:24 HOOP: Tell us about your interest in muscle cars.
BOGUT:My dad owned a shop, so I grew up around cars. I never really took much interest as a kid, but now that I can afford to turn it into a passion, my father and I started a collection and are starting a business in Australia.

:23 HOOP:What sort of business?
BOGUT: Restoration stuff. So if someone buys a piece of junk car for $10,000, then they can give it to us and we can customize it or put it into original [condition]. We’re trying to help them get their dream car from America.

:22 HOOP:Did your dad teach you how to work on the cars yourself?
BOGUT:I have a long ways to go to get to my dad’s level. Obviously, I’m biased, but he’s one of the best in the world mechanically. Just by the smell, the sound, he can tell you what’s wrong with a car.

:21 HOOP:How many cars do you have in your collection?
BOGUT:It’s growing weekly. I’m actually sending home eight at the end of this week. We’ve got everything from Mustangs to Camaros, Chevy Nomad… my favorite is a ’69 Camaro, factory original, V28.

:20 HOOP: We heard about the controversy with a reporter falsely writing that you drive a new Ferrari.
BOGUT:[laughs] [laughs] Yeah, I definitely don’t have a Ferrari. I mean, a Ferrari is $300,000 or $400,000. My entire collection of cars1 is worth that.

:19 HOOP:We’ve been reading your tweets.2 We enjoyed the one in which you thanked fans for their hate tweets.
BOGUT:Yeah, everyone gets hate tweets. I’d rather be hated by some than loved by everybody. I think if you’re loved by everybody then you’re hiding something.

:18HOOP: You don’t mind giving it back to them, either. You had an entertaining exchange with a Pistons fan earlier this season.
BOGUT:I don’t just take it. If they’re going to voice their opinion and hide behind a screen, I’m going to go back at ‘em.

:17HOOP: It seems that you save most of your trash talk tweets for @Flintstone14.
BOGUT:[laughs] Me and Charlie Bell are real close, so we get on each other a little bit.

:16HOOP: We see you’ve given him quite a few nicknames, too. Which is your favorite?
BOGUT:Probably Cookie Monster or Snacks, because he’s always snacking on something.

:15HOOP: You complain about the snow quite a bit in your tweets.
BOGUT:What is it now, probably minus -3 degrees Celsius? I’m not used to this growing up in Australia. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I mean, I play in the NBA! But I could use more sunshine.

:14HOOP: How hard was that to adjust to when you first arrived in Milwaukee?
BOGUT:Well, I was in Utah for two years. I thought I wouldn’t have a problem because I’d lived in snow,4 but I forgot that Provo, [UT] is in a valley, so we really had no wind. Here you get that effect from Lake Michigan and the wind chill is minus -40. It’s crazy.

:13HOOP: So you probably don’t want to hear that its 62 degrees here5 today?
BOGUT:Thanks for that, man.

:12HOOP: Do you need Starbucks on your way to practice every day to warm up?
BOGUT:I’m not really a fan of Starbucks. It’s almost the only coffee you can get in America, but I’m more of just an espresso or cappuccino drinker. I don’t like these one-liter coffees.

:11HOOP: So you don’t like a Venti Espresso?
BOGUT:No, I say “Give me a medium latte,” and they say “You mean a Venti?” and I say “No, I mean a medium. I’m not converting to your language.”

:10HOOP:Speaking of language differences, tell us the difference between “Throwball” and Australian Rules Football.
BOGUT:[laughs] We actually kick our ball. Australian Rules is crazy. People think its rugby, but it’s not. Players generally run nine to 10 miles a game. There are only four substitutes for 18 players, no pads or helmets. It’s an all-out game.

:09HOOP: How would Alex Smith7 do at Australian Rules Football?
BOGUT:Well, it’s an intense game. There’s no line of scrimmage and no big linebackers, so you can get hit from behind, from the sides, the front. All of the guys can run and jump, and they’re all strong as hell.

:08HOOP: You’re not afraid of sharing your opinions, are you?
BOGUT: I can’t play political correctness. It’s a problem sometimes. Media trainers don’t like it. But I think it’s selling your soul, if you’re just telling people what they want to hear.

:07HOOP: You have a couple dogs, right?
BOGUT: Yes, Siberian Huskies. They’re perfect for the weather here. They’re a lot of work, but they’re awesome dogs. They’re very free spirited and are probably the smartest dogs I’ve been around in my life.

:06HOOP: What’s your favorite TV show?
BOGUT: Seinfeld is my favorite all-time. It’s one of those shows that I could watch five re-runs back to back and it’s still enjoyable.

:05HOOP: Do you have a favorite episode?
BOGUT:The “Soup Nazi” has to be up there. Probably “The Contest”... Kramer looking at the girl across the street with the binoculars, that’s an awesome episode.

:04HOOP: You have a dry sense of humor yourself, don’t you?
BOGUT:Yeah, definitely dry and sarcastic. A lot of people who don’t know me think I’m an @$%#*!%, so that just comes with the territory.

:03HOOP: Tell us about your territory or section, “Squad 6.”
BOGUT:Milwaukee is a small market, less than a million people, so we sometimes struggle to get a crowd. A Tuesday night, for instance, kids have school the next day, it’s 30 degrees outside, so it can be tough. I thought if I bought tickets, I’m sure people would come. The only catch is you have to cheer and act like it’s your last basketball game ever.

:02HOOP: What does someone’s “last basketball game ever” look like?
BOGUT:They chant all game. “New York Knicks” when LeBron is shooting free throws. They were singing “Dude Looks Like a Lady” when Joakim Noah was at the line. They come up with some creative stuff and get the rest of the crowd involved.

:01HOOP:How do the opponents react to them?
BOGUT:I’ve heard a lot of good feedback. Mark Cuban posted on Twitter that it was the best atmosphere he had seen at an NBA game. They’ve given us a great homecourt advantage.