Let’s start with Eurobasket 2009, the event that will put Polish basketball firmly on the map, as it’s one of the most prestigious tournaments to take place in Poland in recent times, and will of course attract plenty of media interest. What do you see as your role in this event? I don’t necessary mean only your role in the team but your overall influence on Polish basketball. Can Marcin Gortat do the same for Polish basketball as Dirk Novitzky has done for basketball in Germany?

“Absolutely yes. I’m really aware that my position as the only NBA player from Poland gives me a very high profile in the Polish media, and I’m trying to use this fact to promote our sport. Playing for the NBA in the last two years has provided me with some excellent training and experience in dealing with various media outlets. It is extremely important that basketball makes the front pages of newspapers and gets lots of airtime on radio and television. This is what creates lots of exciting new opportunities, as it attracts sponsors and new players.

Of course media alone will not improve Polish basketball. That is why I’m helping to organise basketball camps for young players, various street-ball competitions and I’m also involved in visiting schools to encourage new players. Of course time restraints don’t make it easy, but I’m trying to organise my time in the way that I can be the most effective. I can’t do everything by myself but I’m building contacts with individuals and organisations involved in sport to maximise effect of my work”

Basketball in Poland has lost a bit of its public appeal. In the 1990’s, basketball in Poland was considered one of the prime sports in Poland and television stations were literally fighting to cover basketball games. Nowadays handball and volleyball seems to be further ahead in terms of popularity. What needs to happen for basketball to regain its interest in hearts Polish spectators?

“There is no doubt that success of our national team is absolutely crucial to increasing the profile and popularity of the game in Poland. Look what it happened to volleyball and handball - their national teams finished on podium of world championships and public went mad. They are in great position in terms of sponsors and media coverage, the same has to happen for basketball. Success breeds success, and the public needs to be aware of a successful team. Another issue is having star players that everyone can recognise. It is absolutely vital that our best players successfully compete in NBA or leading European leagues. But the success of the national team depends on several factors; we have to improve the training systems for younger group and get them experienced in playing in international tournaments. Our junior national teams must be in constant contact with strongest possible international opposition. Also our coaches should be provided with an opportunity to attend international coaching seminar on a regular basis.”

You mention how important it is to work with a young generation of basketball players. Does Poland have a system, that can produce more players of your calibre?

“There is a quite complicated answer to your question. There are no doubts that Poland is blessed with an amazing amount of natural talent. For some reason, our country produces a considerable number of really tall, athletic players who can play in the best leagues around the world. As a country, we seem to be specialising in producing centres and forwards, so the talent is definitely there. How we develop this talent is a completely different matter. These players should be given every opportunity to develop their talent in their own country. Unfortunately our clubs often opt for American players, or players coming from former the Yugoslavia who provide perhaps better service in the very short term, but also take up a place that could otherwise be used by a promising Polish player. Of course this situation is dictated by the economic situation of the clubs, and I appreciate that balancing the books is not always easy for many clubs. However there must be room for Polish players to gain the necessary experience. Some of our most promising players are going abroad and end up sitting on the bench. Jakub Wojciechowski, one of the most promising centres in recent history has moved to Benetton Treviso, Italy and his minutes are seriously limited in a way that may impede his development. He is much better that I was when I was his age, but I was fortunate to move to Cologne, Germany where coaches believed in me and gave opportunity to play as much as possible. I also have a lot of reservation about the role of some agents who deal with these players. Surely some moves are dictated by financial gain of the agent and not long-term benefits for the players.”

Coaches play extremely important role in development of young players. You were in the unique position of working with coaches who were not only very knowledgeable, but also had lot of belief in you, and were able to steer your career in right direction. You worked with Veselin Matic, Sasha Obradovic among others. Who was the first person to make you believe that you can play in the NBA?

“When I was playing in Poland and one of the agents mentioned me in context of the NBA, I started to laugh because by then I had no clue about dribbling and wasn’t quite sure how many people were in a basketball team. However by the time I came to Cologne, I started to believe that I had NBA potential, and coaches like Obradovic and Matic made sure that I fulfilled this potential. They also made me understand how hard I need to work and what I need to sacrifice in order to achieve this. Sometimes I feel that Polish coaches don’t emphasise enough what kind of almost superhuman dedication is required to achieve success on highest level. I think that I just have this level of dedication which makes me different to players who perhaps have more talent, yet aren’t prepared to put such effort into training. I was literally prepared to sleep in the gym. When team training was finished, I would stay for hours afterwards, practising alone. When rest of my team-mates had day off, I would drive to the gym to practise on my own. My life was practically about training and rest. It sounds terribly boring, but there is no other way to make it to the top. I must say that I was very lucky that I have a natural determination, which I probably inherited from my parents, and that this was nurtured by the coaches who had hardly any experience in working with young talent.”

Well, you are absolutely right. When we talk about your development we can’t omit the influence of your parents. For the majority of parents, the idea of making living from being professional athlete is quite unrealistic, and the notion of going to the Olympics seems like journey to Mars, however your father has not only has done that himself, but also won two bronze medals in boxing in the Munich Olympics in 1972 and in the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Surely your father played a very significant role in guiding you in the right direction?

“I will surprise you, but from that point of view my life was probably more difficult. I felt a lot of pressure to succeed because of the success of my father. If I didn’t succeed there, would be quite a few unpleasant comments suggesting that I didn’t have his skill or that I was not as tough as him. You can’t escape this kind of pressure; this pressure lives with you at home. On the other side my father was really helpful in some aspects of training especially when it comes to conditioning and strength training. But I really must stress once again that, at the end of the day, it is down to the individual player as to how much effort they put into training.”

You are establishing yourself as a solid NBA player very quickly. What kind of expectations do you have when it comes to your role in the team next season? That probably will be the most important season in your career.

“There is no doubt that playing behind someone like Dwight Howard doesn’t allow me to play more that 10 to12 minutes per game. Of course that situation can be greatly helped if I also play as a power forward. That would definitely increase number of minutes that I spend on the court. Also playing as a power forward would make me a more versatile player. We must always remember that playing in a winning team like Orlando Magic raises my profile within NBA, and I’m also very happy with my cooperation with the coach Van Gundy and the entire coaching staff at Orlando. I’m also very aware that this is the NBA and trades happen all the time, so at this moment I really can’t predict where I will play next season. Wherever I end up, I will still be on a learning curve. I believe that within 2 to 3 years, I can develop into a player who is one of the cornerstones of successful organisation.”

Is a return to Europe on the cards? Movement between the NBA and European leagues seems to be quite common. Plenty of significant NBA players choose Europe as a place to continue their career, and salaries can be quite compatible.

“There is no secret that the NBA was my biggest dream and I have devoted my life to achieving this. It doesn’t mean that I’m not aware that there are very strong and rich clubs in Europe which can offer me money exceeding my salary in the NBA. I wouldn’t see a return to Europe as a step backwards. Basically there are two groups of players, returning to Europe; firstly, players who are not good enough to play in the NBA, secondly those who have been offered money that they cannot refuse. I surely don’t belong to the first group. I would like to keep all of my options open. Not listening to offers from Europe would be at least reckless from business point of view.”

We started this interview with a question about Eurobasket 2009, so let’s finish with a question with the same event. How far Poland will go in this tournament?

“As I have already mentioned, the success of our national team is absolutely crucial to the progress of basketball in our country. I believe that we have very talented group of players led by very knowledgeable coaching staff, so there should really be no excuses. I see progression from our team as the least that we can achieve. If we get to the knock-out stage, in fact when we get to the knock-out stage we won’t be disappointing the passionate crowd behind us!”
 

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