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What's up everybody, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast.
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I'm your host, Stanko Zovak, and I'm bringing you the best of Croatia from around the globe.
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This episode is brought to you by Adriatic Tours, the best place since 1974 to book
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your cruises, tours, flights, and simply All Things Croatia.
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Use the personalized code, allthingscroachia, to get a special discount and book your trip
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to Croatia today.
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For more information, go to www.adriatictours.com or click the link in the description.
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Now eat a modalia and let's get started.
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Alright welcome back to the podcast everybody.
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In this episode we have special guest, Andrew Bogut.
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Andrew is a Croatian-Australian former professional basketball player who among other accolades
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was the first pick in the 2005 NBA draft, 2011 blocks leader, and the 2015 NBA champion.
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In this episode we're going to learn about his Croatian heritage, professional career,
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and what he's up to nowadays.
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Andrew thanks for coming on the podcast.
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No worries, thanks for having me.
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Of course, it's really awesome to have you on.
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I just had Dino Raja on a few weeks ago and so that was like my first big celebrity to
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get on the podcast, especially in the basketball world and now to have you on here as well.
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I'm super excited to hear from you and talk to you.
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Can you tell us a little bit about your Croatian heritage?
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I know you were born in Melbourne, but the Croatian...
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I'm from Melbourne, both my parents migrated to Australia in the 70s.
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My mother's from Kalovac, that's from Osjeck, so my grandparents.
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Looking to get out of Croatia at some point, growing up in the 40s, 50s, 60s was not the
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most prosperous time in Croatia's history with everything going on.
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Every other year there was some conflict or some wars or something going on in the other
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world war before that.
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So they were...
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My grandfather was commuting to Germany a lot, working over there and then coming home.
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Then one of our cousins moved to Australia.
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My father and grandparents took a ship out to Australia and they thought that they would
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remain in Australia.
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They had second thoughts.
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Went back on a boat again to Croatia for a year and then realized they made a mistake
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and came back to Australia again on a ship.
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So my dad spent a lot of time on those long voyages internationally that the ships used
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to take.
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Yeah, then my sister was born in 1979 and I was born in 1984 and we're first generation
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Australians.
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But I guess the heritage thing that I always tell people was, I grew up in Australia and
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was born in Australia, but I was raised Croatian.
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Our house and our home was basically Croatia.
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Outside of that it was Australia, but in our home it was Croatian music, Croatian food,
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it was Croatian items on the walls, art.
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My grandparents, wherever they babysat, spoke strictly in Croatian.
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So it was pretty cool.
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Back then, as a kid, I wouldn't say embarrassed by it, but you're like, you know, you're an
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officer speaking English and Australian, kind of like, you know, you're trying to speed
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in as a young kid.
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But when you look back as an adult, it was awesome because I got to learn language basically
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with that.
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So for the most part, you get to learn about customs ideals, all that kind of stuff.
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And when I got to visit Croatia later on in my life, the transition was pretty easy for
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me.
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So do you feel more like you were Croatian rather than Australian when you were, you
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know, a kid growing up there?
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Yeah, it's a tough one.
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I'm still very proud of being Australian and what Australia has provided to our family,
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you know, leaving Croatia was hard, very hard for my grandparents.
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Croatians obviously, as we know, are very proud people, very sentimental people and
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very family orientated.
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So to get up and leave and take that risk, mainly economic and mainly for a better life
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for their family was tough.
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So I consider myself both.
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I think a lot of my ideals and hardheadedness comes from Croatian side.
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And I think that's a good thing at times.
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And I'm also very proud of the fact that Australia has provided a lot for myself and our family.
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It's nice to have that, you know, sort of dual identity for myself as well in the US
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as well as being Croatian.
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You know, I feel that sort of dual identity of being both.
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You mentioned your dad taking, what was that, three trips there back and there again?
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Back there back.
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Yeah.
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So we're being, yeah, we're being three trips essentially.
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Yeah.
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That's crazy.
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That must take, what, almost a month, three weeks to three weeks?
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Oh, yeah.
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It was months.
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Yeah.
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I think it was eight odd weeks, I think.
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I don't remember correctly, it was six to eight weeks.
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You know, so, you know, basically a third of the year was spent on a boat for two years,
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three years of his life.
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So yeah, pretty interesting.
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That's crazy.
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I'm sure he's told tons of stories about that and about the trips like that.
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Oh, 100%.
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Yeah.
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Making friends on the ship, you know, playing table tennis, all those kinds of things.
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They definitely weren't the ships they are today.
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The luxury cruise line as they have, it was pretty bare bones.
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But just being restricted to the boat for, you know, that long would be pretty hard,
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I think, even for myself to do these days.
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You'd find your way, obviously, a depth.
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But yeah, after knowing how long it was and how much time it took, we had to do it two
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more times.
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It's pretty painful.
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Yeah, that's nuts.
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A different time then, especially now knowing that you can take an airplane, you know, less
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than a day, go from one place to another.
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Andrew, can you tell us a little bit about, you know, your childhood growing up and sort
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of when did you start getting into basketball?
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Yeah, growing up, I didn't play basketball.
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I used to play basketball until kind of not late, but later for most athletes.
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I did gymnastics first, funnily enough, because my sister was older.
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She did gymnastics.
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So I kind of, you know, parents were like, it's just easier to take them to the both
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to the same spot.
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Maybe they'll both like it.
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I hated that.
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I did that for about a year and I hated it.
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More of a ball sports type guy.
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So after that, I did a little bit of tight one dough and then I did some Australian
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football, so our code of football here in Australia and that's outdoors in the winter.
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So very muddy, very, very dirty sport.
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Parents were okay with it, but didn't love it.
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And then I just naturally just started watching basketball on TV as six, seven, eight year
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old and ended up loving basketball.
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And it was kind of the in thing here at the time in Australia in the nineties, the NBA
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was booming.
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And then I asked my parents if I could play basketball and they kind of said, look, you
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change sports three times now, this will be your fourth.
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If you change sports one more time, that's fine.
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But that's it.
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There's no more a year into that sport saying, oh, I'm still going to go to the other sport.
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I want to try something else.
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It was like, I think I was about nine years old at the time.
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They said, if you choose it, this is it.
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There's no more expensive uniforms, fees, all that kind of stuff.
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It's very expensive, at least in Australia to play junior sport.
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And I said, cool, yeah, I love basketball.
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And that was kind of how I got into it.
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My father was a mechanic, essentially.
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And there was a hoop that was drilled into the wall outside of his workshop that was
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from a neighbouring smash repairs panel be the shop.
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So they used to use this ring to hang, you know, parts that they'd stripped from cars
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and painted.
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So he used to hang that up on the ring to dry in the sun, right?
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And that was the first hoop I started throwing a ball through.
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So it's kind of surreal what the story of how it all went.
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And then took it out competitively and never really looked back.
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Wow, that's crazy, starting from that and then going to the NBA years later.
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Who were some of your idols or what teams were you following when you first started
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watching basketball?
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Well, we've been creation descent.
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For me, it was Tony Cook-Oach, mainly because I was a very similar body type to him.
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He was skinny and lanky as a young kid and similar kind of games as a young kid.
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So he was a guy I looked up to and obviously the Croatian heritage helped.
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Obviously Dhrasin being Croatian descent.
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Everyone kind of loved what he was about.
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I mean, he passed when I was only, you know, seven, eight years old.
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So I didn't get to see a lot of him, especially with technology back then.
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You couldn't really see those games in Australia.
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Look Longley was a guy from Australia that was really the only Australian player that
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was a mainstay in the NBA at that period.
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There wasn't many guys that got over there and actually stayed for multiple years.
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There was guys that went over for a year or two and didn't make it and came back.
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Luke was kind of the mainstay.
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So those three guys, I mean, I was a Bulls fan because of Tony and Jordan and all that
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kind of stuff as well.
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So I enjoyed watching them.
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So, but yeah, the 90s was a really fun time to be a basketball fan.
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Yeah.
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Well, yeah, Tony Cook-Oach and Dhrasin Petrovic, two legends, of course.
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Did you ever get to meet up with Tony once he started playing with China?
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So yeah, amazing.
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Yeah, it was so my, my, my, you know, really like crazy surreal moment, you know, my rookie
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year with Milwaukee Bucks, Tony was playing for the Bucks at the time and was a free agent
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going into my rookie year and they brought him back on a one year deal to kind of be
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a veteran for me.
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Um, to think that I was, you know, wearing his jersey as a young kid, like literally
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there's a photo from 2003 when I visited Croatia after we won the World Junior Championship
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in Australia.
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We played that in Greece and I'd never been to Croatia.
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So I thought, I mean, Greece, I might as well, you know, go back to Croatia.
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It was the first time my father and mother had been back since they migrated to Australia.
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So we went to Croatia and I, I, I did a bunch of tours.
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I met Drazen's mother and father and I went to the museum and there's a photo of me at
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Drazen's grave with the Tony Kukoch number seven walkie bucks jersey on this is before
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I was, you know, even closer being drafted.
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And then two years later I get drafted by the Bucks and I'm, I'm playing with Tony.
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So in fact, even through me, I hit a game in my rookie year and with 0.7 seconds left
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things to spurs and Tony was one that through the assist from the sideline.
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So full circle the way life works and it was really cool to be playing with one of the,
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you know, Tony wasn't at his best then he was, you know, in his mid to late thirties
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and body breaking down, but it was just awesome to be around one of the legends of, of not
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only Croatian basketball, but European and American basketball in general.
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Absolutely.
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Yeah.
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I'm sorry to say, I didn't realize he had played that long.
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I didn't even realize he was on the Bucks.
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I mean, I'm only 26 years old.
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So that was, I guess I was about 10 or 11 when that happened.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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That's awesome.
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So he was sort of your mentor on the team that they brought him to sort of show you the
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ropes and everything for your rookie year.
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Yeah.
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Obviously it was no brainer for them.
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It brought him on a bit minimum.
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So they knew my Croatian descent and they knew that he was Croatian.
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They knew that I was idolizing to the 20 extent.
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So it made sense and it was, like I said, it was really, really cool to be able to sit
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and not play with him and talk and we still go out to eat lunch on the road together or
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before the games or after the games.
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And, you know, it was good.
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That's awesome.
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Going back to, well, sort of let's talk about the draft.
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I mean, you were drafted in 2005 to the NBA.
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Even before the draft, can you tell us, you know, sort of when you realized that like,
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okay, I'm going to be a professional basketball player.
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Was that like in high school?
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Was that in college?
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Even before, did you have your sights set on that?
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Yeah, I always wanted to be, but, you know, you never know, like you hear, whenever you
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say that, people tell you like, oh, the stats are really below that you're going to make
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it the chances of probability or that kind of stuff.
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So I always thought it was achievable at some capacity playing, you know, matter of fact,
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playing in the middle of nowhere for money is almost professional.
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And then, you know, I think probably even before I went to college, I really, really
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my game just grew insanely.
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I just got so much better.
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I made so much strides in like a nine month period in 2002 and three, kind of towards
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the end of 2002 to mid-2003 that, you know, I go to the World Cup in Greece under 19s.
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I win the MVP.
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We would be in the first ever middle for Australia in an international tournament at the men's
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level at under 19s.
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So once that happened, I was like, I've got a legit chance now, like a bare minimum for
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me is going to be playing professionally in Australia.
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That's kind of the low bar.
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Mid would be, you know, Europe, Euro League and top would be NBA.
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I still didn't know about the NBA and the whole process because like I said, we've only
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been in the Australian that managed to solidify himself or Australia, so that was a time where
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a lot of international players were still starting to get through the cracks has been,
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you know, first round picks, but it was still kind of, we don't know how they saw it.
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They saw that.
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So, and then yeah, I had a great two years in college and then it was on draft boards,
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the closer and closer I got towards the end of my college career, the higher and higher
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I got on draft boards and then within probably the last month or two in Utah, I knew that
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I was going to be drafted at some point.
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And then it kind of went second round, early second, late first, the further and further
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we got, I ended up being a top five pick to a top three pick to a number one pick.
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So it kind of, it all happened real quickly.
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Like it happened.
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Like I said, I was kind of a relative unknown in the basketball world in 2000 and probably
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2002 and then by 2005 I was number one pick.
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Yeah, that's I mean, you were also, I believe the first Australian to go first in the NBA
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draft also.
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Yep.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, exactly.
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So I mean, that was kind of the pressure.
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Like it was like, no one's have done this before Luke, I think was, it was a 12th or
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13th pick.
259
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I can't remember.
260
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No, it was eight.
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It was eight pick.
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So yeah, two even cracked the top five.
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It was really cool.
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Yeah, that's incredible.
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I mean, if you put it in today's perspective, like it's a huge deal, the NBA draft is a
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huge deal.
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You know, whoever goes first, you're all over social media.
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Everyone knows about you.
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You're basically instantly famous.
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I mean, of course, if you weren't before with the career you put up, what was it like
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for you when you got that, when you were selected first, did you feel like all of a sudden,
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oh, like I'm a star, you know, are people recognizing you?
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What was that sort of transition from college into a first round pick?
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You're in the NBA.
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Yeah, it's all a learning process.
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It's all, it's all pressure and foreign.
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Like no matter what people tell you, people are going to tell you, do this, do that, do
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this for your money, do this with your friends, do this with your family.
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Like it ends up being you got to do it and you got to make mistakes along the way.
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You figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
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And yeah, like for me, it was an adjustment period.
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It goes from being relatively unknown.
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You realize the beauty of being, the beauty and sometimes being unknown because, you know,
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you go to, you just go to your groceries and people want to stop and talk to you, which
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is fair enough at a time to, you're in a rush, you have an appointment, you're feeling sick
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or whatever or you're not looking your best.
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And everyone kind of knows who you are.
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You go out for a drink and people take a photo of it and say, you're an overhauling.
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You go out, you know what I mean?
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Like there's all these things that come along with that.
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That's just something you got to expect being the public eye.
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And that's the unfortunate reality.
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So I, throughout my career, I navigated how I handled that and towards the mid to later,
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I wouldn't say I was a hermit, but I just was very careful strategically of where I
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went and what I did because I'd seen countless numbers of teammates and countless numbers
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of people in the league get, you know, take it for a ride, get in trouble, do something
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stupid, have one moment of letting their guard down and not thinking through something and
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then it can change your career.
299
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So I was in a few of those circumstances throughout my career and I thankfully handled them pretty
300
00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,720
well and didn't really cause too much trouble as far as that went.
301
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So I was pretty lucky and steady headed, but look, at the end of the day, no one can pay
302
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you for it.
303
00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:36,640
It's something that you got to navigate your own figure out along the way and you definitely
304
00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,960
see the pros and cons in a lot of different people.
305
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And unfortunately, you know, on the negative side is human nature comes out with a lot
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of people close to you want, want to say no, how much money you're making and you got to,
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you got to take that in stride and, and, and, and you know, can't hurt at times, but that's
308
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just, that's just the reality of what you deal with.
309
00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,720
Yeah, I think a lot of people think, you know, in a situation like that, like, oh, you're
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famous, you know, life is easy, life is great.
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But yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of things that you don't really think about that.
312
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,840
You know, you sort of have to be careful of even just, I mean, you, you're how tall are
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you, seven foot even or?
314
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Yeah, seven foot.
315
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,880
And just size wise, going out in public, I mean, I'm sure people are noticing you even
316
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if they don't immediately recognize who you are.
317
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:23,720
So you know, going anywhere, you're basically always the public eye, I guess, like you said,
318
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yeah.
319
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:25,720
Yeah, exactly.
320
00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:26,720
I can't hide.
321
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,280
I mean, I can't, I can't, teammates of mine could put a hat on and blend in with the crowd
322
00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:31,960
and unfortunately I'm seven foot.
323
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:37,360
So even if people don't know who you are, they are intrigued and they, they might Google
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or someone, they might hear someone say a name and then they find out who you are, you
325
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:42,600
know, people that have no idea about basketball.
326
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:47,720
So it's just, yeah, it's just one of the, one of the things you got to do with.
327
00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:52,600
So your first couple of years in the NBA, like looking back on your career, how would
328
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,680
you say, you know, when you were with the Bucks, how are those years with the Bucks?
329
00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:01,320
I mean, you were a huge defensive presence, in particular blocks, it was sort of your,
330
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,920
I mean, that's what you were best at compared to other players.
331
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:10,120
2011, you had the most blocks, sort of in retrospect.
332
00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:11,680
How were those years with the Bucks?
333
00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:13,200
Yeah, that was interesting.
334
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:18,600
The club was in a period that there wasn't a whole lot of success in the 2000s.
335
00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:23,400
It was a lot of rebuilding, I guess the frustrating thing for when I was in Milwaukee was we just
336
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,360
couldn't put together a stable roster.
337
00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:30,480
We kind of changed, our roster was gutted almost every season.
338
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,080
We had a lot of guys, it was kind of the joke around the league was it was a revolving
339
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:35,080
door of a franchise.
340
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,440
So if you got a player, they come through the turnstile and then by the end of the season
341
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:43,760
they'd be out of the turnstile and you can't build long term success or any kind of success
342
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:44,760
like that.
343
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:45,760
It's very, very hard to do.
344
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,320
So we had a few successful years, kind of the midpoint.
345
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,720
And then once again, like we had a good year and then the next season, you know, seven
346
00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,160
or eight new players again in the roster.
347
00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:01,160
So that was a little frustrating just to get a bit of stability, which then, you know,
348
00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:06,160
going to Golden State after that, that's when, you know, I was finally part of a club that
349
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:10,600
had stability, even though they weren't good when I first got there, built into a stable
350
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,400
club and obviously they're still, they're still one of the most dominant forces in
351
00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,040
the NBA 10 years later.
352
00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:21,120
So, but you know, Milwaukee was really good for me as far as being a small market, small
353
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town USA.
354
00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:26,160
I think that fit my personality much better than going to Los Angeles or New York.
355
00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:30,400
I think that would have been a whole different ball game for me and I enjoyed my time there,
356
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:31,400
everything about the weather.
357
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,000
I mean, the weather is brutal and walkie.
358
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,840
I'm used to that, that kind of those kind of temperatures below zero, but as far as
359
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:43,160
a city in the town, you know, it was a part of my life where I kind of grew from a boy
360
00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:44,160
to a man.
361
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:45,880
So it's very, very sentimental to me.
362
00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:50,000
You always have a special place in my heart and, you know, I look forward to getting back
363
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:51,920
there one day.
364
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:57,440
You mentioned the Warriors Golden State with whom you won a championship in 2015.
365
00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,760
What was different with that team, you know, compared to the other teams where, you know,
366
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,880
this team, this championship team, what was different on the Warriors?
367
00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:11,520
Look, we had a good mix of young talent and Steph Curry and play Thompson and Dream on
368
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,020
Greenhouse and Barnes.
369
00:20:13,020 --> 00:20:16,960
We had a good mix of veterans myself and Iguodala and David Lee.
370
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,400
And I think the roster was just put together very, very well.
371
00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,160
A bit of luck goes into that.
372
00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,840
Like, you know, GMs and coaches will tell you sometimes it's luck.
373
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:30,400
You might not realize that a guy is actually a good person, a good guy to have in a group
374
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:35,320
and can play and fits a role well or whatever.
375
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,400
I think one of the most important things was we had just good people in that locker room.
376
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:44,880
That's half the battle in professional sports is having players that I guess have kind of
377
00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:50,520
got over themselves, which look, every young player is trying to solidify themselves and
378
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,800
show that they can do more than they're being allowed to or more than their role is.
379
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:59,520
In Golden State, we had players that had, I was kind of a number one, number two option
380
00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:00,840
with Milwaukee for a number of years.
381
00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,720
Andre Iguodala was a number one, number two option.
382
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,800
A few of his teams, David Lee, the same.
383
00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,680
So we came all in Golden State and a big part of our careers.
384
00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,240
We were like, you know what, like we're okay playing a fourth, fifth role.
385
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,640
We're okay being a role player to step and play.
386
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,720
And I think we had a lot of guys accept those roles and that's probably the hardest part
387
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:24,360
for coaching the NBA is you could have a team of stars, five players, but they can't all
388
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:25,360
score 30.
389
00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:26,360
They can't all put up their averages.
390
00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:30,800
Someone's going to take a backseat to someone else and that's when problems usually arise.
391
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:32,280
We didn't really have those problems.
392
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:40,080
There was some TV stuff with guys that obviously went from 35 minutes to 20 and that's an adjustment.
393
00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,520
But at the end of the day, when you're winning games, you can't complain too much because
394
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,280
other guys are going to be like, what do you want man?
395
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:46,280
We're winning.
396
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:47,720
We're going to chance to compete for a championship.
397
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:49,240
And it kind of came together quick.
398
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:54,640
Like it's, there was a team that was, was a laughing stock of a franchise three or four
399
00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,520
years previously before the championship.
400
00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:04,080
So you know, 2006, seven, eight, they had one good year in 08 and then all other years
401
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:09,840
were pretty poor to get to a position where they're pretty much stable branching the NBA
402
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:14,480
right now as far as consistency goes over the last decade is a testament to what they've
403
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,160
built and the people that they've recruited and had involved with the club.
404
00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:23,480
So it sounds like they really played, you guys really played as a team and had chemistry.
405
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,960
I know Steve Kerr gets a lot of praise for that.
406
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:31,440
Mark Jackson also with that team put in a lot of work before Steve Kerr came, I believe.
407
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:36,120
Do you think Steve Kerr is really, I mean, is he really that great of a coach that he's
408
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:39,520
able to do things, you know, these type of things with the Warriors and make them all
409
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:40,520
the team?
410
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,720
Or do you think also those players, you know, naturally are getting along and work well
411
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:45,720
together?
412
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:47,720
Oh, it's a definitely mix of both.
413
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,560
I don't think Steve's reinvented the wheel with anything and he'll be the first one to
414
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:53,560
tell you that.
415
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,160
And I don't think it's just solely player driven.
416
00:22:55,160 --> 00:23:00,600
I think it's a balance and you look at how hard it is to coach today.
417
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:06,320
You look at what happened with Steve Nash and Brooklyn, you know, and Brooklyn arguably
418
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,000
one of the most talented rosters in the league and they get off to a horrible start under
419
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,000
Steve Nash.
420
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,240
So that just tells you that it definitely matters with coaching to an extent, but also matters
421
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:16,240
with players.
422
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:20,240
And I think Steve did a great job of having player import and allowing player import, but
423
00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,840
also putting his foot down when he needed to.
424
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:28,920
And, you know, Steve simplified things, but also demanded some discipline on other things.
425
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:30,440
We were a real high turnover team.
426
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,320
Of course, Steve got involved.
427
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,760
The Warriors still kind of can have high turnover games, but he had an emphasis on not turning
428
00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,560
the ball over and really, really pushed that on us.
429
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:45,440
But, you know, Steve and most smart NBA coaches will tell you it's not about the game's changed
430
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:46,560
the last 10 to 10 years.
431
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,840
It's not about traditional coaching about what you can write on a whiteboard and what
432
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,440
plays and what system you can implement.
433
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,680
It's people management and personality management.
434
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,080
And that's 90% of it.
435
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,080
Like if you could be a genius, you could be Red Alback or Pat Riley or Phil Jackson and
436
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,840
have the best plays in the world and just be an unbelievable basketball, Mozart.
437
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:14,520
But if you don't have an element of communication and understanding and back and forth and you
438
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,120
can relate to the players, you're gone, you're unified.
439
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:18,360
I don't care who you are.
440
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:19,360
That's just the reality of it.
441
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,840
And that's probably not the right balance.
442
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,560
I think it should be 50-50, but it's really swayed towards if your star players aren't
443
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,520
happy with you, even if you're winning, you're gone.
444
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:28,520
Simple as that.
445
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:33,440
And that's where Steve understands that, you know, you've got to have a relationship with
446
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:34,440
every player.
447
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:35,920
Every player's personality is different.
448
00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,120
Like I can yell at that guy over there and he's going to respond.
449
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:43,000
But that guy probably needed to go with a different tactic or put my arm around him every now
450
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,560
and then that guy doesn't like to be spoken to either way.
451
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,120
So we'll just give him a little bit of feedback.
452
00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:52,120
You know, this guy respond better to the film video, we'll get with the video coach and
453
00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:53,520
showing the mistakes he's making.
454
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:55,320
So you got to understand your plays in that aspect.
455
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,040
And I think Steve's number one attribute is that.
456
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,120
So you really have to understand and manage the players personalities.
457
00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:09,200
And Andrew, you had a couple of freak injuries throughout your career that really hampered
458
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:15,280
your career, you know, playing wise, time wise, you're having to sit out just for things.
459
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:19,320
I mean, maybe it hurts you to think about, but you know, when you hung on the rim and
460
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:24,840
fall and fell on your arm, are those things that still affect you physically today?
461
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,840
Like are you, are you feeling, you know, effects from all the wear and tear of playing basketball?
462
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:29,840
Yeah, of course.
463
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:34,200
I mean, it's the same as anyone else, even without major injuries, you always going to
464
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,720
retire with your shoes, with your hips or your back, with your knees or your ankles.
465
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:39,520
I mean, it's a brutal sport.
466
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,040
It's full contact, hard surface.
467
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:46,600
So yeah, I mean, I still have to, I have to work out to this day and thankfully nothing's
468
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:50,720
bothering me to a point where I'm, where I'm incapable of doing what I want to do on a
469
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:51,720
daily basis.
470
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:52,720
That's probably the most important thing.
471
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,440
And probably the main reason why I retired when I did, you know, I didn't retire early,
472
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:57,440
I didn't retire late.
473
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,000
I kind of was 35 years old when I retired.
474
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,000
And that was a main driver.
475
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,960
I didn't want to get to a point where I play an extra year or two and that puts so much
476
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,640
work total on my body that, you know, 40, I'm struggling to be able to play with the
477
00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:12,840
kids or go and do whatever I want to do.
478
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:18,160
So I'm still super active, you know, playing with the kids a lot, streaming, doing all those
479
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,160
different things.
480
00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,760
And yeah, I have to work out.
481
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:22,760
That's the answer.
482
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,840
Like I can't, it's not like I'm retired and can now stay out of the gym.
483
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,480
I got to, you know, go on this weights and do some core work and I still go see the physio
484
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:35,360
once a week to make sure that body's kind of like a, it's probably now like a, an old
485
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:36,360
old vintage car, right?
486
00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,320
You get to just make sure that every now and then it gets a service and probably gets a
487
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:41,840
bit more love than the new cars.
488
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:43,200
And that's kind of how I treat my body.
489
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:44,480
So touch wood to this point.
490
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:45,480
It's been great.
491
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:50,000
Had a few surgeries when I retired, got some things fixed that I needed to get fixed that
492
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,720
will linger in throughout my career and haven't really had too much of an issue since then,
493
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,640
thankfully, but I'm sure when I'm 60, 70 years old, they'll be, you know, they'll work for
494
00:26:58,640 --> 00:26:59,640
the biggest one.
495
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,640
They'll be on the ankle, probably being joints.
496
00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,600
They're probably the two biggest ones that I just got to make sure I keep maintaining
497
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:05,600
and be careful.
498
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:11,600
Hopefully technology by then is even more advanced that, you know, injuries will be
499
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,600
even easier to get.
500
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:18,720
Hopefully, you know, I was just thinking, because you mentioned how Tony Kuko was your
501
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,320
mentor, you know, for that first season.
502
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:27,120
And I wanted to ask about Ibiza Zubats, because you were sort of in that same role of Kuko,
503
00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:31,080
but for Zubats, you were with him, I guess I was his rookie year on the Lakers.
504
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,080
Sick of you, I think.
505
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,080
Yeah.
506
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:35,080
And what was that like?
507
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:39,040
I read that you were going to explain a couple of things in Croatian to him, you know, just
508
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:43,600
when things were easier to understand in his native language and were you just sort of showing
509
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:44,600
him the ropes?
510
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,880
Did you feel like, like, oh man, I'm sort of, I'm doing what Tony Kuko was doing for
511
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:49,880
me?
512
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:50,880
Yeah, somewhat.
513
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,160
Look, I think it's always nice when you have someone that can speak your native tongue
514
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:55,160
on a team.
515
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,200
So the first time in his NBA career, they probably had that.
516
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,120
And just trying to help him, I mean, he was going to be a great player in the NBA.
517
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:06,680
And I think he was in a transition period with the Lakers weren't doing too well throughout
518
00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:08,680
his career there.
519
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:12,560
So he was kind of, he was spinning at times like, you know, what's going on here?
520
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:13,560
We're not winning.
521
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:14,560
We're not playing well.
522
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:15,560
So just trying to help him through that.
523
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:19,480
And I think the biggest thing where I helped him with was just defensively just understanding
524
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,520
how big and strong he is and how he can really affect the game in the paint.
525
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,680
So we spent, we spent a fair bit of time together.
526
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,400
I was only there for four or five months, but we spent a fair bit of time together.
527
00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:29,960
And we still talk to this day.
528
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,960
Now we're still text back and forth every now and then, and he's a great kid.
529
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:35,920
Like I really got a lot of time for him.
530
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:41,760
He's kind of, you know, done really well with his body of work coming from Europe and then
531
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:45,800
coming to everything in the NBA and now solidifying a really important role for the Lakers.
532
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:51,120
So I've really enjoyed continuing to watch his journey and hopefully get a championship
533
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:52,640
in the next couple of years.
534
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:53,640
Hopefully.
535
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:54,640
Yeah.
536
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,840
He's really progressed very well as a player year after year.
537
00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:02,320
Andrew, sort of going back to Croatia a little bit, how often do you go back to visit now
538
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,840
or if at all in recent years?
539
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:05,840
Yeah.
540
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:15,960
And I had an apartment on the island of Park in Novalje for, I bought that in 2009.
541
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:20,080
I just sold it pre-code luckily because I couldn't go back there anyway.
542
00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:24,240
I just thought we just had kids and I knew we wouldn't travel to Croatia for a couple
543
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,400
of years with kids because that's just the nightmare you know, on a long flight with
544
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,600
you know, six month old and a two year old.
545
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:36,160
So I thought I'll sell that and then eventually get something else somewhere else and then
546
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:37,160
COVID hit.
547
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:42,160
So I haven't been back since, I think it's been almost four years now since I've been
548
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,160
back and I went every year from 2009.
549
00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:49,360
I went every year for at least two to three weeks and a couple of seasons, off seasons
550
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:50,400
I spent two months there.
551
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:56,720
So Novalje had a basketball gym so I familiarized myself with the locals there and I used to
552
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:58,200
work out there on the island.
553
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,080
You know, I found a weight room, all that kind of stuff.
554
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:05,480
So I established a nice little routine but then yeah, with COVID I haven't had an opportunity
555
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,040
to go back and I'm actually planning a trip this June.
556
00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:14,200
So I have a lot of families still in Croatia and my aunt's a young girl lived there.
557
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,120
My goddaughter as well.
558
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:21,800
So we haven't seen them for a number of years so we're looking forward to going back hopefully
559
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:22,800
in June.
560
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:23,800
Oh, that's awesome.
561
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,600
Well, yeah, if you were in Australia you weren't even able to go anywhere in the last
562
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,040
couple of years with COVID and everything, right?
563
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:34,680
Yeah, in Australia you had restrictions and then it was just the last thing I wanted to
564
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:39,040
do was, you know, it was hard enough to travel within Australia at that point where you had
565
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,040
some crazy restrictions.
566
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,520
So the last thing I wanted to do was travel around the world and get stuck somewhere.
567
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,240
I didn't know I'd be able to get back.
568
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:52,240
Australia was just crazily stupid with how they went with even residents returning back.
569
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,640
You'd have to go through a 14 day quarantine times in a hotel.
570
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:58,640
If you were allowed back in the country they would wait about six, seven months to get
571
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:00,280
back in the country at times.
572
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,560
So we just thought, you know what, like let's just stay in Australia until this all kind
573
00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,760
of dies down a little bit until travel is a bit more kind of consistent and we know
574
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:09,360
we're not going to get locked down somewhere.
575
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,320
So the last thing we're going to do is be traveling out of a suitcase with two young
576
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,200
children and be stuck in, you know, Croatia's not the worst place to be stuck in, but it's
577
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:22,840
not, it's not somewhere where we'd have things to be able to live permanently on the fly,
578
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:23,840
right?
579
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:24,840
It's more of a holiday.
580
00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,480
So we didn't want to take that risk and it ended up being the right decision because
581
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,520
Australia was just every other day, then we changed the decisions and rules and the queen
582
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:32,520
flipping on things.
583
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:37,600
So, but yeah, now it seems like we've somewhat passed all that and you have to look forward
584
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:42,040
to putting a trip together in June and get back in the Mediterranean and get back in
585
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,160
the water and around the people and see my family.
586
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,600
Yeah, that would be great.
587
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:51,000
Just sort of as we're winding down here, Andrew, at the end, I just got a couple of fun quick
588
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,680
questions for you.
589
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,640
And you know, speaking of Croatia, when you're in Croatia, what's your favorite food to eat
590
00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:57,640
there?
591
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,600
Oh, my favorite food, it depends where I am.
592
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:07,760
If I'm inland, in Zagreb, something to do with meat, obviously, you know, chivapi or
593
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:13,000
something like that, but generally on the Mediterranean, on the coast, it would be, you
594
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,280
know, seafood generally.
595
00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:21,840
It's the staple of the Mediterranean diet, you know, a lot of fish, a lot of potatoes,
596
00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:23,080
rice, that kind of stuff.
597
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:27,760
So a good mix just depending on kind of like it like anywhere in the water depends what
598
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:28,760
region you're in.
599
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:29,760
They're known for their food.
600
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:35,720
I mean, novaya was known for their cheese, and a pug.
601
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:37,920
So I had a lot of cheese there.
602
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,520
That was very big and a lot of lamb as well, I know for that too.
603
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,080
So yeah, it just depends where I am.
604
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:49,160
Yeah, actually, I just tried Pashki's theater for the first time on Christmas, I think it
605
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,160
was just a few weeks ago.
606
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:51,160
Yeah, it was really good.
607
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:53,160
Yeah, it was really nice.
608
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:54,160
Yeah.
609
00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,160
What's your favorite NBA moment from your career?
610
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:00,160
Favorite NBA moment?
611
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,720
I mean, just winning a championship.
612
00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:07,680
I think, you know, you look at the select group of guys that have championship rings
613
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:08,680
and there's not many.
614
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:11,800
When you correlate that to how many players have played in the NBA.
615
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:17,600
So usually, you know, 15 guys win a season and usually the teams that win it, they'll
616
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:22,800
repeat within that era, that decade, they'll win two or three at least, like the Bulls.
617
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:24,680
They won six out of the nine in the dry.
618
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:28,600
The Warriors have now won four over the last, you know, 10 plus years.
619
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:35,880
So to be in that select group to win a championship is pretty special.
620
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,080
Nicest teammate that you've had?
621
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:40,080
Nicest teammate.
622
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:41,080
Oh, man.
623
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:47,080
There's been a lot of nice, nice teammates.
624
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:48,560
But yeah, I mean, there's this countless.
625
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:50,880
I've had a lot of close friends.
626
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,760
Luke Marvute was a really, really nice guy.
627
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:54,760
Awesome guy.
628
00:33:54,760 --> 00:34:01,640
He was always smiling, happy, Paris Bards and Leandro Vavoso was the other one, Brazilian,
629
00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:03,640
just like always happy.
630
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:05,760
You could never tell you had a bad day.
631
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:09,560
So there's a number of guys, countless guys that were really, really cool that I still
632
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:10,560
speak to to this day.
633
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:13,640
But yeah, they probably be the three that come to mind.
634
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:14,640
Okay.
635
00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:18,360
I got a final one for you here that I asked Dino Raja and I'm curious if maybe you'll
636
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,360
have the same answer.
637
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,360
Player that you would least want to fight.
638
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,160
Anyone substantially bigger than me?
639
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:29,120
So I mean, Shaq, Shaq is one guy that you probably, as soon as he gets his hands on
640
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:30,920
you and arrests you, you're in some trouble.
641
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:32,920
So it's more of a duck and weave.
642
00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:38,960
You'd probably be the one that you want to stay away from, I'd assume.
643
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:41,160
Yeah, that's what Dino said too.
644
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:43,160
That's why I was wondering.
645
00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:54,160
Make sure you just bob and weave and just make sure he doesn't get his hands on you.
646
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:58,160
Because once he gets his hands on you, he's an absolute beast.
647
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:02,160
So yeah, I got done by him a couple of times in the NBA where he had some good games against
648
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:06,160
me and there was just nothing you could do because he's just so big.
649
00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:08,160
But you also played against Yao, right?
650
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:09,160
Yao Ming?
651
00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,160
Yeah, I was in the NBA.
652
00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,160
Yao Ming, right?
653
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:14,160
Yao Ming.
654
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:15,160
That was the other one here.
655
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,160
I mean, Yao, I'd consider fighting.
656
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,160
He's a bit more wild-mannered and stuff.
657
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,160
I don't think he's a fighter.
658
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,160
Never saw him throw a punch, but Yao was tough as well, man.
659
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,160
He was a big, big guy.
660
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:28,160
In terms of guarding, sorry, one last question.
661
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:32,160
In terms of defense, because you were known for defense, known for blocking shots.
662
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,160
Who was harder to block, Shaq or Yao?
663
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,160
Oh, Yao.
664
00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:40,160
Shaq, towards the end of his career, he lost a lot of his lift.
665
00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:45,160
So I got him a few times in some block shots, but Yao was just, Yao was, you know,
666
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,160
four inches tall and Shaq and shot the wall above his head.
667
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:52,160
So he was just a guy that you couldn't really, once he got in a nice groove,
668
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,160
it was very, very hard to stop.
669
00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,160
Now Shaq and his prime would have been a different story.
670
00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:00,160
You know, in the 90s and early 2000s, he was unbelievable.
671
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,160
You're not blocking much of his shots.
672
00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:04,160
But yeah, Yao was tough, man.
673
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:08,160
It was a shame that his career was cut short by injury.
674
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,160
Yeah, yeah.
675
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,160
Well, Andrew, as we're coming down here to the end of the podcast,
676
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,160
I just want to thank you again, you know, so much for coming on the All Things Croatia podcast and, you know,
677
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:20,160
talking to the diaspora and anyone else who's listening.
678
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:25,160
It's really been a pleasure to hear about, you know, your Croatian heritage and, you know, your involvement in the community.
679
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,160
And then of course your career and everything.
680
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:31,160
You know, I wish you the best of luck in the future.
681
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:35,160
I'm excited, you know, for you to come in June, that'll be awesome to be back in Croatia.
682
00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,160
And I'm sure you'll have a great time.
683
00:36:38,160 --> 00:37:07,160
I wish this happened.