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NBA ALL-STAR 2020February 15, 2020Joel EmbiidChicago, Illinois Q. What's the significance of a basketball league in Africa? JOEL EMBIID: I think having a basketball league in Africa is going to be great. As you can see through me, Pascal [Siakam], a couple of guys in the league, Serge [Ibaka], there's a lot of talent over there. I think the NBA taking the initiative of opening a new league over there is great. There's a lot of talent. We just need the right people to teach us and we're going to be fine. Q. More on the Basketball Africa League: JOEL EMBIID: I think it's really important because there's a lot of special talent that the world doesn't know about. If you look at the guys in the league who have been able to make it, there's probably somebody better than me or has the potential to be better than me in the future. So I think it's a great initiative. Q. On Leon Rose: JOEL EMBIID: Leon is my guy. He's like family to me. When I heard the news, I was happy for him. It was cool. I think being an agent for such a long time, you know getting a GM or a president job is amazing. So I'm happy for him, and I'm sure he's going to do a good job over there. Q. I'm from Brazil, and I know you play football. Do you know any teams in Brazil? JOEL EMBIID: Yeah, I'm actually a Flamengo fan because my girlfriend, her dad is a Flamengo fan. So since we started dating, I've been able to follow a little bit. So Flamengo. Q. If you could add a WNBA player to the lineup this weekend, who would you like to see? JOEL EMBIID: I would like to see Brittney Griner. Q. If you could go one-on-one with any player in the NBA right now, who would it be? JOEL EMBIID: I don't know. Probably KD, Kevin Durant. Q. On his upcoming signature shoe: JOEL EMBIID: I think it's great. It's going to come out toward the end of this year. I could have never imagined having my own shoe, but I'm excited about it. Q. Do you think it's important for your teammates to have off-the-court relationships with each other? JOEL EMBIID: It's important to a certain point. You don't have to be hanging out all the time, going to the club and partying and all that stuff. For a guy like me, I don't know, the last time I went out was probably two years ago. I don't do anything. I just like to stay home playing video games and be with my girlfriend, my dog, my family. I think to a certain point you can hang out, but it doesn't mean that you guys are going to be great on the court. Q. Anything you can learn from this weekend that you can take into the last half of the season? JOEL EMBIID: Nothing really. We're here to enjoy ourselves and just have fun. Maybe do a little recruiting. Q. Is it nice for you to take this time to reset and have fun before you go into the grind of the rest of the season? JOEL EMBIID: I mean, kind of. I wish we were playing, though, because I feel like I was getting back to myself and I was getting back into that mentality of just dominating. So it's cool, but it's going to be a nice couple days off. Q. How is Dario [Saric] as a teammate? JOEL EMBIID: Dario is my guy. He's probably one of the funniest guys I've ever been around. We miss him. I was kind of sad when we traded him, but it's basketball. It's business. He was a great teammate, just a hard worker and a fun dude to be around. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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