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NBA DRAFT 2019

June 20, 2019

Mfiondu Kabengele

Brooklyn, New York

Q. If you'd just talk about your style of play and what you'll bring to your new team?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: I bring a lot of energy. I bring a lot of poise and technique. I feel like my game is very polished. Obviously there's room to grow, but my body and the way I can improve and the growth and potential that I have, I'm very excited for the future. So that kind of mental strength and ability I feel like I'm going to bring to any team I go to.

Q. The hat says Brooklyn, the watch they gave you says Brooklyn, but we know it's not going to be Brooklyn. What do you think about going to Los Angeles and playing for the Clippers?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: You know, when you're from Canada, God hasn't blessed me a lot with great weather. So I went to Tallahassee. That was a great time. And now I'm off to Los Angeles and join Doc Rivers and his crew and see how they compete on a daily basis, as well as in the playoffs. I'm super excited to be part of that culture. When I get there, I'm going to bring a lot of energy and just go for it.

Q. Do you know Shai pretty well?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: I know of him, but we went to different prep schools and we never really got tight like that. But I'm excited to get to know him even more.

Q. I noticed you said "poise" was the first thing you said. Is this something you've consciously worked on, and if so, how?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: Yeah, growing up I faced a lot of adversity. Not getting recruited highly, redshirting, coming off the bench. I feel like that takes a lot of mental strength. Being a part of it strengthens you. And I feel like I've handled it with grace and poise as well. So I feel at the next level any challenge I will face, I am ready for it and ready to compete and excel from it.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your uncle [Dikembe Mutombo] and the exchanges you've had with him?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: Yeah, it's been great. Growing up, it's always been about family. He's always flown us out to family events, graduations, Christmas, Thanksgiving. So when basketball started to get involved, it was probably going to my freshman year, my Elite Eight run. Just picking his brain and asking him a lot of questions. And by me doing that, I think he recognized that I was very interested and poised about the game and the next level. So that's when it grew to picking his brain about how to eat, the nutrition, the day-to-day, challenges you would face off the court and on the court. He's given me so many gems that I'm going to add to my life, especially in Los Angeles and even though it's a bit further from home. All those lessons I'm going to carry with me. So I'm very thankful for him.

Q. You talked about growing up playing basketball at a high school level in Canada. You became the fourth Canadian player taken in this first round, which is a new record for Canadian basketball players in a single NBA Draft. Looking at this year's draft with four of you guys being taken in the first round and the amount of Canadian players that have been taken in the past few years, you've talked about Shai going to be your teammate there in LA, as well, how have you seen that development and growth of the Canadian basketball scene over the past few seasons?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: It's been growing steadily with the pioneers in Steve Nash; we have [Andrew] Wiggins, Tyler Ennis. I feel like other Canadian kids like myself are inspired. We took our training much more seriously. The game has globalized more where there is more cohesion, especially in AAU basketball. That's why I feel the Canadian game has been growing, just because of the overall growth and just constant competition, especially in the United States. I feel like in this next group of kids who have watched me, the same way I've watched others, it's just going to grow from there.

Q. What would be your message to a young Canadian kid right now watching on TV? How would you want him to view you?
MFIONDU KABENGELE: There's so much good advice, but the one thing that's always stuck with me the most would be success is only temporary and failure is not permanent. I made a lot of mistakes. Being overlooked. I felt like I made a lot of errors, and I had a long route rather than others. But I recognized from the jump at a young age that this is not permanent. There's always a brighter side, especially going through this whole draft process. You're waiting your turn and you're recognizing, oh you think you're better than this guy or that guy, but you know your time is your time. Whatever I'm going through, whatever I'm feeling is not permanent. Whatever I do get and whatever I do achieve, it's only temporary.

So whatever kid is watching me right now, you must continue to work and just fight for what you have because it is very difficult to get to this level. But it's completely worth it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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