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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKENDFebruary 13, 2015Rudy GobertVictor OladipoNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q. Victor, you seemed like you wanted to lead the team tonight to win the game. And now you are the leader of Orlando Magic as well. What do you feel about to be a leader? And do you feel that you are a good leader or still in the process? VICTOR OLADIPO: It's going to go to be huge for us. As far as my approach to every game and my consistency and my leadership, I've got to come out and bring that edge and bring that fight every night if we have a chance to win. So I've got to do the little things and I've got to do the big things. I've got to do it all. I've just got to go out there and do it on a consistent basis, and continue to believe in myself and my teammates and I believe we'll be successful. Q. Victor, this is the second time playing in this particular game. How do you feel about the format of USA versus the World? VICTOR OLADIPO: I like the format. I thought it was good this year. Something different. A new feel. It would be interesting to see how they do it next year. I thought it was a good format. And it was nice this year. So I think both teams did a great job. Guys played well. We had a good time. That's really what it's all about. So it was successful. Q. Rudy, big men sometimes have problems in these sorts of game and we don't always get a lot of defense. You clearly decided to bring that tonight. What was your experience like in getting used to that in this sort of game and deciding that you were going to protect the rim even though it was an All-Star Game? RUDY GOBERT: I think we just started the game very relaxed. Both teams picked it up at the end the last six minutes. I think we started playing the real game the last six games, and protect the paint and try to be aggressive on the offensive end, too. Q. Victor, what was it like to experience this game with Elfrid and how much did you and he get to talk during the game and share it together? VICTOR OLADIPO: It was a great experience to share with him as we -- as our relationship grows, as our chemistry grows. You know, I'm looking forward to growing with him and building something special between him and I. We just got to continue to keep buying into that. He's a great human being overall. So to be able to share this event with him was a real experience, and it's one we'll never forget. Q. Victor, it looked like you turned it up a notch when you were matched up against Andrew tonight. Did you have fun that way? VICTOR OLADIPO: Yeah, I mean in games like this you want to have fun, going at people and stuff like that. It was a good time. He's a great player. I've been watching him since he was real young. I'm saying "real young"; he's only like a year younger than me. I've been watching him. And the sky is the limit for him. He's in a great situation in Minnesota. So he's a great -- an up-and-coming player. So it was fun to match up with him and go at it tonight. Q. This is for either of you: You mentioned Andrew and what kind of player he is. He's really gotten better after a rough start to the season. I'm wondering if you can talk about what it takes to adjust to the NBA when you first started, and is there something that kind of clicks after a couple of months or is it different for every player in terms of the timing on that? VICTOR OLADIPO: I think the biggest thing is when you first start, first and foremost, getting the jitters out. You go into different cities, you dream about the situation that you're in, and then actually living it out and playing against players that you watched, playing in arenas that you watched on TV. Just getting the jitters out is the biggest thing. The NBA game is very different from college. It's something you really have to get used to. It's something that it doesn't come overnight. It's a process. So the fact that he had a rough start at first was not very surprising, because I had the same rough start, I believe. But, you know, as the game slows down and as he figures out where his spots are on the floor, he figures out how teams are guarding him, the game gets easier. It's a lot of room to grow for him. The sky is the limit, like I said. Q. This is for Victor: This is your second year in the NBA, but you are now the leader of your team in Orlando. Is that a big challenge for you being the youngest man? VICTOR OLADIPO: A challenge? Somewhat. But at the same time, my story and the way I got here and my life in general is nothing that I can't handle. I felt like I was bred for that challenge and for that opportunity, so I feel like I just got to go out there and just bring that edge and just bring that competitiveness every night and that juice for us to have a chance to win. It's going to be tough, you know, leading grown men. But at the same time with great power comes great responsibility. I might sound old fashioned, but you know that's the truth. I just got to go out there and just continue believing in myself and my teammates. The sky is the limit for our organization. We just have to keep growing and keep getting better. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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