Catching Up with Sasha Vujacic
by Ty Nowell
August 16th, 2007

Lakers.com caught up with 3rd-year Guard Sasha Vujacic to talk about his experience in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program and what else he's been up to this summer.

How did you get involved with Basketball Without Borders?
Being one of the international players in the NBA, Basketball Without Borders is really important to us. I heard about it from the people responsible for International Players in the NBA, they introduced me to it. I couldn’t do it in the past because I wasn’t here. This is the first summer I was able to do it and I loved it.

Why did you decide to go to BWB Asia over the ones in Africa, South America, & Europe?
I wanted to see Asia. It’s really big and to do something like that for the first time in Asia was the right thing. They talked to me about it (the other options) but I got a lot of emails from people around Asia. I thought it would be interesting knowing the players that were going there. I knew them a little bit, especially Vlade (Divac), but being with a bunch of different players.

What’d you do while in China?
Obviously we went there for the camp. We had 50 of the best players from Asia came there. There were kids from Kazakhstan, South Korea, all over the place. We did have some fun though.

All four days we were there we had a great time. Not just the players, but the coaches too. We loved it. Scottie (Pippen) was there, Vlade, Chris Duhon, Luther Head, Matt Carroll. There are guys that I didn’t know from before but going there I met them and from the first day we had a great time. Some guys came with their wives and at the end of the day we would all have dinner together and it was great. I like how the NBA kept everyone together with team dinners, lunches, just whenever they had a chance with an appearance to do something with the group. That was great.

Were any of the players especially popular with the crowds over there?
Oh my god!! Yao!! I’ve never seen something like that. I don’t know what to say, Yao’s just really big over there.

As big as Kobe in LA?
Oh, that’s nothing. That’s something that I’ve never ever seen before. It’s just a joy to see how people look at Yao. They didn’t really care about Vlade & Scottie and they are basketball legends. We had media day and there were 50 reporters there. 49 reporters would be around Yao and maybe one who got lost was around some of the other players. It just shows you how big he is over there and what kind of things he’s doing for his country. It’s great to see.

What else have you been up to this summer?
I’m going (back home to Slovenia) in September probably, just for a few days. Basically I’ve been working out here everyday. I did Camp Lakers twice and Basketball Without Borders. I feel that this is an important season for me and for the Lakers ahead of us. I’ve just been working hard to be ready for training camp.

Sounds like you’ve pretty much made LA your home.
I love LA. Going home is always something you have to do, and something I’m going to do every year, but like I said before, at first I had a hard time fitting in, but now people in LA, people that I’ve met, people that I have around… it’s just like the song – I Love LA. My family is here now and they like it as well. They miss going home, but for now it’s okay.

What on the court skills have you been working on this summer?
I’ve been on a weight program, I’ve done a couple basketball camps, and I’ve been working a lot on my penetrating the defense. I work out a couple hours a day realizing that it’s going to be very competitive next year. I just want to earn my spot from the beginning and like I’ve said many times before, I just want to show what I was brought here for and win a championship with the Lakers very soon.

Do the additions of Derek Fisher & Javaris Crittenton make you more of a combo guard?
Derek Fisher has been with the Lakers for a long time. He’s an excellent player and an excellent teammate. He’s a great addition to all of us. I think we needed a vet like that.

I haven’t seen Crittenton play. Obviously we have him, Jordan, and me. It’s going to be a very competitive training camp. I’m ready for it and it should be fine. It’s not on us to decide who’s going to play. It’s who’s going to be at their best in training camp & preseason then the coaching staff will do what they have to do.

What does the rest of the summer hold for you besides going home?
I’ve been working out like crazy. The only thing I really have ahead of me is two practices a day.

I started to play golf a little bit. I’m starting to enjoy golf. I’ve been enjoying watching Tennis. We had the US Open Series tennis tournament here at the Home Depot Center. I like other sports like tennis & golf. Golf is a very demanding game and I think it’s helping me out with the mental part of my basketball game and my focus.