Sandro Mamukelashvili, the Georgian big man, talked with “Basket News” about the upcoming challenges that he faces.
Georgia lost in the first match of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament against Latvia. But Mamukelashvili has talked about his teammates and mentors. Firstly he talked about DeMar DeRozan and he shared an interesting anegdote.
I’ve experienced a lot of movies. He likes music a lot, so when we stretch he plays music, he tries to dance to it. Great dance moves. A lot of people don’t understand how in shape he is for his age. He just works out like crazy. A lot of great things. I listened to some podcasts. If you’re at the restaurant, he definitely takes the bill 1,000,000%.
I had that experience being at a restaurant with my friends and some of my close family. He took the bill, and I’m telling you – the bill was quite a lot. I was happy I got out of there not paying. Great guy, great mentor, great coach. It’s a privilege to play for him”, said Sandro Mamukelashvili.
When Chris Paul started his career in the NBA in 2005, Mamukelashvili was just 6 years old.
“You know, Chris Paul! Legendary point guard you grew up watching. He’s definitely going to come there and have that veteran presence, kind of put everybody in place, trying to dictate the offense. We’ll see how the free agency goes, but hopefully, I’ll have a chance to go out there and play with him.”
He expressed his desire to stay with the Texas outfit:
“We’ll see what happens with the free agency. I hope so, I definitely love San Antonio, the fans, and especially the teammates – I’ve gotten so close to them and created a family bond. As you know, it’s a business, so you never know what’s going to happen. I definitely hope to figure it out, so I can stay for another year if I can”.