Patience is going to be a necessary virtue for Didi Louzada early in his NBA career. After being drafted in the second round by New Orleans in 2019, he spent two seasons playing professionally in Australia, before making his debut for the Pelicans in May 2021. Early in what’s officially his second NBA campaign, playing time has been scarce for the 22-year-old, but he’s focusing on continuing to hone his perimeter shot in order to keep progressing as a player. Born in Brazil, the defensive-minded wing sat down with Pelicans.com in this season’s second edition of our “24 Seconds” Q&A weekly feature, presented by Ibotta:
Pelicans.com: When did you first realize that you loved basketball?
Louzada: I was 7 years old when I first started playing. It was a little bit different for me, because in Brazil, everyone growing up wants to play soccer, but I chose basketball because my older brother is my hero. I kept playing because of him playing. He’s 25 now.
Pelicans.com: What was the most interesting thing you did this offseason?
Louzada: I traveled a lot. Went to Florida, went back to Brazil to see my family. I went to Brazil to talk to kids. I told them about the experiences I had (playing professional basketball) in Australia and in the NBA now.
Pelicans.com: What was it like to get to speak to young athletes in your home country who might look up to you now that you’ve made it to the NBA?
Louzada: It was great. I have some friends who are 14 years old and play on my old club team. They dream of coming to the NBA like me.
Pelicans.com: What did you spend the most time working on in your game this offseason?
Louzada: I worked a lot on my shooting, my three-pointer. I’ve been working with Fred Vinson, (Teresa Weatherspoon) Coach Willie (Green). They tell me what I need to do to get better. I’m always open for new things.
Pelicans.com: You were able to play in three regular season games at the end of 2020-21, guarding tough offensive players like Luka Doncic. How much do you think that experience helped you as he went into the offseason?
Louzada: It helped me a lot. I’m a defensive player, so I always want to guard the best player of the other team. It’s going to help me improve my game.