of guys. I love them. It's been a great year, just learning from all of them. It's just been -- it was a bit funny, but it's also been great for me to improve.

Q. The three-point shooting, it wasn't really something that you did in college. I think you maybe made, what, seven or eight or nine three-pointers your entire college career. It became a big factor for you in your rookie year. It takes a lot of confidence to take that shot out there. Seemed like you were really comfortable late in the year, knocking them down. What was the key to that? What really was behind that development so quickly?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: I knew that that was a big emphasis on my game the summer I was working to get drafted to extend my range if I wanted to play as a 4 man in the NBA, and just putting in that time this summer and in preseason with Mark Bryant, just working on it every day, and then coming here, having trust from my teammates to shoot it every time I had it, they wanted me to shoot it, so just putting that confidence in me helped me a lot.

Q. You went from there to like posting up; was that part of a plan? It seemed like you were shooting the three, going well, you got your confidence up with that, and I noticed that in the second part of the season, you were posting up, being more physical, making a lot of tough plays around the basket. Was that by design?
DOMANTAS SABONIS: It just sort of happened that way. We just started reading the mismatches in the game. I started getting a couple touches. Things turned out good, so Coach started to trust me more in that situation, and then I tried to take it to my advantage.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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