Frank Nitlikina was drafted to eighth place by the New York Knicks in 2017 and is now finding his feet better and better. In an interview with SPOX he talks about the differences to Europe, his experiences with draft and his goals. In addition, the Frenchman reports on his first months in New York, the comparisons with Dennis Smith Jr. by Dallas Mavericks and Knicks franchise player Kristaps Porzingis.
SPOX: Frank, you just called me’ Hello! How are you doing?’ Hello. Do you speak German?
Ntilikina: A little bit (in German). During my school years in Strasbourg I had four years of German lessons. Even though your language is not easy, I enjoyed learning it. The problem is: If you haven’t spoken a foreign language at all for a long time, you will unfortunately forget a lot of things. That’s why I wouldn’t dare to do an interview in German either (laughs).
SPOX: After my French is a bit “dusty”: Can we agree in English?
Ntilikina: (laughs) Yes, that’s a very good deal.
SPOX: If we look back on the last six months of your career, you were not introduced on 22nd September. He was pulled to eighth place by the New York Knicks at the NBA draft in Brooklyn on June 18 at the age of 18. Now, at the age of 19, you are currently entering your rookie season in the world’s best basketball league. Does all this sometimes seem like a big dream to you?
Ntilikina: Somehow, yes. Of course, I have already realized that I have now actually fulfilled this dream of making it to the NBA. At the same time, however, I do not want to stand still at this point in time. I still have many goals in mind that I want to achieve in my career. And for that, I’m going to work very, very hard every day.
SPOX: Although you were born in Belgium, you moved to Strasbourg at the age of three and lived and played there until you moved to the NBA. Which change was more difficult for you: daily life in the big city of New York or the somewhat different basketball style in North America?
Ntilikina: (considered) I would say that both were or are very big challenges and conversions. Finding your way around in a huge city like New York with all the traffic is not really easy. But also concerning basketball, of course, a lot of things are different. The way of playing differs a lot from that in Europe. In addition, there are the many games within a very short time as well as the constant travelling. This is something I have never seen before in this form. From that point of view, it’s all pretty exciting for me.
SPOX: Let’s take another look at your days around the Draft 2017. On the eve of this draft, you and your team Strasbourg IG completed the fourth final match for the French championship against Elan Sportif Chalonnais, before returning to France immediately after the Draft Night, where the decisive fifth game was played. How does an 18-year-old process such exceptional situations in the shortest possible time, especially mentally?
Ntilikina: All the emotions that I have experienced these days cannot actually be put into words. That was simply indescribable. As a child, I have always worked hard to make it into the NBA. If that really becomes a reality and you play with your current team for the championship within three days, then everything really comes together. But it’s exactly these emotions and moments that I play basketball for. Now that I know what it feels like, I will do everything I can to continue to work hard on myself so that I will experience such moments even more often.
SPOX: In the run-up to this drama, you met with the New York Knicks around former team president Phil Jackson and the Dallas Mavericks with their owner Mark Cuban, who had even travelled to Italy. Did you expect it to end up on the Knickerbockers?
Ntilikina: Well, you can never be sure of that. Of course I knew that the Knicks, among others, were very interested in me. In particular, my agent in Strasbourg has had many talks with scouts in the weeks before the draft. So I was always up to date on this and knew what I was doing. In the draft night, however, I would not have been able to say definitively whether it would be this or that franchise.
SPOX: When NBA commissioner Adam Silver then announced at the draft that the New York Knicks had actually secured their services:”What went through your head spontaneously?
Ntilikina: Just… puuhhhh! I have already realized that I will wear the jersey of this great franchise New York Knicks in the NBA in the future. My next thought a little later was: Let’s go to work, so that I can put this trust into practice and take my chance.
SPOX: Not only the trust in your existing potential on the part of the Knicks managers was great, but also the expectations of the Knicks – be it within the franchise, but also on the part of fans or the media – in their players are traditionally enormous. With how much respect have you approached this demanding situation?
Ntilikina: Well, I don’t think that the expectations in New York are higher than those I have of myself in the end. Of course I am aware that people expect a lot from the whole team as well as from me. But I see this as an incentive and additional motivation rather than a burden. As I said earlier, I still have many goals in mind. For example, I want to win championships and become an all-star. These are my expectations of me.
Page 1: Ntilikina on the draft, the transition to the NBA and its objectives
Page 2: Ntilikina about his start in New York, comparisons with Smith Jr. and Porzingis
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