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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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Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors
Nov 11, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (7) goes to the basket against Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Magic 104-100. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

(Q): It is 10 years since the awful train crash you had. Has that been a motivating factor in your career or is it something you push right of the back of your mind and something that you don’t like to be reminded of?

Vucevic: I don’t like to think about it too much. You know obviously it was a horrible tragedy for everyone who was involved and for the whole country of Montenegro. So I don’t like to think about it too much, it’s something I don’t want to look back at, I can say I was very lucky to survive such a bad crash and you look at your life differently once you’ve been through something like that, but I try not to think about it too much because it obviously doesn’t bring a lot of happiness. 

(Q): This season you’re having a great season, what are you doing differently and what do you hope to achieve for yourself and your team? Also where would you place yourself alongside the league’s other top ‘big men’?

Vucevic: I don’t like to talk about myself too much or place myself among others. I just focus on doing the best I can every night on the court to help my team win, that’s really my only focus.

You know people always like to talk about ‘Who is the best player in the NBA?’ but I try not to get caught up in all that too much.

As far as what I’ve done this year I think I’ve been able to gain a lot more experience by playing which helps a lot. I think experience is a big factor in the NBA, you learn how to manage your body with all these games, how to prepare for each opponent. You learn about every opponent when you go up against them so many times as I have in the past few years.

I’ve got better at working on my game and improving as a player. We finished the last few seasons early because we weren’t making the playoffs so I had a lot of time to work and study my game which helped a lot. Also the fact the team is playing much better this year makes everyone’s job on the team easier and easier to play better. I just want to keep getting better and help the team out.

Next: Trip to Africa