Sean Kilpatrick is not one to hide his feelings, and with the start of the season just a month-and-a-half away, he’s ready to turn it up.
Kilpatrick took the long road to the NBA, so he appreciates every day and is enjoying the fruits of his labor both on and off the court, like getting his own shoe from And1 and being in NBA 2K17. None of this has changed Kilpatrick’s mindset or work ethic; he still works out like he’s trying to make the team and has been doing so all summer long.
On Wednesday, BrooklynNets.com caught up with Kilpatrick at HSS Training Center - where else would he be? - to talk about his new shoe, working with Jeremy Lin, NBA 2K17 and more.
BrooklynNets.com: So training camp is right around the corner (Sept. 26) and the season’s not far off. It’s getting real, how’s your summer been going?
Sean Kilpatrick: I was here all summer. I went to Vegas because we played in Vegas, but it’s been more about Brooklyn, getting better and making sure I’m forming some type of camaraderie with my teammates. That’s what was more important to me, having the guys around and just really getting a feel for their game a little bit more and within that span making sure I’m getting better as well. So that’s really the highlight of my summer. Next summer I’ll probably take a little vacation.
BrooklynNets.com: You’ve been getting work in with Jeremy Lin and giving each other shoutouts on Twitter. What’s it been like working with Lin?
Sean Kilpatrick: It’s amazing, man. Being able to have a guy like that with the teams he’s been with before and all the knowledge that he knows now and being able to text him every day and get some type of advice or pick his brain a little bit. I think that’s something that helps me and my game and him having the same type of confidence in me that I have in him I think that’s something that’s really helped me. It’s been great. He’s been a great role model when he came to this team and also a great vet with this team. Who knows where it will take off from there…
BrooklynNets.com: You’re in NBA 2K17, which has got to be pretty cool. What’s that mean to you to be in the game?
Sean Kilpatrick: It’s amazing man. It’s a game that I grew up basically playing and still play at the end of the day and play with myself now. That’s something that any player in this league, any regular kid would sit there and wish for.
BrooklynNets.com: And you've got a shoe that’s going to drop soon. Tell us about the kicks.
Sean Kilpatrick: It’s a shoe that And1 designed for me. They asked me if I wanted it to be a high-top or low-top and I’m a low-top guy. That was more of the look of what I wanted.
Being able to have my own shoe, I think that’s something that’s amazing because last year I wasn’t even thought of when it came to having my own shoe, you know what I mean. Now it’s more so a new look, it’s a new look for And1; now they have a different color wave, different material look on the shoe and now it looks like a Jordan 11 now, but it’s really an And1. Being able to wear my own sneaker is great.
BrooklynNets.com: You’re definitely out there a lot these days and pretty open about your life on social media. Some guys are a little more private, but why do you think you’re more comfortable with it?
Sean Kilpatrick: Your fans are the people that make you. If you can sit here and keep pleasing your fans or let them know what’s going on in your life, that’s something that really helps your fanbase and it keeps them in tune with what’s going on with you. With me having the type of relationship that I have with my fans on social networks because they don’t get to see me on a normal basis so now with me interacting with them on Facebook, or Instagram or Twitter, it feels like I was just with them.