Otis Smith

“I would like to congratulate Turkoglu on winning this award. It’s hard for me to congratulate a guy for doing something that we kind of always knew he had in him, but I will congratulate him anyway. This is something that he probably should have gotten years ago. He is an outstanding, talented player and it is up to our team to win 52 games in a year. Without him I don’t know where we would be. I am happy to have him on our team and I’m happy that he is winning this award eight years late, but I am happy that he is at least winning this award. This is a sign of things to come for Turk.”

Brett Myers from Kia Motors

“Most improved is a recognition that we at Kia Motors relate to in a big way. When Kia Motors first arrived in the United States 14 years ago, it was a car company that sold vehicles based on value alone. Today, while value is still important, Kia has been rapidly improving its reputation by building award-winning, high-quality vehicles that also are recognized for outstanding safety and fuel economy. And today it is that improvement in quality and the recognition of such achievement that is most fitting for the Most Improved Award being presented today to Orlando Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu, as part of the NBA performance awards presented Kia Motors. These four awards celebrate excellence and achievement on the court and also includes the Sixth Man Award, the Defensive Player Award, which were presented last week, and the Most Valuable Player Award. As the official automotive partner of the NBA, proud partner of the Orlando Magic and on behalf of 640 Kia retailers and 500 employees of Kia Motors America, it is my honor to be here to today to present Hedo Turkoglu with the NBA’s Most Improved Award presented by Kia Motors. Congratulations.”

“In recognition of this prestigious award I am thrilled to make the important assist on behalf of Kia Motors America and present you with the keys to the all new 2009 Kia Borrego sport utility seven passenger (vehicle) that is coming out in the very near future. Congratulations on behalf of Kia. This award is being presented to you on behalf of you to the Parramore Kidz Zone. Thank you very much and congratulations.”

Hedo Turkoglu

“First of all I have to thank a lot of people. I would like to thank Kia Motors. I really appreciate it and am really honored. I have to thank Otis (Smith) who always believed in me since I got here. I have to thank the DeVos family and Otis for bringing me here. I was really happy when I got here and seeing all of these people supporting me since I got here. This year was really special for me. I would like to thank Coach Stan Van Gundy for the opportunity to become this kind of player. He saw something in me. I would like to thank my teammates. I’ve had some ups and downs during the season and they have always had my back. They always had confidence in me; it was really nice of them and I couldn’t do it without them. I’m just happy to be the oldest guy to receive this award, but still it is really special to see myself become this kind of player in this league. I am just really happy and want to thank everybody. Thank you.”

Q: “Hedo, you seem like you are really honored. When you are away from the gym and you are thinking about how this season has gone, how special has it been? Is it a surprise to you the growth you have made this season?”

HT: “Even though this is my eighth year, I never give up and always try to do my best and grow as a player. I just have to work hard to get better all the time. I guess this year was the time for me to step it up and come this far, so I am just blessed that I was healthy this year and all the things went well for me, having a good coach, my teammates, everybody. I am just blessed that I could do this much to help me and my teammates to go this far. If you look at it, it is not just my improvement, it is the Magic’s improvement too comparing to last year. I am just happy to be part of it.”

Q: “You were disappointed in the All-Star thing. Does this go a long way to make up for that?”

HT: “I didn’t give up. I just tried to do my best and get better and I guess everybody just saw my improvement the whole year long; not just half the season, throughout the whole year and to the playoffs too. It is really nice, and thanks a lot.”

Q: What was it that Coach Van Gundy saw in you?

HT: “Just being a versatile guy, being a guy who is creative, just playing hard, looking for his teammates, playing unselfishly and just playing confidently on the court, making the right decision for myself or for my teammates. I guess he saw that and gave me the opportunity and I am just playing freely out there on the court. It just makes your job easier when you see those kinds of people that are supporting you and giving you the kind of freedom because you can do on the court a lot of stuff. I guess he just saw that and let me play.”

Q: You’re a guy who plays better with the ball in your hands. For him to put the ball in your hands that much during the game, what did that mean to your confidence, and did that help you more than anything just having the ball in your hands?

HT: “That is how you really grow as a player, you see yourself in situations where your teammates need you and coach makes a decision, having confidence and having trust, and him and the other guys giving you the ball. They know I am going to make the right decision, either I am going to take the shot or make a better pass or create for somebody else. It is just a great feeling to see yourself as a player in that situation, because this is the first year that I have been in that role, so I’m glad that I could do a good job and produce to help myself and the team.”

Q: Are you surprised they would give this to someone in their eighth year?

HT: “It is really nice. I guess they saw the improvements I made compared to past years and I guess everybody just felt like it was the right time for me to get the award. It was really nice of them. This is the first time in my career getting this kind of award, so I really appreciate it.”

Q: You were third in the league in fourth quarter scoring behind Kobe and LeBron. Can you talk about the way you played in the fourth quarter and if that something to do with winning this award?

HT: “It could be, but I don’t think they just waited for me to produce in the fourth quarter. We have very good players on our team, and for me, it was just being confident throughout 48 minutes and taking my time and keeping myself ready all the time. I guess it is just being at the right place at the right time. We have Dwight, we always play through him, and we have Rashard, we all sorts of guys like Jameer who can do a lot of good things, so I guess me being ready in that time and the coaches and all the other guys having confidence and seeing me making those right decisions in the fourth quarter got me in that situation.”

Q: Does your confidence waver – do you ever lose confidence when you go through a bad spell in a game?

HT: “I never do, because like I said, as a player you are always going to have ups and downs. You can’t really get happy on the good days or on the bad days you can’t really think about it. All you have to do is put it behind and look for a new game or a new situation. I just put it behind me and am looking for the new game tonight and will hopefully do a better job. I know what I did that game, and tonight I will try to be less careless about turnovers and all of the stuff I did in the game in Toronto. Even in that time, I see how my teammates and everybody was behind me, because during the season I had times when I had turnovers, and they just always have my back. That game they were just telling me to keep playing your game because sometimes you get out of control or you want to do something more. I just put it behind me.”

Q: Everybody could use a new car. Why did you decide to donate this to the Parramore Kidz Zone?

HT: “As a Magic organization, we always do our best to give back to the community, and I am just happy to be part of it. I just wanted the kids to benefit from it and use it in a good way, and I am happy that Kia Motors, the Magic and myself could be part of it and hopefully it goes in a good way. I am just happy to be part of it.”

Q: Otis, is this a good sign to other players that even though you are six or seven years into the league, you can still make a jump?

Otis Smith: “It is. It is a good sign for that, but Turk has probably been telling us since he’s been here – ‘Otis, put me in a pick-and-roll, let me handle the ball more, I can do more things.’ We just all of the sudden got smarter, I don’t think he got to be a batter basketball player – I think we got smarter and started putting him into better situations that work for him. He has done so many things for us, on and off the floor, so when he goes through a bad spell, he is just being Turk. When he misses an air ball, which he does on occasion, I have no worries, because I have just as much confidence in him of coming down and making the next shot just as big. He is as talented a basketball player I have seen at 6-10 in a long time. You feel comfortable with the ball in his hands. He can make decisions for your teammates – he is always at the top every night (in assists), and you can’t ask for a 6-10 guy to do that. He has been asked to do a lot this year, and he has responded well. He has had these abilities all along, he just had to be brought out of them, and now he is able to do it. We just hope that this is the tip of the iceberg for an eight-year veteran.”