It’s
like ESPN Magazine‘s Body Issue now has a reputation for having nude stars on
its cover? Just asking! Was it not in June this year that the Magazine had the tennis
champion Venus Williams posing nude on it’s cover?
In this
latest edition, Congolese-Spanish NBA baller Serge Ibaka striped down completely on the cover. Rolling
my eyes!
Read
excerpts of the interview culled from BN after the cut...
On
the first moment he played basketball: “It
was in the Congo. I think I was like 7 or 8. My mom and dad played basketball
too, so my dad was always asking me to come to see him play. So one day one of
the guys who was playing with my dad, he said, “Hey, let me teach you
something.” So he took an empty bottle of water and was using it as a ball and
he said, “OK, take one step and do two and then jump — that’s all it is.” I
went back home, and all night I was doing it. All night. That’s all I could
think about. Even in the bathroom, I’m brushing my teeth and I start doing
this. That’s where everything started.”
On
his father pushing him to become a basketball player: “In
Africa, when you’re a kid, every kid loves to play soccer, and I loved playing
soccer. But my dad didn’t want me playing soccer. He would joke, “C’mon, man,
you’re too tall!” Then he promised me, “If you start playing basketball, I’m
going to give you my jersey.” That’s one of my favorite things from my dad is
his old jersey. He played with No. 9, too. That’s where I get my number from.”
On
Keri Hilson’s reaction during injury: “It was not easy, that game, man. When I came back the
first game, I was scared a little bit. My girlfriend was scared; she was
thinking I was just going to play because of media pressure. And then my sister
tells me, “I can’t believe you are trying to play today, and yesterday you
couldn’t walk!” I said “Listen, whatever happens happens, but I need to be out
there with my teammates.”
Nudity? na wao!
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