	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA DRAFT

June 21, 2018

DeAndre Ayton

Brooklyn, New York

DEANDRE AYTON: This is a great blessing. I worked hard for this. I had a lot of confidence because I knew I deserved this. There was stuff I went through to get to this point, and I'm just happy to be here and happy to be with the Phoenix Suns.

Q. You've said all along you were going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Now that you are, how did it feel and how does it feel?
DEANDRE AYTON: Having my name called to be the first pick for the Phoenix Suns was mind-blowing. Having all that confidence and leading up to that point when I saw Adam Silver came out, I was just waiting for my name, and when he called it, my mind went blank. I just did the routine everyone else was supposed to do, and I just got up there and enjoyed the moment, and I saw the reaction on my mom's face. It was just priceless.

Q. Take us back to that moment at the Jeff Rodgers Camp where you first fell in love with the game. Did you even think that this was possible reaching these heights?
DEANDRE AYTON: At the Jeff Rodgers Camp I didn't think I fell in love with the game right there. My mom just wanted me out of the house during the summer. That's when I really got exposed, that's when the opportunities started, but it's just great. When I came to the United States, I knew what hard work was.

Q. You signed with Puma, which is unusual. How was Puma able to get your services over the bigger boys?
DEANDRE AYTON: In the Bahamas a lot of people cannot afford Nike or Adidas. Puma is the main brand and it's very affordable, and growing up around that brand, I'm used to that brand. And me, I want to start my own thing. I want to be dominant in my own brand, and I want to have my own signature shoe one day to make it global.

Q. What do you expect your role to be with the Phoenix Suns say three years from now, or what do you want it to be?
DEANDRE AYTON: I just want to come in and be the best teammate I can be, especially be the best two-way man coming in. The game is changing a lot, but I just want to stick to the old-school big man, being down low and really trying to be dominant.

Q. I read an article that you had said that since you moved from the Bahamas, it's only basketball and business, that's all you're going to focus on. Do you see yourself taking a day or two to relax? You've reached the first part of your goal, but will you take a break to go to Disneyland?
DEANDRE AYTON: No, the hard work starts now. I told my mom, you think we were working, but the hard work really starts now. We've got a lot of work to do, and after the summer we'll probably catch a breath.

Q. Recently you said you were looking forward to a potential duo with Devin Booker, Shaq and Kobe 2.0. What are you looking forward to about playing with Devin and how can you bring the Suns to the next level?
DEANDRE AYTON: Basketball is really changing, so the two-man game is really hard to stop. Having a guard like Devin Booker, who can really score the ball, and me being a big man who can really pick-and-pop, very versatile, that's very dangerous. The team in general is a very young and hungry team. We just have to stick together, get a great chemistry and start a winning legacy in Phoenix.

Q. Just talk about the influence that you hope to have to the Bahamian basketball players being No. 1 overall, and what you want to try to influence the young guys coming up to hopefully bring the country more on the platform?
DEANDRE AYTON: I want to bring to the Bahamas, they don't have to leave home to think that they have an opportunity. We can bring the opportunity to them. I can help bring the opportunity to them. We can just start schools, we can start better basketball opportunities to really have more exposure. Instead of coming to the United States or going overseas, we'll just be at home and start our own trend.

Q. It seemed like very little suspense about you going No. 1; were you even nervous at all sitting there waiting and waiting? Was there anything going --
DEANDRE AYTON: I mean, it was a long day. Standing around doing a lot of media, just wanted the day to get over with. But as soon as I sat down in the green room and I saw the Commissioner coming to the podium, I really felt that -- I was nervous, my hands were sweating, I kept on asking my mom, "You think I'm going No. 1? You think I'm going No. 1?" But eventually my name was called first, and dream come true.

Q. What's it going to take to get back to the Bahamas again, playing for the Bahamas again? Have you talked to the coaching staff yet?
DEANDRE AYTON: No, I haven't talked to anyone yet.

Q. You've come a long way since the Jeff Rodgers Camp --
DEANDRE AYTON: Yeah, a long way. It's been a journey. I'm going to have many more chapters to fill out. But the only thing that can really have me continue this exposure and this type of lifestyle is just hard work. I can't stop now. The work has just begun.

Q. We've heard you're a fun-loving guy. We've heard about your alteregos. How would you describe your personality?
DEANDRE AYTON: I'm a very easygoing guy. I know a lot of people think I'm just a big guy who's just mean, and I hear "bully season" a lot, but it really means whatever your craft is, you want to be dominant in it. So yeah, I'm just a really funny guy. A lot of people think I'm just -- I do things people don't want, so a lot of interviews, I'm very funny, and I make everybody welcome and comfortable.

Q. You and Marvin Bagley go 1 and 2 and you were former high school teammates. How about your thoughts on that?
DEANDRE AYTON: I mean, it's crazy. Growing up with Marvin in high school until now, knowing what we both did, and we made history. We've been talking about it through high school, and now here we are. It's breathtaking that my name was called and then stopped everything and then his name was called. It's just a dream. We're just making history. We have a lot more ways to go, but I know we've got it.

Q. You mentioned building chemistry with your new teammates, Devin Booker, how do you plan on doing that?
DEANDRE AYTON: I'm in town. They know who I am. I hang out with Josh (Jackson). I've been knowing Josh since high school. It's just the other guys on the team, Marquese (Chriss), Tyler Ulis, having a good relationship off the court to get to know the guys. On the court it's supposed to be natural. You respect my game, I respect yours, you work hard, I work hard and just have respect for those guys who came before you, and just really listen and dialed in to what Coach has to say.

Q. Would you talk about your jacket?
DEANDRE AYTON: You can see a few of these jackets. There's a few flags in there. My dad is from Nigeria, my mom is Jamaican and Bahamian, so I'm helping all those countries in one. I'm not just a Bahamian. I'm Nigerian and Jamaican. So I just want to let the world know that. Thank you.

Q. You mentioned talking to your mom. I was just curious if you had any words with Coach Miller sitting there waiting around?
DEANDRE AYTON: He just said, "I love you," and "I love you too, Coach." We went through a lot, and I'm just happy he knows the type of work I put in. He knows I worked on my craft every day to get to this point.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297