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NBA London 2016: Nikola Vucevic Q&A on the Orlando Magic & NBA London

By jamesplowright

ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 16: Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic goes to the basket against the Charlotte Hornets on December 16, 2015 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 16: Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic goes to the basket against the Charlotte Hornets on December 16, 2015 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Q):When you make it to London what do you expect from the crowd in terms of an atmosphere coming over and visiting London?

Vucevic: I’ve never been to London or England so it will be first time over there. Obviously I know that English people are very passionate about football, when you watch a game you can see there’s a lot of passion and they’re great fans.

I don’t know how it is with basketball but obviously they’ve done games in the past so the fact that the NBA keeps going back there, I’m sure they’ve had a very good experience so I’m looking forward to it.

I think it will be a great experience for us, I think the fans will accept us there and it will be great to play in a different country. We played in Brazil in October and that was a great experience to go out and play in front of a crowd that hasn’t ever had the chance to watch a NBA game so I’m looking forward to it and it should be a fun experience for all of us.

(Q): You’re a relatively young squad in the NBA, do you see the benefits of a trip to London in terms of building a cohesion and togetherness in the squad and do you think the game will have a greater impact on the team than any other regular season game?

Vucevic: It will be special playing this game because it’s being played in a different country. There’s going to be a lot of talk about it, so that has a different feel to it and you’re playing on a neutral court.

I think it will be great for our team chemistry to spend some time off the court with each other. I think when we went to Brazil earlier this year it really helped to come closer and learn a lot about each other and I think the same will happen for us in London where we’ll have to spend a lot of time together off the court in a different country, where we don’t really know anybody. So I think that will help a lot and I think it terms of the timing with mid-season approaching you have to step it up and towards the end of the season every game really matters.

So I think it will be a great time for us to get closer and have a better team spirit. I think the team spirit has been really good so far but I think the trip could really help us get even closer as we finish the season.

(Q): Is there a lot of talk in the locker room about the trip to London? Is it a big topic of conversation?

Vucevic: Not really, not yet. We’re really focused on the games we have here now and we still have a good amount of games before we head there but I’m sure as we get closer to it the guys will start talking about it more.

Earlier in the year we talked about how it would be fun for us to go there, most of us have never been so everybody is looking forward to going and we’ll be able to bring some of our family and friends there which will be great.

Right now we’re really focused on the games we have ahead of us which are really important games because in the East the standings are so close that one win can get you to second seed and one loss can mean you miss out on the playoffs so we’re really focused on the moment right now.

But I’m sure as we get closer to it the guys will really start to talk about it more and will be really excited to go there.

Next: Traveling to Europe?