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NBA ALL-STAR 2019

February 15, 2019

Marvin Bagley III

Charlotte, North Carolina

Q. What are your expectations for tonight?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I mean, I'm just looking forward to playing with the guys. You know, just getting out and just having fun tonight. It's an honor to be here. It's a privilege to be here, to go out and just play hard. That's pretty much what I'm looking forward to doing. I'm excited about it, and I can't wait to get out there.

Q. Are you looking forward to playing against Bogey [Bogdan Bogdanovic]?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Yeah, I'm looking forward to playing against Bogey, you know, just seeing him every day, being around him every day. To kind of be out here in All-Star Weekend playing in this game, it will be a fun experience for all of us, so I'm excited.

Q. Do you have a little friendly competition going?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I wouldn't say it's a friendly competition. Like I said, it's kind of cool that we're all in this position, in this game, playing in this game and being a part of this weekend. So we're just going to go out and have fun and enjoy it all.

Q. What was your favorite memory as a kid with the All-Star experience before you were in the league?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: My favorite memory? I would say one year -- I used to go to All-Star Weekend a lot whenever I could. So I think one year it was in Houston, and I remember being on the court for some -- I think it was an All-Star practice, and I remember seeing Dirk [Nowitzki] and Kobe [Bryant] and those guys on the court, and I'm just like, wow, like I'm really standing next to these guys. That's something that I won't forget, that I'll remember for a while.

Q. Having gone to Duke, what are the emotions like being back here, dare I say, in the Tar Heel State, to take part in this event?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: I mean, it would be better if it was in Durham. I have that connection, that Duke connection, but to be out in North Carolina where I still have family, I got a lot of people that I know out here, it's definitely going to be a fun experience. I'm looking forward to it all. We're just going to have fun with this.

Q. Marvin, can you talk a little bit about the adjustment from playing in college to now being a pro. Some of the bigger lessons that you learned early on so far?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: One thing for me coming in was -- or still to this day is being able to take care of your body. It's a long season. We've play 50-something games, and that's more games than I played last year in total already. Just being able to maintain my body and stay healthy. I was out with a little injury for a while, so that was definitely a good time to lock in on that and focus more on that.

So it's just about keeping my body healthy and making sure I stay ready to go for the remainder of the year.

Q. On Duke's team this year"
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Man, I'm excited to see how it unfolds. Those guys this year have a great team, man. They lost a couple in the beginning, but I think they -- from how they play, how they fight, they have a chance to win it all. So they got a lot of weapons on that team that can come together and win, and I think the way Coach K knows how to coach and how he puts things together, he can definitely lead them to a championship. I mean, I'm guessing that's where they want to be. I'm confident they can win it all.

Q. Does 1 or 2 even matter once you're selected and you're in the pros?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: No, it doesn't matter at all. What matters is how you come in and play and how you help your team and whatever way that may be. 1 or 2, 15, whatever it is, however you come in and have an impact on your team and help your team win games, I think that's what matters the most.

Q. You and DeAndre Ayton got to play against each other quite a bit. Now you're both here. Just to kind of watch each other go through all this together, what that mean to you?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: It's pretty cool, going from playing with him in high school, being around him all day, playing on the same team, to going to college, not on the same team, but seeing each other do big things in college, to now, to be here at All-Star Weekend, it's definitely a blessing, man. I'm happy for him, and, man, we're just going to have fun with this, man. Like I said, it's an honor to be out here.

Q. How would you describe that feeling, coming from AAU, growing up like that, and being here at the All-Star Weekend? How would you describe that?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: Like I said, it's pretty cool for everybody to be here. Like you said, playing against those guys, I know a lot of these guys from AAU and around them in the summertime, just seeing them, feels like all the time. So to kind of be here now in the NBA where we all wanted to be playing in this weekend and playing in this Rising Stars Game, it's pretty cool. I think it's going to be a fun experience for all of us, and I'm looking forward to playing in it.

Q. Is there any trash talk going on in the locker room right now?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: A little bit, not too much. We're just having fun with it. Like I said, enjoying it. Everybody is here for a reason. We put a lot of work into it, and we've just got to go out and enjoy it and have fun and enjoy the whole experience.

Q. What does it say with your team having four guys here?
MARVIN BAGLEY III: It says a lot about what's going on on our team, the talent we have. We've got a lot of pieces that we're putting together. I'm definitely excited about going back into the season after the break and finishing out this playoff race and just trying to make the playoffs. I think we have a great chance of doing that with our team and the different pieces we have, and the guys that we have here, I think we can do something special.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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