Adem Bona Sits Down for First Interview as a 76er

Adem Bona Sits Down for First Interview as a 76er

Aden Bona welcome to Philadelphia appreciate you what’s it like to be you today um like a lot of feelings going through my body you know like stepping into the arena right now feeling like yes I’m an NBA player yes I’m a f off own siss you know it’s it’s really amazing I I can’t wait to get started draft night you got emotional on stage you got emotional I understand seeing your jersey for the first time as well yeah how do you describe the feeling of becoming an NBA player in these last 48 hours um we we’ve always dreamed about this moment you know for the past obvious say my whole life um wanting to be here we worked for this um for times like this so when we get here um I just can’t help to be emotional you know um seeing my name on the back of an NBA jersey um brought out all the emotions in me um I didn’t want to I didn’t want to cry today but um see my name be had an NBA jersey brought every single name it means you care it’s beautiful so take us back to why this moment is so meaningful for you you found basketball at the age of 13 is that right yeah how did you find it um it’s funny basketball found me because um I was having my regular day and um a random dude reached out to me like yo do you play basketball and I was like no I I play soccer and he was he was like really like I really want to talk to your mom and um and I was like fine you can follow me to my my mom’s store my mom’s store was down the street he walked all the way to my mom’s store with me and he told my mom um I want to train your son in basketball and my mom was like ah I don’t know I’m not I’m not willing to pay you to train my son and um me was like I promise you your son is going to be great um give him a couple years in basketball um your son’s going to do great things and my mom was like nah I don’t think I’m going to pay you so my mom turned him down but my brothers paid for my first basketball practice wow so um I have two old brothers we like who are like like my everything to me so they paid for my first basketball practice that’s how we started I basketball found me so basketball finds you and then shortly thereafter you moved to Turkey to start playing what was that transition like I think I think that’s a really um good portion of my life um because moving from Nigeria to Turkey was was a new and completely brand new experience for me moving to a country where um I didn’t know how to speak their language I I didn’t know the culture the food um the way of life um it was a brand new I feel like it’s a brand new world I was working into um but I thought I I see that as a as a blessing because um I got there I learned I learned how to speak the Turkish language um I’m a Turkish citizen now I play for the Turkish national team um it’s so funny whenever I walk there and people see me and I’m like I’m Turkish they were like ah Turkish I’m like then I start speaking Turkish and they like oh okay okay I like that so um I would I see that as a blessing um to be able to moving from moving away from home to a different place and finding home there too um I that a blessing so you were already playing professionally before you came over to the states to do a little bit of high school so what was that transition then like for you oh that was it was it was amazing transition because um I was really young at the age of 16 I was I was practicing with um grown men you know um the physicality was completely different they were way stronger than me bigger than me but I had the will I had the passion um I wanted to be there um I loved every single Moment On It of it and um I I came to to high school and it was a complet different game where um the the basketball played in Europe is completely different from the basketball played in high school the speed the tempo the physicality and also the mindset it was completely so it’s like I also SE as Another Blessing because I get I had the opportunity to learn different style of basketball in two different ways and two different settings I think that kind of set me up for good you know how did you choose UCLA after that I I every every time someone ask me that I say the question should be why not UCLA cuz like who is going to turn down UCLA you know um but most importantly usually I felt like what the perfect fit for me um going there and being a star as a freshman was I think that was really um big step for me um obviously um I have an African mom she’s big on the education um she wanted him to go to like a really educational school and then usually was one of the best in the country so it’s like a no-brainer for for my mom um but for me basketball wise um I think it’s an amazing feat um they have amazing culture um 11 Championship they have a bunch of um Legends we can talk we can go we have r h here who is one of one of an ex Brewing Alum Brewing Alum um it’s also amazing to be in building with another Brewing Alum KN so um it’s amazing like the question is why not UCLA it shouldn’t be about UCLA you know I was about to ask you about that continuity with Rico Hines who’s now an assistant coach and I understand you have a bit of a relationship with him already what was his reaction to to your coming to the 76ers um it was great um I walked in the building I saw him from distance um from the glasses and he was already smiling I was like yes we in you know Breo I feel like the Brewin connection is always there um I walk on the court and and he already ched the end clap you know that’s that’s really amazing um to be able to to meet someone um from from the same Unity the same fraternity you know it’s amazing and and it just make me feel welcome you know make me feel like home already head coach Nick nurse you’re wearing the expect to win bracelet which I understand you put on as soon as you came in the building that’s a slogan for those that aren’t aware that he brought to his time in Birmingham England in the BBL playing over or coaching rather in Europe brought it then to Toronto where he’s asking everybody to expect to win no matter what the characteristics of any given day or any given game is he believes that any group can go out there and expect to win what do those words mean to you um it means a lot to me you know um I came from a program where winning is an expectation also um playing for UCLA um with such history like every game a we SP to win but also one thing about me um things that means a lot to me I wear them around my wrist I walking I already have my own rband that says power and the other one says strength and I saw I saw rband when I walked into the building that says to win actually my host mom grabbed it because she knows I like my wristbands and like I like wearing WS my my r that meant something to me and she gave it to me and I saw and I saw expect to win I’m like amazing and I put it on because um I strive to win everything I do off the court on the court I want to win um you know so so I feel like that’s just kind of match my type of person I am where like I love to wear stuff that means a lot of my wrist and the wrist ble expect to win just matches me just like perfect match you know so left hand is power and strength you bring that to right hand expect to win why did you choose power and strength as those two values that are so important um I think the um those are the things that that keep that keeps me going um the power and Str has like couple Bible vers it and um actually I start when this Dre my pre-draft um when I started my pre-draft I had I had couples that ripped during the pre-draft and I keep St refilling them up but um I think my power it’s it’s actually my name my traditional name in Nigeria means God’s power which I think power is in my name and um I think my family we all believe in in a bigger power both so um I have power I have strength I believe my strength come from somewhere so those are the two words I think it’s key to me you’ve had so many experiences at such a young age so many cultures multiple families what are you bringing along from each of those experiences from Nigeria to Turkey to California to UCLA what do you bring with you from each of those experiences and those people now into your professional career I think that brings me um a lot of diversity um it just shows how we’re able to connect with any group of people it shows uh that I’ve been I’ve been to I’ve been different group of people I’ve seen so many different culture I’ve seen so so many different traditions and I feel like I can bring my tradition to contribute to improve other Traditions to help other Traditions get better and um I feel like with my experience I feel like I can connect with anyone in the world and um I think that’s also going to help with the chem team chemistry um bonding with the team um I think that’s going to help me a long way and also going it’s going to help me to be able to connect to my teamate easily well you’ve already done a great job connecting on day one it’s been a pleasure to connect with you welcome congratulations and thank you again thank you very much appreciate you thanks for having me

Adem Bona talks dreams, how he got into basketball, new beginnings and more!