Sidy Cissoko is a fighter, we saw him in the Summer League. For the newspaper The Teamthe 44th choice of the Draft also returned to the origins of this mentality.
“It comes from my father who was a coach at national level”he remarks. “He always told me that it was not worth setting foot on the floor if I did not intend to give myself 100%. When I was 5-6 years old, he went to coach matches at Bussy-Saint-Georges in the depths of 77 (Seine-et-Marne), when we lived in 91 (Essonne). My mom didn’t want me to go because it was a one to two hour drive, but I did anyway. And I was bothering my dad there to practice with his senior team. »
His defensive qualities will be his best weapons to win his playing time in San Antonio, especially since in this area, the Spurs were terrible last season, being the worst defense in the NBA.
Sidy Cissoko wants to be among the best rookies in defense
“I was present and I really showed myself in defense. That’s the very first thing Gregg Popovich asked me when I arrived in San Antonio. He looked at my feet and asked if they were fast enough to defend. I don’t think he expected me to be able to do it on all four positions, both on the wing and on the back line. I was able to show him in Las Vegas, and I hope to do it again at the start of training camp to grab some playing time next season. »
It is therefore quite naturally that Sidy Cissoko hopes to shine for his first season in the NBA.
“I hope to be one of the best defensive rookies,” he announces. “To do a season like the one Jeremy Sochan did, or even better I hope. I know that I will not release stats at 20 points, at least not immediately. But I will give everything in defense for us to win, even if “Pop” only makes me play five minutes. »
