NBA ALL-STAR MEDIA DAY

February 19, 2022

Khris Middleton

Media Day Press Conference

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Just about All-Star Weekend? All-Star Weekend is just the best basketball players in the league in that year but also the fans get to celebrate and see all their favorite players in one city. To have an event like this, it's great for the players, but I think it's more for the fans because they enjoy the game. They want to see, like I said, their favorite players, the best players go at it.

Q. (No microphone).

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Do we see ourselves as underdogs?

Q. Not yourself, but the perception of the league.

KHRIS MIDDLETON: You know, that's a great question. I don't know. I know for the most part, we really don't worry about what the media says about us. We know what we need to do. We know what we're facing on a night-in, night-out basis. Last year, the media didn't talk about us much until we got later toward the end of the Playoffs or in the Finals. We're not worried about the outside influences as much. We just worry about what we need to do inside that locker room.

Q. How do you see yourselves this year compared to last year?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, I mean, last year everybody -- we didn't need to deal with as many injuries as we have this year. I think that's the only setback we've had for the most part is the consistent lineup where we know our guys are out there every night playing a certain amount of minutes.

I think we're in a good place. I kind of think we're in a good place right now where we want to be heading forward. We haven't played our best basketball yet we feel like, and hopefully we can hit that mark soon.

Q. Who do you think could be the greatest surprise team this season, and why?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, I'll go with this city here in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their record in past years hasn't been great, but this year they've proven that it looks like they're going to be in the Playoffs. They're a tough team to go against, a big lineup that's physical with guards that can score. They're a team that definitely surprised a lot of people. They got a lot of people's respect early in the season.

Q. On playing with any Hall of Famer:

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Mine would be either Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. I'm sure those are the two most favorite guys, but those are the guys I grew up watching that made me fall in love with the game.

Q. How about before those guys?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: The history? Man, Magic. Magic, Showtime. He's a disher, I'm a scorer. I like to score and shoot, so it would be him.

Q. Talk about Steph Curry's game. What word comes to mind?

KHRIS MIDDLETON: Electric, for sure, just how dynamic he is, movement, nonstop movement. His play is nothing but energy and continuous movement, which is hard to guard.

Q. More on Stephen Curry:

KHRIS MIDDLETON: I think he's the greatest shooter of all time, so to pin him up there with the toughest to guard of all time is an easy thing, the way he moves. He's crafty with the ball, so yeah.