OKC Thunder Bismack Biyombo Explains Why Overseas Player Are Taking Over!

Intro/Miami all right so we got bism bio there how you doing I'm good man how you doing I'm good I'm good when did you first get into basketball started playing basketball when I was um 12 13 okay then at 14 to kind of take it series uh just kind of like long story short at 16 I went to Yemen for a season and then um and then from Yemen I was kind of bouncing in different countries in Lebanon and Jordan just to play like team competition and stuff and then uh somebody saw me and one you know knew somebody in Spain then me Mario Mario Palmer saw somebody he he knew somebody in Spain so connected me with somebody in Spain so I ended up going to Spain for two years and a half and then I came here for the hoop summits I wasn't supposed to play um and then you know I landed from the airport I just wanted to How He Got Discovered By NBA get in the gym and and see what they were talking about you know the young guys that were all together as we were all just Dream Chasers I'm like just give me my shoes and I just want to get in the gym and just see where everybody at and after first practice I wasn't supposed to play then you know Roy R Roy Rana which was the head coach after after practice he came to me and said he man do you think it could be a starter for us I was like sure I wasn't supposed to play anyway but now I got to be a starter why not I was like could you be our team captain and I was like sure you so uh anyway long story short now I went into the game I had the first triple double in the history of tonight uh the game uh nobody has bring me get it's way a little bit let me enjoy my time he's been uh 12 years of just nobody breaking my record so I'm really enjoying since 2011 um and then from that moment you know all all NBA Scouts and you know U teams like the kid is an NBA talent and he has to come to the League this year supposed to put my name in draft the following year so or in two years maybe so we're kind of ahead of a schedule and there my at the time I was like just do it now you're already here yeah so we end up deciding to put my name in the draft and you know then work out for a few teams the teams that were going to draft me and end up being drafted at 7even by Charlotte Michael Jordan so it was a blessing it was a blessing the whole journey has been a blessing you know so many people along the journey that have been put in my way that have helped me get away where I am today so God has been really amazing for me and my family you know we Extremely Blessed did you ever consider College us at all during that time I did have offers for colleges at the time I I can't remember which one but I know it was all the big college and and I remember having a conversation with somebody I was like no I'll do it my own way I'll make it to the NB my own way my own term and I just wanted to do it my own way to be honest it's just I got feeling like you know I was still in the Congo where I remember walking back home and kind of telling one of my friends like I'm going to play in the NBA one day just a matter of time but when I really start taking basketball serious I just that feeling you know even people around you is joking oh you're going to the NBA at some point in your life like yeah you guys are joking but I'm pretty serious about this you know then long story Bismack On If He Considered College short it's just God man God is God is amazing you know we all have different passion different dreams and God has allowed me to live my my passion and my dreams through basketball is an amazing gift that we all given um just to be able to play in the NBA we're an NBA jeresey you know as a kid to dream about these things about being able to be put in this position for five years and still going to bless him when you first got to Charlotte I'm from North Carolina so so I came up watch you to the gamees yeah so I came up watching we're still the Bob guys actually still y BC then he changed the name back to horness but it was just a whole journey even like Charlotte back then when we started you know they just made the playoff and then we came in as young guys it was also like oh man like I don't know what's going on in the NB cuz I came when I was I got drafted 18 turning 19 yeah oh you were you we went into a lock out here I could even go to a club yeah you know you were young I came in as a baby like really a baby if it wasn't for Boris D because at home I was with Boris on the road I was with Boris Bismack On Charlotte I was always with Boris yeah it was basically like my big brother everywhere you go where where are you I'm here okay aome so but I was I was a baby also I didn't have my family you know so he basically was like my family so um but yeah those days were great man I think it's those are part of the process just been able to sit back and try to understand how the league work because you know in Europe it was everybody warm up together everybody do things together but once you get to the NBA man get your time to warm up on your own and then whenever it's time to tip the ball uh team meeting and so everybody come in and have a team meeting but it's just it's just interesting how you know you go from oh this is a body team to you figure your stuff out out yeah exactly and we get on the flooor we play the game but once you know and then you get also when you're playing Europe versus yeah you know the game is more about like the team and then when you get to the NBA it's a whole different aspect of the game that you got to learn like this is my job and this is my only focus Europe Vs NBA while going to the game in Europe it's just everybody is moving everybody's touching the ball you know now in the NBA you might go 5 10 position touching the ball you know maybe the only time you going to touch it if you go for a rebound or black sh so uh but again I think as you also get to the playoff we all kind of start learning the importance of playing team basketball and I think everybody's adjusting to it you know everybody's learning from it but overall I think it's great um he also shows how much the league has evolved there's a lot more International Players sh I I think last year maybe at the beginning of last year U we had like 140 International player in the league that's a lot that's insan you know so the league has been going global a lot you know the MVP the past four years has been an international player so this just to show you how much International Players I've had an impact and as a vice president of our Union I think that's one of our biggest emphasis is how can we want to make sure that this interal players are comfortable and welcome into this environment because I know it feels like to just come into an environment like the NBA without family member you know so but overall I think you know the league is trending in the right direction you know it's always good to see the league growing globally you know Africa the game has been growing tremendously you know and I love what you done with Africa so you done amazing stuff I want to tell you that to your face like I think we all play a little role in the growth of of the game inspiring the youth back home and I think for me that's always the most important thing you know you see so many people talk about Legacy you know I think eventually just like we were talking early eventually your name going going to be out of the picture as a player but I think it's what we do off the cour them the many lives or impact and uh these are the things that you know we can sit back and always look back and be grateful for the opportunity that God has given us and we're just getting wasted on making money and you NBA Africa know living good life but also impacting you know other people's life that were in need so and we put in this position for a reason for sure you know um and and and if we don't use it to lift up others I think we fail as society and we fail ourselves so I think it's always our job to be able to go back into our local communities and lift them up you know because you don't know the opportunity of the next person how that's going to come maybe it's going to be through you or through somebody you know so if you cross that door then you you're blocking the growth of the universe in a way that's true we always got to open this doors to that the Universe has been opening for us at some point we got to be the one opening those doors so that there's somewhat a continuation in the dream of the universe because we got our personal dreams the universe got it on dream as well so if you help us which is you know we believe in God you know high power force if it did help us to get to this level there's a reason why and I think we got to make sure that what he trying to accomplish next we also you know become the vessel to allow that to happen for the next young guys you know creating the next jobs you know lifting up the the voice of those ones that that you know voices really can be hurt and I think overall to me is always a blessing to be in a position to do so and uh and look I've always said the day I I I sto playing basketball I would have no regrets you know I work as hard as I can I wanted to be the best uh the best player that I could be um and and I help uh just enough people and to me the dream was always if I can help one person I've done my job I feel good about it but now we have done thousands and thousands of kids across Congo we have brought over here um close to 100 kids under SCH under scholarships you know um so being able to be that bridge it's a blessing you know and and being able to build hospitals and create Better Health environment for people finding ways to create jobs you know and uh and building schools to be able to educate kids this to me is is Legacy you know this to me is really winning a championship and I can sit on this every day and and be grateful for it because my journey was a unique journey I did it my way but without God I shouldn't be able to do it um but also God used me in a way to be able to reach so many lives that I'm grateful for it I still do it I don't know who's going to watch this video but hopefully they can take one for that I say and apply to their lives and hopefully impact the next person and that's what it's all about that's that's the journey we on and we must enjoy every little bit of it