NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

May 31, 2023

Cody Zeller

Miami Heat

Media Day

Q. You were teammates with Caleb two seasons in Charlotte. What's been most impressive about his game in these Playoffs?

CODY ZELLER: I feel really fortunate because I've had a front-row seat to when he was undrafted and we signed him. To see kind of the highs and lows that he's gone through, in Charlotte getting a few opportunities with his brother, to being let go by the Hornets and then to where he's at now, being a huge piece in what we're doing here. To be in the Finals is really a testament to how hard he's worked. He's one of the ultimate competitors.

When I was in Charlotte his first year, we were picking teams for the summer. I was like, I want Caleb and I want his brother and me and two other guys, so just us three, I'll play against anyone. He gets every 50/50 ball. He flies around the court. He's a great teammate. Once again, just a testament to how hard he's worked.

Q. You always say it's y'all against the world and you know that you belong here and everything, but do you ever listen to the outside noise?

CODY ZELLER: Yeah, not too much. It's just really fun because it's all the media that you see here today, all the fans, millions of people watching at home, it all comes down to 10 people on the court, and that's what we live for. That's what we live for, the battle. At the end of the day, you've still got to line it up. We believe in the competitors that we have in our locker room, so we aren't afraid of anyone. We aren't afraid of the moment.

It's definitely been a fun locker room to be a part of. For me having played with different organizations and played for 10 years, this is such a fun opportunity for me to play in the Finals but also just to be a part of this locker room.

Q. The two-man game between Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray is certainly unique in what both of them can do. What is the most difficult challenge to them playing off each other?

CODY ZELLER: Yeah, obviously they're both super talented individually but also them working together. That's a lot of their fourth-quarter offense. It's a lot of what they go through. Obviously Murray can put up big numbers and Jokic can do a little bit of everything. Obviously he gets the rest of the guys involved. He can pass it. He's been shooting it incredibly well in the Playoffs.

So they can do a little bit of everything. There's no perfect way to guard it. There's no perfect matchup. But you just try to make it tough on them.

Q. As a big man, how do you prepare to guard a guy like Jokic?

CODY ZELLER: I've been in the league for 10 years, and I've guarded him a lot. Not saying I've stopped him a lot, but I've guarded him a lot. I think that's the biggest thing is just having a little bit of experience. I think what he does best is pass, gets all of his teammates involved. Of course they make some easy buckets off of him.

But you say that, and he's had some crazy scoring games, as well. It's not like you can only defend him against the pass.

He's a handful. I'm sure it's going to be all hands on deck. Bam is a good defender, and I'm sure I'll get my try. I'm sure we'll try some smaller guys on him, try some bigger guys on him. It'll be kind of all hands on deck just to try to slow him down.

Q. I was talking to Bobby Jones, the former Nugget. I guess you two guys are really close. Talk about your relationship and how you got to know him in Charlotte?

CODY ZELLER: We're really close. Actually I'm getting married in August, and Bobby is going to be one of my groomsmen. We're that close.

He was one of the first people that reached out to me when I got drafted in Charlotte my rookie year. I didn't know a single person in Charlotte, 20 years old, moving away from home, and him and his wife, Tess, cooked me home-cooked meals once a week when I was in Charlotte. We played tennis together, ping-pong, board games. We'd do all kinds of stuff.

He's become really good for me, as well, just because he's been -- he's won a championship, he's a Hall of Famer, but he also kind of puts things into perspective of there's more to life than just basketball, as well.