All Access Exclusive: Interview with Bostjan Nachbar
By Matt McQueeny

NJNets.com: To date, you have had one of your finest seasons, surpassing your previous NBA career-high in points 3 times, securing your first ever NBA double-double, and becoming a player who produces late in games for the Nets. What has been the key to success this season to really showcasing your talent over a sustained stretch?

Nachbar: First of all, I think working hard over the summer, just getting ready for the season. The team, the coaches, they game me a chance – a chance to do what I do best. The style of play fits me and the last thing is that I am playing with some great players over here that make my job easier.

NJNets.com: What is it like playing with Jason Kidd?

Nachbar: It’s amazing. He makes my job much easier. He is probably the best point guard in the league; he is always going to look for the open guy. Being a shooter myself, he always finds me when I am open. I don’t have to worry about not getting the ball; he is going to get it in my hands somehow.

NJNets.com: How about playing with Vince Carter?

Nachbar: He just demands so much attention by the defense, so it’s easier for us to score when he draws so many guys on him.

NJNets.com: Playing for Coach Frank?

Nachbar: He’s great. He’s got a great approach. He has that relaxed, friendly approach with the players. He’s not one of those old-school, yelling type of coaches. And I really like that; he is a guy you can talk to, who is easy to talk to. I like that, I like open personalities like his.

NJNets.com: How good does it feel to be a part of such unbelievable bench production?

Nachbar: It’s great, especially knowing that the bench was a big problem for the Nets last year. This year, to come out, and be productive like that is a great feeling. I know that the starters have confidence in us and that means a lot.

NJNets.com: At Benetton Treviso in Italy, you actually played for current Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni. What was that like?

Nachbar: It’s been probably the best experience in my life. He has proved, time and time again, that he is one of the best coaches in the world. Playing for him was a great experience for me, I learned a lot, and he gave me a chance to play when I was 20, 21-years old at the highest level in Europe. He was the one that gave me a chance, which basically opened the door for me to the NBA. He was instrumental when it comes to me becoming an NBA player. He was a big figure, and I will be always thankful for what he gave me.

NJNets.com: Could you have envisioned that his “07 seconds or less” style of basketball would have translated to the NBA?

Nachbar:We played that kind of style in Italy, with Mike. I think he kind of tried it out over there, and he saw it was working because we were really successful and when he got an opportunity to be a coach here in the NBA, he did just that. I think he changed basketball in the last couple of years; definitely a lot of teams are trying to play the way Phoenix plays. And he is an innovator; he brought something new to the game of basketball, which is great.

NJNets.com: You have had some emphatic finishes at the rim this season, which create an instantaneous energy in the crowd. What is it like, first that feeling of the dunk, but then the roar of the crowd a moment later?

Nachbar:It’s a moment where everything happens real quick. You get caught in it and you feel a lot of emotion. Those plays can sometimes turn the game around a little bit, so I’m not just trying to lay it up. I try to go up strong and get the crowd into a little bit. Those momentum changing plays are important in basketball.

NJNets.com: Do you ever look at the highlight afterwards of your dunk and wonder how you did that?

Nachbar:I will look at them. Sometimes I will smile. Other guys are teasing me sometimes, saying that they weren’t expecting that. I just smile and I say “you will see a lot more, hopefully.”

NJNets.com: You are the owner of a team in Slovenia?

Nachbar:Not really owner, but kind of a president.

NJNets.com: How involved are you able to stay with your team during your playing season?

Nachbar:I always check the stat sheets, I get DVDs and I watch the games. Obviously, it is a different kind of level, it is more semi-pro. It’s mostly for young guys to develop; I want to give young guys a chance to play, develop, and either play for the big European teams or someday in the NBA.

NJNets.com: Most embarrassing moment?

Nachbar:Just the first practice as a rookie. I had no clue what was going on.

NJNets.com: If you were commissioner you would…

Nachbar:Never bring back the old new ball, whatever that was.

NJNets.com: Who is Your Role Model?

Nachbar:That’s a tough one. Growing up, I had basketball players like Toni Kukoc, Scottie Pippen, and Grant Hill, those were my role models. But, now that I am living the dream, it’s kind of hard to have those guys as role models. I mean, one of my favorite players ever was Jason Kidd, and now we are friends. It’s different. I just try to live my life to the fullest; I don’t try to look up to the others so much.

NJNets.com: Who is the funniest guy on the Nets?

Nachbar:Jason Collins. No question. Because you can always make fun of him, he is never going to say anything. But, he is just a funny guy, a goofy guy. He doesn’t look like it, but once you are around him, you can see that he is pretty funny. He has a good sense of humor.

NJNets.com: Who is the team wise guy?

Nachbar:Richard Jefferson. He is always right, and he is the smartest guy ever. You can’t argue with him, because he is always going to be right.

NJNets.com: What have been your impressions of living in the New York metropolitan area?

Nachbar:It’s been great. It’s a funny story. Before I came (to play) here - every time I would play here against the Knicks or Nets when I was with different teams - I hated it. I never liked New York, I though it was too big. I didn’t like the people, whatever. It just didn’t seem a like a good fit. But now that I have been living here for a year, I don’t want to move away. It’s so great. I have met so many people here and there are so many places to go, so many restaurants. It’s really like the whole world put in one place. I don’t think there is any other place in the world like New York, and I don’t want to move away from here. It’s been a great experience.

NJNets.com:Typical off-day - at home?

Nachbar:I mostly rest. Most of the time, I rest. A lot of times I go to the dog park. I have a dog (French bulldog). I’m just trying to relax. Because the season is so crazy, most of the off time I just try to rest, get ready for the next practice or the next game. Being a professional basketball player is pretty much a 24/7 job…but I’m not complaining.

NJNets.com:Typical off-day - on the road?

Nachbar:Sometimes, if I have some friends in the city, I will go to lunch or dinner. But, most of the time I will just stay in the hotel because on the road sometimes it can get you worse (than being home). You play a lot of back-to-back and stuff like that. If you don’t get your rest in, you’re going to be tired. The rest is an important part of everything we do here.

NJNets.com:You speak 5 languages?

Nachbar:Yes

NJNets.com:And your wife speaks 6?

Nachbar:Yes

NJNets.com:What do you choose to speak with each other at home?

Nachbar:Slovenian

NJNets.com:She has one up on you though, right - Spanish?

Nachbar:Yes

NJNets.com:Does she ever use that against you?

Nachbar:No, she is never going to use that against me. We speak Slovenian

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