The passion of professional footballers for the NBA is real, and over time, NBA stars have also discovered a passion for the round ball, especially since the opening of the league to the rest of the world, with the arrival mass of European and African players.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had for example confided in Serge Ibaka’s show that the most famous number in his repertoire was that of Kylian Mbappé. Joel Embiid also often talked about football on his networks (even if he tweets much less about the France team, oddly). his compatriot Pascal Siakam is also one of those who have been fed football since his childhood in Cameroon.
“I love it, really. I grew up playing soccer. A soccer ball is the first thing you receive when you are little. Even if you don’t have one, you find it somewhere on the street so you can play”, he confided on the sidelines of the Nets reception Friday night.
The Raptors’ interior explains that football occupied most of his free time until he was 12 years old. “We played every day. There was no “what if we were going to play basketball”, it was not even possible. The first thing we did was go outside and play football. That’s all we did.”he added.
A juggling pro
Having become a professional basketball player, Pascal Siakam necessarily has less time to indulge in his first passion, especially since the risk of injury pushes him to remain cautious. However, he has kept some old reflexes from his youth during his warm-up sessions which are always accompanied by a little juggling session. The interior even seems rather comfortable, sliding the ball at the level of his neck or blocking it on his forehead. He even ends his session by sending the ball against the plexiglass to execute a pass to the board to end his turn with a dunk. Something to delight the gallery!
“It’s quite impressive”recognized his teammate Thaddeus Young. “It takes a lot of coordination. Most of us Americans didn’t grow up doing this stuff.
Could Pascal Siakam have embraced a career as a professional footballer if basketball hadn’t come his way? The player firmly believes in it.
“I think things have worked perfectly in basketball. But if I had really gotten into football? I do not know. I believe I can really accomplish anything I want, so…”
As the World Cup final between France and Argentina looms, Pascal Siakam plans to be behind his TV to follow “the biggest event in the world for football fans”.
“Watching her is always fun and brings back memories. It’s a passion that can make you forget everything else, really.”he concluded.
| Pascal Siakam | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 55 | 16 | 50.2 | 14.3 | 68.8 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 4.2 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 81 | 21 | 50.8 | 22.0 | 62.1 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 7.3 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 80 | 32 | 54.9 | 36.9 | 78.5 | 1.6 | 5.3 | 6.9 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 16.9 |
| 2019-20 | TOR | 60 | 35 | 45.3 | 35.9 | 79.2 | 1.1 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 22.9 |
| 2020-21 | TOR | 56 | 36 | 45.5 | 29.7 | 82.7 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 21.4 |
| 2021-22 | TOR | 68 | 38 | 49.4 | 34.4 | 74.9 | 1.9 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 22.8 |
| 2022-23 | TOR | 19 | 36 | 47.7 | 32.9 | 76.4 | 1.8 | 6.6 | 8.4 | 6.9 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 24.2 |
| Total | 419 | 30 | 48.9 | 32.8 | 77.3 | 1.4 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 16.1 | |
