After a successful season with VfB Stuttgart, which ended with qualification for the Champions League and the dream of defending the DFB Cup title only being shattered in Berlin, Deniz Undav immediately said goodbye to the national team. If the center forward isn’t shining on the green grass, he follows the NBA very closely.
“Especially on the weekend there are always games that are in the evening at our time, and I actually watch all of them. If we don’t have a game and I’m at home, we’ll definitely watch the NBA,” chatted Deniz Undav in an exclusive interview with the US sports app “undrafted” from: “Otherwise, I’m a big fan of the 10-minute highlight summaries.”
The entire conversation with the German national striker can be found in the undrafted app!
But that’s not all: “Then of course I check all the results and stats from the night. It goes even further: I’ve been watching all these sports talk shows from the USA for a long time. So the parts in which the NBA is discussed. Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless – I listen to everything. I’m really hot,” the national player added with a view to his NBA passion.
VfB star Undav: “LeBron is the GOAT. No discussion.”
A teammate at TSV Havelse once “infected him a bit with the NBA virus,” he said, looking back: “What I saw completely fascinated and captivated me.” The Varel native was particularly impressed by one player in particular: “LeBron is my idol and an inspiration for me. LeBron is the GOAT. No discussion. So for me.”
Undav was able to learn a lot from the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who has just completed his 22nd season in the best basketball league in the world. But he didn’t always think that he would one day make it to the national team: “I definitely had moments in which I no longer had the belief that it would happen for me. That I thought that maybe it just wasn’t meant to be for me.”
Undav looks back: “That was the turning point”
His doubts only disappeared after he left Germany. “That only changed when I played such a good season in Belgium and scored a lot of goals. That was the turning point. And when I moved to Brighton in the Premier League it was clear: Okay, you’ve finally got it,” he looked back.
The 29-year-old is particularly proud of one aspect: “It’s one thing to make it to the top. But it’s even more difficult to stay at the top. We know that from many sports and for me it was the same that I said to myself: You have to work harder now if you want to be at the top for years to come. I’m very happy that I can say today: I’ve achieved that too.”
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