Nikola Mirotic tells why he hated trash-talking in the NBA, reveals a EuroLeague team he wanted to return to in Europe, and explains why NBA Playoffs are the pinnacle of basketball. However, he still chose European basketball over the NBA.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan power forward Nikola Mirotic is a five-year NBA veteran who returned to play in Europe in 2019. Though his first days in the NBA were not easy, starting his career in Chicago in 2014.
"Speed, physicality, trash talk," Mirotic named his biggest challenges in the NBA during SKWEEK's Best In Class podcast. "Oh, I hated trash talk. I couldn't get used to that for a long time. During the practice and in the game, there was so much trash talk that I was actually taking it personally."
He explained how his teammates would exchange heated words during training but then act like nothing happened afterward.
"Like my teammates were talking real trash, and after the practice, they were shaking hands, hugging me. I was like, 'What is this? We just fought at the practice, and now you're shaking hands with me? Come on,'" Mirotic recalled.
"I had to get used to that. Also, short memory," he continued. "Here in Europe, you lose one game, OK; 2 games, it's already big drama; 3 games, there's a meeting, the president coming, and the media talking.
"In the NBA, you lose one game, 'Don't worry.' 2nd game, 'We're good.' 3rd game you lose: 'A long season.' 4th game, 'OK, stick together, guys.' So it can be like this for 10 [consecutive] games.
"I understood that they really have a short memory, and they go just about next one, next one, and they really mean it. There was not as much pressure as I was used to. So it was also an adjustment for me."
But did Mirotic appreciate the lower pressure in the NBA?
"At the beginning, I didn't. And all the time I was there, I didn't. But after coming back to Europe and experiencing this pressure, I'm like, 'Oh, sometimes that low pressure that you have is good,'" Mirotic responded.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan / Schedule
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
ALBA BerlinWhen asked if pressure is necessary to perform, Mirotic shared his perspective:
"For me, yes. I think the pressure I've been having since I was young, it's something that really pushed me," he said. "I had to prove myself every day so that I could be better and better.
"I think, especially in European basketball, it's always gonna be that pressure. I was lucky to always be in the big clubs: Madrid, Barcelona, and Armani. They always have pressure. I think that pressure always keeps you tight, keeps you that you have to perform well. There is no excuse, that's why you're here, and I really like it. I think it's much needed, but don't go too much."
What does he miss about the NBA?
"Playoffs. There is nothing like NBA playoffs," Mirotic stated. "People talk a lot about the NBA, about a regular season, how they take it seriously or not, the way they play, no pressure.
"But once playoffs come, it's a different story. It's a different mindset," he added. "Your weaknesses show in the playoffs. When you have some weakness during the regular season, you can hide it, but once the playoffs come, they're gonna scout you so deeply, and they're looking for small things, they're looking for matchups. They go for the matchups throughout the entire game."
Recalling his time with the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2017-18 season, Mirotic shared a funny story about Rajon Rondo's playoff mentality.
"I saw how much they really care about playoffs. For example, Rajon Rondo's mentality of the playoffs is insane," he said. "I remember we were in Portland while I was playing with New Orleans at that moment. We finished 7th in the regular season, and we had to play Portland away. Portland was 2nd, having an amazing season.
"We had a very good team with New Orleans at the moment. There was Rajon Rondo, Jrue Holiday, and Anthony Davis, who were like, let's say, stars of the team.
"Rajon Rondo started to go crazy in practices, talking so much in the film session," Mirotic remembered. "You saw Rajon Rondo always in front of a computer watching films, and he was like so confident that we're gonna actually beat Portland, and Portland was having an amazing season, and Damian Lillard was killing everybody, so we went to Portland, and actually somebody was knocking on my door.
"It was like 2 or 3 a.m., and it was Rajon Rondo with the computer showing me, 'Tomorrow we have to do this. You have to cut this way or set the pick like this.' I was like, 'Rajon, we're playing tomorrow. It's 3 a.m.' He was, 'But this is very important; you sleep with this.' I felt like how serious this was, and we swept Portland 4-0. It was insane.
"Just a different vibe, different physicality. The refs let people play, they don't protect anymore that much superstars in the playoffs. The moment I was there, I felt like they were not making any calls."
Mirotic thinks that NBA playoffs are the pinnacle of basketball.
"Yes, no doubt it is. Top. There's nothing bigger than that," the 33-year-old underlined.
But NBA or European basketball?
"If I have to pick, I would pick European basketball. ... For me, it's a better and much funnier basketball," Mirotic answered, adding that the NBA is usually about two superstars while others are just for spacing.
In the 2010-11 season, Mirotic was awarded as the EuroLeague's rising star. That same year, Mirotic was selected 23rd pick in the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. The same night, the forward was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves and later to the Chicago Bulls.
With a decent NBA career, he came back to dominate the EuroLeague. Now, he is a leader in Olimpia Milano, averaging 18.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 23.3 PIR per game.
Mirotic's journey back to Europe began in 2019 with FC Barcelona, although his preferred destination was Real Madrid, where he played before heading to the NBA.
"I cannot deny that our first option was Madrid. Obviously, we were in Madrid, and we wanted to go back to Madrid," he said. "But somehow, with Madrid, it didn't work out. I felt that Madrid was not that much interested.
"They had an amazing team, they had a winning team at the moment, and they probably felt they wanted to stick with that. I was like, 'OK, no problem. Nothing personal. I understand that completely.' This is what I understood in the NBA: 'Nothing personal. When they trade you, nothing personal.'
"The second best option for me was Barcelona," he noted. "So I met with some people in Barcelona, and they did make me an offer during the summer after I finished playoffs with Milwaukee. I got this offer, and I just decided to go to Barcelona."
As Mirotic revealed in the first part of the conversation, he played football until he was 13 but found himself too tall for it. Mirotic then gave a chance to basketball and loved it after the first practice.
Full podcast with Nikola Mirotic:
Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.
