June 6, 2025 • 24 mins
In Episode 81 of Scoreboard, Chris Titley chats with NBA player Duop Reath—whose journey from a refugee camp in South Sudan to the world’s biggest basketball stage is a story of belief, resilience, and relentless growth.
Duop opens up about his early life in Kakuma, learning English from scratch, and how sport helped him feel at home in Australia.
He reflects on picking up basketball in Year 8, the powerful role of education, and why journaling and self-awareness became critical to his rise.
From LSU to Olympic bronze, from his NBA debut at Crypto.com Arena to life on the road in the league, Duop unpacks the routines, mindsets, and sacrifices behind the scenes—and why staying grounded matters just as much as getting better.
🏀 His Scoreboard Moment? Signing his first NBA contract—and proving to himself that hard work, done consistently, does get rewarded.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
From the arena to the front office, this is Scoreboard.
I'm Chris Titley, and each episode brings you stories from
the game of sport, where mindset, money and meaning shape
what comes next. Athletes, coaches, owners and
business leaders unpack the moments that matter, because the
Scoreboard isn't just about winning.
It's about life beyond the game.Now let's get to this week's
(00:23):
episode. Hi, it's Chris Titley here.
And on today's episode of SchoolBoard, the podcast, I'm joined
by Duart Wreath. Duart, thank you so much for
being part of this series. It's good to be here, it's good
to be here. Duart, we're sitting here.
Thanks mate. Yeah, we're, we're on, we're on
Thursday the 5th of June 2025. And you're based in WA at the
moment mate. How's your day been?
It's been great, It's been greatover here in the greatest city
(00:46):
in Australia, so yeah. During my.
Time here with. The family.
OK, All right. Have you been to Brisbane?
Yeah, I have. I lived there for actually about
two years. Yeah, no, I I debate that.
No, no, it's all, it's all very good.
All the cities are very good in Australia, mate.
But yeah, Perth, Perth, Perth islovely, mate.
So Perth is. A little bit better.
Yeah, it is a little bit better,mate.
Yeah. So we're in, we're in, we're in
(01:07):
the offseason of the of the NBA.You're coming back to Perth.
But before we get to to basketball and yourself and what
you're up to, I'm curious to know your journey to Australia,
how that began. Yeah.
So it's a little bit of a long story, but I try to just keep it
short. But so it kind of, it began in
South Sudan. That's where I was born.
And then I moved to a refugee camp when I was about 767.
(01:32):
And then I spent about a year and a bit there.
Then I moved to Australia after that.
The refugee camp is called Kakuma Refugee Camp.
And then, yeah, so when I was a little younger, this one, I kind
of moved over here to Australia.Yeah.
And and those those memories of,of looking back there, the, the
connection of where you are now to where you came from.
How do you how do you feel? It's, it's a, it's a huge
(01:54):
difference. I think the biggest, the best
way I can like really describe it is when you're that young and
that, you know, at that age, youdon't really understand the, the
situation and what's really going on around you, you know,
So I think that my parents definitely understand a little
bit more of what's really going on because, oh, you could think
about it that age, just playing,playing with your friends and
(02:15):
just the little things, you know, you don't really
understand how life really worksand the environment that you're
in disorder, you know, so, but for me, it's like it's a huge
difference. I don't really.
And like, compare that compared to Australia, you know, it's a
big difference. And your your early impressions
of Australia, either before you came but also when you arrived.
(02:36):
Oh, it's a lot. It was big.
It's a huge culture shock. You know, obviously everybody
spoke English here. And that was.
That's not what I learned growing up.
And I didn't know not a single word in English maybe such.
Hello. Yeah.
So trying to learn the language,it's probably one of the biggest
challenges, you know, but overall, but I have a cousin,
(02:59):
some cousins over here as well. And the culture is very, you
know, there's a lot of proof in different backgrounds.
So it helps, it helps. There's there's places where you
can get help with, you know, to adapting to the Australian
lifestyle and culture here. And how do you describe the
Australian lifestyle and culturenow?
Oh, it's great. I think it's great.
(03:21):
I've been, I've played all over the world.
I feel like, I feel like my career took me to all kind of
places. And I'll definitely say that
Australia is probably the best place to like live, you know,
just to have that balance, well balanced life.
And when you came over, when it came to sport, what was your
sport, what did you get into? And and Australian Rules is very
(03:42):
unique in Australia. How do you go about
understanding that? Yeah, so Australian rules, you
grew up seeing that, you know, like at primary school,
obviously we all played it and all your friends will play.
It's a it's a game where you're just kicking the footy with
Besides, that's just it starts off like that and then before
you know it, you're on the he had to playing with everybody
else. But yeah, so definitely just
(04:04):
growing up, just seeing it on TV, everybody, all your friends
that play at the school. So, yeah.
So it was easy to pick up doing it like that.
But mainly what I grew up playing was soccer.
That's something that I probablysaw like, you know, maybe a
feature in one day, but obviously my height came into
account. Yeah, but I mean, soccer players
(04:25):
can be tall as well. I mean, soccer, I suppose is is.
And sport at that age is a senseof community, sense of
belonging. Did you pick up the sport when
you came to Australia because you probably didn't have a
network apart from the cousins that you mentioned?
Was sport kind of integral in terms of you being connected to
people? Definitely, he played a huge
role, just me adapting to just to the Australian culture and
(04:48):
yeah, just being immersed in different kind of backgrounds as
well. So that kind of helped.
And yeah, definitely sports would always bring people
together. That's something that I learned
throughout in my whole life. And mate, when did you pick up
the basketball for the first? Time in high school.
So in high school, around year 8-9, this one, I really kind of
just, yeah, pick up basketball and started playing a little bit
(05:09):
at lunchtime and stuff like thatwith my friends.
And then, yeah, it's kind of picked off from there.
And when did you realise that you're actually OK with it?
Oh, I think probably around year1011, that's when I kind of.
1516, yeah. But I'm not too bad.
Yeah, 1516, that's when I started realising, yeah, I'm not
too bad. But then also I had I had an
advantage in my height. It kind of gave me a little
(05:31):
boost of confidence. Yeah, with with the height, how
did you, how did you find it, doyou think?
Oh, this is actually quite good because I am taller than
everyone else and it's a little bit easier.
Is that with a feeling? Yeah, yeah.
Definitely kind of just, I thinkI think sports, sports, a lot of
it has to do with confidence andjust, you know, having that
(05:51):
height kind of just gave me thatboost of confidence to, oh,
maybe there's a chance and something I can pursue.
And you know, then, yeah, from then I just kind of just kept
working on the things that I wasnot good at.
And yeah, got me to where I am today.
Are you a confident person now? Have you been a confident person
in the past? Yeah, yeah.
I feel like I've always been pretty confident and but like a
(06:13):
lot of it, I feel like dozing with my faith, what I just what
I believe in. So I feel like that's always
been like a backbone for me. And then when did you think that
potentially basketball could be an option as a career?
When I went to college, so when I got a scholarship to college,
(06:34):
when I started playing at a junior college at Lee College in
Baytown, TX. So yeah, playing there for those
two years kind of made me realise that maybe I have a
chance that I could potentially be professional.
But I knew there was a lot of work that had to go into it.
And, and as I signed to LSU and to be able to play at that level
(06:54):
now, that meant that, but I haveto prove it.
But I can really play well at that level.
That would be a good test for meto show that if I'm able to play
professionally one day. I've got a couple of questions
on that. One is how important was going
to university and, and studying as well?
And, and the second question along the lines of like what
was, what's, what's driving you?What what drove you or driving
(07:15):
you to be the best and to to be the the the person that you are
now? Yeah, I feel like education is
something that my parents, my community really values.
Especially like when you're an immigrant, that's something
that, you know, that that's the only thing that's important.
Like your parents are not going to really worry too much about
(07:36):
if you want to be a basketball player, if you want to be a
artist, if you want to be anything, you know, in those
kind of creative fields. All they believe about is just
have an education, finish with school.
And yeah, you can do all all thethings you want to do on the
side, but their primary that theprimary motivation is for you to
finish school. So for me, I always valued
education growing up. I just knew the significance
(07:58):
that it would have in my life and my parents life as well, how
much they value it. And so I knew that going to
America, I can pursue my basketball career and also my
education and which was a no brainer for me to be able to go.
Yeah. What was the second question?
The second question about what what's what was driving you to
(08:19):
be, you know, to go actually, I can I can have a chance here.
Was it was it fame? Was it fortune or was it like,
OK, I just love basketball, justwant to keep getting better and.
Better, honestly, that was really it because I knew I
wasn't that good. And there's also a lot of things
that I had to work on that kind of just drove me to just kept
trying to get better, kept trying to get better and that
kind of just that's I feel that's what really helping my
(08:40):
careers were to to get where I'mto get me where I am today.
It's kind of just finding the things that I know I'm not good
at and just accepting criticism and knowing that, yeah, there's
no perfect basketball player, but there's a lot of things that
you have to work on, you know, and, and just getting better
things that I was not good at. I feel like that's where that's
what got me to where I am today.Let it go.
I did an interview with Christine Finnegan, who's the
(09:02):
CEO of the Tasmanian Jack Jumpers recently and she said
something which really resonatedwith me was that feedback is a
gift. I'm wondering whether you've
heard that before and whether that resonates with you.
Definitely, definitely. It's definitely is a gift and
just accepting criticism. I think it's a skill to be able
to comprehend what somebody is trying to criticise you in and
(09:28):
how you take it and how you interpret it.
I think it's a it's an importantskill, especially in the sport
world. Are you a pretty big critic of
yourself? Do you sort of beat yourself up
a little bit when things don't go your way?
Yeah, definitely, Definitely. I don't think anybody can
critique me more than I could treat myself now.
How'd I go with myself? Yeah, I also understand that
(09:51):
it's a it's a game and end the day and and I needed some time
have a little race on myself, you know.
So just interpreting that and comprehending that in my head,
some that I've always been working on, but it's not easy
you. Know, yeah, I'd imagine it would
be and then and also the coachesalong the way, everyone's maybe
got something different that they can add or something
(10:13):
different that you go, oh, I don't really, really like that.
For instance, how have you dealtwith all the different voices
that come and say, hey, mate, you got to improve, you got to
do this, you got to do that, andyou're like, all right, OK.
Yeah, it's definitely important to listen about, hear them out
and listen for what they're saying.
But at the end of the day, I feel like as a basketball
(10:36):
player, I think you have a pretty good understanding of
what you've got to work on and what you're not good at,
especially when you're a professional player.
I think you it's not as hard foryou to accept criticism, you
know, especially when and then you also can put like
differentiate what's not good criticism as well.
I think when you get to that high level, you kind of
understand it a little bit more.But when you're younger, it's a
(10:57):
little bit more challenging whenyou're younger because you just
think that you have to listen towhat everybody's saying.
And, and some countries are verynegative as well.
You know, they can tell you things that you shouldn't be
telling. Tell saying to kids, you know,
because, yeah, if that makes sense.
No, it does. And, and you know, like there's
a lot of more avenues now for criticism than than when I was
(11:19):
growing up in regards to social media and the opportunity, you
know, a lot more open press, there's blogs, there's there's
social media, there's, you know,newspapers, the traditional
media. Whereas 10 years ago, 15 years
ago, it was probably just the newspapers, right?
To be honest, there's a lot moreavenues for people to give their
opinions. I'm interested to know when you
are learning what some of the habits that you get into that
(11:42):
you feel are, you know, pretty good habits consistently,
whether it's sleep or whether it's eating, etcetera.
And for the listeners out there,maybe some bad habits that you
think, oh, actually I haven't been able to crack that one yet.
Some habits that helped me my yeah, like basketball like yeah
and I feel like in life yeah, I feel like one of the biggest
ones just journaling, to be honest with you, writing things
(12:05):
that I got to work on and also just I'm having like just like a
plan, you know, of what of what you like admire to be and what
you what your goals are like. Sounds very simple, but like I
feel like that really helped me throughout my career just be
able to write down things that Idefinitely have to work on and
yeah, slow things like that. Journaling on a regular and and
(12:27):
also like just being close with your family and friends as well,
because we have that kind of relationship with them.
I feel like it's a little bit more it, it can really help to
use with the decision making of things, you know, the pathways
you want to take, where you wantto play.
Like when you when you have a really good relationship with
(12:47):
them, they kind of they can helpdirect you in a way you know?
Absolutely. And when it comes to goals
though, how often do you reset them?
How, how far do you look out? And and I suppose do you, when
you don't reach them, how do youfeel?
Yeah, with goals, I feel like you have your long term goals.
(13:08):
Obviously one of my goals was toplay at the highest level and
and then once you establish those long term goals, now I
feel like you got to work on thelittle ones on the day to day
things, you know, just executingyour week, making sure that you
get the full potential out of your week, you know, So I try to
just go on focusing on the little things, you know, that I
can really just try to do the best execution out of you know,
(13:30):
because the long term ones will always yeah, just play out if
you do the little things on a day to day.
And yeah, absolutely the, the, the long term goal was to play
at the highest level, which is in the NBA.
And he got your, your shot at the NBA, your your debut at
crypto. Do you want to talk about that
particular debut? And not just from the fact of
(13:52):
like, Oh well, I achieved my goal, but more like, OK, now
that I'm here, what next? Man, yeah, it's that debut was
just, it's like a dream come true for me, you know,
especially playing at a arena like that, like historical arena
where you've seen guys like Kobehave the career there.
So that was just like just a blessing to be in that position.
(14:16):
That's all I can really describeit as.
But yeah, so like once you get to that level now it's like you,
there's so much, like it starts from Ground Zero again, there's
so much things you got to work on.
It's like, it's like the reason I've kind of started playing
basketball, you know, there's somany things that I have to get
better at. And that kind of just motivated
me on my on like day to day, like I got to do better.
(14:37):
I got to do better. So once I go to that level, I
was like, all right, there's so many things that I got to get
good at. You know, there's so much I got
to get better at. So yeah.
Yeah. But there's like the gratitude
to be in that position and to beable to be there, like meant the
world to me. You know, I just, I was just
thankful just to be there. Yeah, I was going to say, and
also when you got that first 3 pointer hat was, you know, just
(14:57):
like this is business, right? Or you're kind of like in the
back of your brain going, this is just on like, just keep
going. Like this is amazing.
Yeah, that's the thing about it.So like as a competitor, like
once that ball goes up, I don't everything's kind of goes out
the window. You just want to compete and
yeah and just play basketball, play, do what you love and what
(15:18):
you enjoy. So yeah, once that ball goes up,
it's go time. It's go time and then from
there, like life is an NBA player, give give the listeners
an insight in terms of the travel, the training, the setup,
you know, all the things that gothrough that people kind of, you
know, they sit down on their TV and they watch a game and then
they watch you play again to thenext night and two nights later.
But behind the scenes, there's alot going on.
(15:41):
It is a lot going on. Yeah, we play a lot of games,
play a lot of games and probablythe number one thing is trying
to take care of our buddies, especially during the season.
I think that's the a priority. You also want to get better as a
player throughout the season because there's not that much
practise times, there's not thatmuch downtime.
So so you have to try to find a way to make sure that you're
(16:02):
still getting better throughout the season, you know, and that's
what that's what's going to likemake you a special player, like
make you be able to stick in theNBA.
You have to always, you have to continue to keep getting better.
Yeah. And what do you do during the
the season to continually try and get better?
You talked about the habits because there's not much time to
breathe in between games. Correct.
(16:23):
Yeah. So the one is just your habits,
you know, how, how hard are you going at your individual
workouts? How much film are you watching?
How hard are you going on to take care of your body?
Just a little things about how hard are you taking, how hard,
how good are you at taking the criticism that the coaches are
giving you, that are even your teammates that are giving you,
you know, just those little things.
(16:44):
Those little things really add up and.
And then. Yeah.
Do you get nervous? It's got to just.
Keep getting better nervous. I feel like you do get a little
like little butterflies before every game, but I think that's a
it's a good thing, you know? But like once the once you start
playing, all the nerves usually just go out the window.
(17:07):
Yeah, once that ball goes up, everything goes out the window.
You just want to go ahead and compete.
And, and how do you go off the court in terms of late nights
you're sleeping, maybe the hotelbeds not big enough, maybe the
bus seats not big enough for you, How do you go with all
that? He's got to be able to adapt,
improvise and adapt. Whatever comes at you.
(17:29):
You got to be able to think quick.
It's a depth to whatever's there, to be honest.
And in regards to what you consider your own biggest
strength, what do? What do teams pick you?
Why do you get on the court morethan others?
What is it about Diabreth you think yourself that that makes
you want to be picked and play lots of minutes?
I feel like this is what I bringto the team, you know, I feel
(17:51):
like I'm a kind of player that'swilling just to help the team
compete and win in whatever way that the the coach is.
Everybody want me to play. My teammates, however I can just
help facilitate for the team. Really feel like it's one of my
strengths and I feel like I'm a player that can that's pretty
versatile as well. I could do things that a little
(18:13):
bit of whatever the coach might need me at that night, you know,
just playing with a lot of energy.
That's something that I always feel like I got to bring no
matter what level that I'm playing at and just playing as
hard as I can. At the end of the day, just
being a good, a good character, a good guy for everybody that's
around, you know, because the end of the day at basketball was
a team sport. The last guy that doesn't even
(18:36):
get any minutes can also impact the starting five, you know, if
he has a bad attitude or if he doesn't work hard, you know,
because everything, just everything's A-Team.
Like everything when it comes tobasketball, like everything is
just team based, you know? No, absolutely.
I. Feel like I bring.
So yeah. Yeah, that's why I feel like I
(18:57):
really do bring that. Do you stop and pause every now
and then and reflect on where you've come from, you know, how
far you've gone or is this the moment, the moment where you're
going, well, let's just keep going as fast as we can and
going back to going back to yourstudy, like you know, you've,
you mentioned studies very beingvery important.
(19:18):
Have you, did you finish your degree, etcetera?
Is there something in the background as well maybe that
basketball is not going to last forever?
Yeah, I did finish my degree. What was it?
But like, so I got a free mindedscore, inter interdisciplinary
studies in Health Science, Sports Studies and leadership.
(19:38):
But I feel like, I feel like with basketball is it teaches
you a lot of skills, you know, especially when you get to the
higher level, there's a lot of things that you that you're
exposed to and the things, a lotof things you can learn and just
got to be open and willing to learn.
I think that's something I'm always ready for.
You know, I'm always willing to learn and I feel like it gets
(19:59):
explosive that and you're willing to learn things.
Opportunities can always come upfor you.
If you work hard and you're a good person and you do those
things, opportunities can come out in that.
That's some great advice. Did you, do you ever sort of
switch off and not think about basketball?
Is there a clear mind somewhere the basketball doesn't enter
your brain? Definitely, you know, when I'm
with my family and with some of my friends, I try my best not to
(20:24):
think about basketball. So I try to just be in the
moment, you know, just enjoy themoment that I mean, because you
don't always get those moments and.
And when you come to your goal setting now in the in the
offseason, there's a little bit of little bit of time.
Do you reset your goals and and what are your goals if you don't
mind some of them to be shared? To be honest, right now it's
(20:48):
just try to stay in the NBA as long as I can and just keep
competing at the highest level, to be honest.
So that's my whole goal at the moment, just focusing on that.
Yep. And then from that would.
Be the best player that I could be.
Yeah, that's definitely a a great goal to have and and
obviously the little practises and habits as you mentioned
along the way to get there. Do you up?
(21:10):
I'm interested to know, I asked the the the guests sometimes
what their favourite all time sporting moment is.
What would be your favourite alltime sporting moment?
My favourite all time moment would be winning the bronze
medal at the Olympics. Yes, Yeah, that's the moment.
(21:31):
That was the moment I always remember.
Yes, and what a game that was and it was Andrew Gauge
favourite moment too. It gets replayed quite a bit.
Just the emotion, the raw emotion from everyone involved
in basketball in Australia to see that, that that medal and
we've got, you know, we've got another three years coming up
for the Olympics and we've got Brisbane 2032.
You reckon you're going to make it to Brisbane 2032 either as a
(21:52):
as a spectator or a part of the part of the team somewhere?
God willing, we'll see. We'll see what in store for
that. I have no idea.
And then also I ask our guests around their scoreboard moment,
which is a moment in your life which is very, very clear and
sometimes can feel like yesterday, but it's a moment
where from that moment it's so picture clear that you like that
(22:13):
something changed from after that moment.
What's your scoreboard moment job?
Probably I'm signing my signing my deal in the NBA, signed a two
way deal, getting my first contract.
So that was definitely a big moment in my life, just knowing
that all the hard work that I'veput in and that at the end of
the day you do get rewarded for hard work.
(22:35):
Yeah, just to continue to keep working hard.
I kind of just validated a lot of the hard work that I've put
in. No, that's, that's brilliant.
And I've got one final question around advice for for kids.
We're living in a in a differentworld.
When you were growing up and I was and I was growing up and in
regards to people that want to play at the highest level and
they want to play sport and you obviously picked up a ball a
(22:57):
little bit later than some people pick it up.
Now my my question is around advice, advice to young kids now
who are playing sport that want to look up to you and make you
an idol and say I want to play in the NBA too.
I'd say just keep believing no matter the circumstance that
you're in or what people say, just keep believing and just
(23:19):
keep have that tunnel vision I feel like.
And what's what, what are some of the characteristics you
reckon that you've got? Are you, you're resilient,
there's empathy, you've you're determined, you're a learner.
What other ones that come to mind?
You said the pretty. You said like the main ones, in
all honesty, but I feel like another one is just, I think my
(23:44):
faith, my faith plays a lot intomy character.
Yeah. So I think that's just a big
foundation for me. What?
What about competitive? Are you a competitive person?
Oh yeah, that's yeah, that's definitely in my DNA.
Yeah, very competitive. Right off the court as well.
(24:05):
Off the court, very competitive as well.
And, and there's some people kind of you're playing a card
game, You, you just want to be the winner.
You don't care whether the outcome.
You're just like, no, no, no, we're going to keep going till
we win, till I win. Definitely, definitely.
I don't like losing that much. Dear Ree, thank you so much for
being on school board the podcast today.
(24:27):
I wish you well in the offseason.
I really do appreciate your time.
Congratulations on what you've achieved thus far in your
basketball career. I look forward to following your
progress, look forward to to catching up and meeting in
person one day and and looking forward to following you next
year in the NBA season. Definitely.
Thank you for having me, it was great.
From the arena to the front office, this is Scoreboard.
I'm Chris Titley, and each episode brings you stories from
the game of sport, where mindset, money and meaning shape
what comes next. Athletes, coaches, owners and
business leaders unpack the moments that matter, because the
Scoreboard isn't just about winning.
It's about life beyond the game.Now let's get to this week's
(00:23):
episode. Hi, it's Chris Titley here.
And on today's episode of SchoolBoard, the podcast, I'm joined
by Duart Wreath. Duart, thank you so much for
being part of this series. It's good to be here, it's good
to be here. Duart, we're sitting here.
Thanks mate. Yeah, we're, we're on, we're on
Thursday the 5th of June 2025. And you're based in WA at the
moment mate. How's your day been?
It's been great, It's been greatover here in the greatest city
(00:46):
in Australia, so yeah. During my.
Time here with. The family.
OK, All right. Have you been to Brisbane?
Yeah, I have. I lived there for actually about
two years. Yeah, no, I I debate that.
No, no, it's all, it's all very good.
All the cities are very good in Australia, mate.
But yeah, Perth, Perth, Perth islovely, mate.
So Perth is. A little bit better.
Yeah, it is a little bit better,mate.
Yeah. So we're in, we're in, we're in
(01:07):
the offseason of the of the NBA.You're coming back to Perth.
But before we get to to basketball and yourself and what
you're up to, I'm curious to know your journey to Australia,
how that began. Yeah.
So it's a little bit of a long story, but I try to just keep it
short. But so it kind of, it began in
South Sudan. That's where I was born.
And then I moved to a refugee camp when I was about 767.
(01:32):
And then I spent about a year and a bit there.
Then I moved to Australia after that.
The refugee camp is called Kakuma Refugee Camp.
And then, yeah, so when I was a little younger, this one, I kind
of moved over here to Australia.Yeah.
And and those those memories of,of looking back there, the, the
connection of where you are now to where you came from.
How do you how do you feel? It's, it's a, it's a huge
(01:54):
difference. I think the biggest, the best
way I can like really describe it is when you're that young and
that, you know, at that age, youdon't really understand the, the
situation and what's really going on around you, you know,
So I think that my parents definitely understand a little
bit more of what's really going on because, oh, you could think
about it that age, just playing,playing with your friends and
(02:15):
just the little things, you know, you don't really
understand how life really worksand the environment that you're
in disorder, you know, so, but for me, it's like it's a huge
difference. I don't really.
And like, compare that compared to Australia, you know, it's a
big difference. And your your early impressions
of Australia, either before you came but also when you arrived.
(02:36):
Oh, it's a lot. It was big.
It's a huge culture shock. You know, obviously everybody
spoke English here. And that was.
That's not what I learned growing up.
And I didn't know not a single word in English maybe such.
Hello. Yeah.
So trying to learn the language,it's probably one of the biggest
challenges, you know, but overall, but I have a cousin,
(02:59):
some cousins over here as well. And the culture is very, you
know, there's a lot of proof in different backgrounds.
So it helps, it helps. There's there's places where you
can get help with, you know, to adapting to the Australian
lifestyle and culture here. And how do you describe the
Australian lifestyle and culturenow?
Oh, it's great. I think it's great.
(03:21):
I've been, I've played all over the world.
I feel like, I feel like my career took me to all kind of
places. And I'll definitely say that
Australia is probably the best place to like live, you know,
just to have that balance, well balanced life.
And when you came over, when it came to sport, what was your
sport, what did you get into? And and Australian Rules is very
(03:42):
unique in Australia. How do you go about
understanding that? Yeah, so Australian rules, you
grew up seeing that, you know, like at primary school,
obviously we all played it and all your friends will play.
It's a it's a game where you're just kicking the footy with
Besides, that's just it starts off like that and then before
you know it, you're on the he had to playing with everybody
else. But yeah, so definitely just
(04:04):
growing up, just seeing it on TV, everybody, all your friends
that play at the school. So, yeah.
So it was easy to pick up doing it like that.
But mainly what I grew up playing was soccer.
That's something that I probablysaw like, you know, maybe a
feature in one day, but obviously my height came into
account. Yeah, but I mean, soccer players
(04:25):
can be tall as well. I mean, soccer, I suppose is is.
And sport at that age is a senseof community, sense of
belonging. Did you pick up the sport when
you came to Australia because you probably didn't have a
network apart from the cousins that you mentioned?
Was sport kind of integral in terms of you being connected to
people? Definitely, he played a huge
role, just me adapting to just to the Australian culture and
(04:48):
yeah, just being immersed in different kind of backgrounds as
well. So that kind of helped.
And yeah, definitely sports would always bring people
together. That's something that I learned
throughout in my whole life. And mate, when did you pick up
the basketball for the first? Time in high school.
So in high school, around year 8-9, this one, I really kind of
just, yeah, pick up basketball and started playing a little bit
(05:09):
at lunchtime and stuff like thatwith my friends.
And then, yeah, it's kind of picked off from there.
And when did you realise that you're actually OK with it?
Oh, I think probably around year1011, that's when I kind of.
1516, yeah. But I'm not too bad.
Yeah, 1516, that's when I started realising, yeah, I'm not
too bad. But then also I had I had an
advantage in my height. It kind of gave me a little
(05:31):
boost of confidence. Yeah, with with the height, how
did you, how did you find it, doyou think?
Oh, this is actually quite good because I am taller than
everyone else and it's a little bit easier.
Is that with a feeling? Yeah, yeah.
Definitely kind of just, I thinkI think sports, sports, a lot of
it has to do with confidence andjust, you know, having that
(05:51):
height kind of just gave me thatboost of confidence to, oh,
maybe there's a chance and something I can pursue.
And you know, then, yeah, from then I just kind of just kept
working on the things that I wasnot good at.
And yeah, got me to where I am today.
Are you a confident person now? Have you been a confident person
in the past? Yeah, yeah.
I feel like I've always been pretty confident and but like a
(06:13):
lot of it, I feel like dozing with my faith, what I just what
I believe in. So I feel like that's always
been like a backbone for me. And then when did you think that
potentially basketball could be an option as a career?
When I went to college, so when I got a scholarship to college,
(06:34):
when I started playing at a junior college at Lee College in
Baytown, TX. So yeah, playing there for those
two years kind of made me realise that maybe I have a
chance that I could potentially be professional.
But I knew there was a lot of work that had to go into it.
And, and as I signed to LSU and to be able to play at that level
(06:54):
now, that meant that, but I haveto prove it.
But I can really play well at that level.
That would be a good test for meto show that if I'm able to play
professionally one day. I've got a couple of questions
on that. One is how important was going
to university and, and studying as well?
And, and the second question along the lines of like what
was, what's, what's driving you?What what drove you or driving
(07:15):
you to be the best and to to be the the the person that you are
now? Yeah, I feel like education is
something that my parents, my community really values.
Especially like when you're an immigrant, that's something
that, you know, that that's the only thing that's important.
Like your parents are not going to really worry too much about
(07:36):
if you want to be a basketball player, if you want to be a
artist, if you want to be anything, you know, in those
kind of creative fields. All they believe about is just
have an education, finish with school.
And yeah, you can do all all thethings you want to do on the
side, but their primary that theprimary motivation is for you to
finish school. So for me, I always valued
education growing up. I just knew the significance
(07:58):
that it would have in my life and my parents life as well, how
much they value it. And so I knew that going to
America, I can pursue my basketball career and also my
education and which was a no brainer for me to be able to go.
Yeah. What was the second question?
The second question about what what's what was driving you to
(08:19):
be, you know, to go actually, I can I can have a chance here.
Was it was it fame? Was it fortune or was it like,
OK, I just love basketball, justwant to keep getting better and.
Better, honestly, that was really it because I knew I
wasn't that good. And there's also a lot of things
that I had to work on that kind of just drove me to just kept
trying to get better, kept trying to get better and that
kind of just that's I feel that's what really helping my
(08:40):
careers were to to get where I'mto get me where I am today.
It's kind of just finding the things that I know I'm not good
at and just accepting criticism and knowing that, yeah, there's
no perfect basketball player, but there's a lot of things that
you have to work on, you know, and, and just getting better
things that I was not good at. I feel like that's where that's
what got me to where I am today.Let it go.
I did an interview with Christine Finnegan, who's the
(09:02):
CEO of the Tasmanian Jack Jumpers recently and she said
something which really resonatedwith me was that feedback is a
gift. I'm wondering whether you've
heard that before and whether that resonates with you.
Definitely, definitely. It's definitely is a gift and
just accepting criticism. I think it's a skill to be able
to comprehend what somebody is trying to criticise you in and
(09:28):
how you take it and how you interpret it.
I think it's a it's an importantskill, especially in the sport
world. Are you a pretty big critic of
yourself? Do you sort of beat yourself up
a little bit when things don't go your way?
Yeah, definitely, Definitely. I don't think anybody can
critique me more than I could treat myself now.
How'd I go with myself? Yeah, I also understand that
(09:51):
it's a it's a game and end the day and and I needed some time
have a little race on myself, you know.
So just interpreting that and comprehending that in my head,
some that I've always been working on, but it's not easy
you. Know, yeah, I'd imagine it would
be and then and also the coachesalong the way, everyone's maybe
got something different that they can add or something
(10:13):
different that you go, oh, I don't really, really like that.
For instance, how have you dealtwith all the different voices
that come and say, hey, mate, you got to improve, you got to
do this, you got to do that, andyou're like, all right, OK.
Yeah, it's definitely important to listen about, hear them out
and listen for what they're saying.
But at the end of the day, I feel like as a basketball
(10:36):
player, I think you have a pretty good understanding of
what you've got to work on and what you're not good at,
especially when you're a professional player.
I think you it's not as hard foryou to accept criticism, you
know, especially when and then you also can put like
differentiate what's not good criticism as well.
I think when you get to that high level, you kind of
understand it a little bit more.But when you're younger, it's a
(10:57):
little bit more challenging whenyou're younger because you just
think that you have to listen towhat everybody's saying.
And, and some countries are verynegative as well.
You know, they can tell you things that you shouldn't be
telling. Tell saying to kids, you know,
because, yeah, if that makes sense.
No, it does. And, and you know, like there's
a lot of more avenues now for criticism than than when I was
(11:19):
growing up in regards to social media and the opportunity, you
know, a lot more open press, there's blogs, there's there's
social media, there's, you know,newspapers, the traditional
media. Whereas 10 years ago, 15 years
ago, it was probably just the newspapers, right?
To be honest, there's a lot moreavenues for people to give their
opinions. I'm interested to know when you
are learning what some of the habits that you get into that
(11:42):
you feel are, you know, pretty good habits consistently,
whether it's sleep or whether it's eating, etcetera.
And for the listeners out there,maybe some bad habits that you
think, oh, actually I haven't been able to crack that one yet.
Some habits that helped me my yeah, like basketball like yeah
and I feel like in life yeah, I feel like one of the biggest
ones just journaling, to be honest with you, writing things
(12:05):
that I got to work on and also just I'm having like just like a
plan, you know, of what of what you like admire to be and what
you what your goals are like. Sounds very simple, but like I
feel like that really helped me throughout my career just be
able to write down things that Idefinitely have to work on and
yeah, slow things like that. Journaling on a regular and and
(12:27):
also like just being close with your family and friends as well,
because we have that kind of relationship with them.
I feel like it's a little bit more it, it can really help to
use with the decision making of things, you know, the pathways
you want to take, where you wantto play.
Like when you when you have a really good relationship with
(12:47):
them, they kind of they can helpdirect you in a way you know?
Absolutely. And when it comes to goals
though, how often do you reset them?
How, how far do you look out? And and I suppose do you, when
you don't reach them, how do youfeel?
Yeah, with goals, I feel like you have your long term goals.
(13:08):
Obviously one of my goals was toplay at the highest level and
and then once you establish those long term goals, now I
feel like you got to work on thelittle ones on the day to day
things, you know, just executingyour week, making sure that you
get the full potential out of your week, you know, So I try to
just go on focusing on the little things, you know, that I
can really just try to do the best execution out of you know,
(13:30):
because the long term ones will always yeah, just play out if
you do the little things on a day to day.
And yeah, absolutely the, the, the long term goal was to play
at the highest level, which is in the NBA.
And he got your, your shot at the NBA, your your debut at
crypto. Do you want to talk about that
particular debut? And not just from the fact of
(13:52):
like, Oh well, I achieved my goal, but more like, OK, now
that I'm here, what next? Man, yeah, it's that debut was
just, it's like a dream come true for me, you know,
especially playing at a arena like that, like historical arena
where you've seen guys like Kobehave the career there.
So that was just like just a blessing to be in that position.
(14:16):
That's all I can really describeit as.
But yeah, so like once you get to that level now it's like you,
there's so much, like it starts from Ground Zero again, there's
so much things you got to work on.
It's like, it's like the reason I've kind of started playing
basketball, you know, there's somany things that I have to get
better at. And that kind of just motivated
me on my on like day to day, like I got to do better.
(14:37):
I got to do better. So once I go to that level, I
was like, all right, there's so many things that I got to get
good at. You know, there's so much I got
to get better at. So yeah.
Yeah. But there's like the gratitude
to be in that position and to beable to be there, like meant the
world to me. You know, I just, I was just
thankful just to be there. Yeah, I was going to say, and
also when you got that first 3 pointer hat was, you know, just
(14:57):
like this is business, right? Or you're kind of like in the
back of your brain going, this is just on like, just keep
going. Like this is amazing.
Yeah, that's the thing about it.So like as a competitor, like
once that ball goes up, I don't everything's kind of goes out
the window. You just want to compete and
yeah and just play basketball, play, do what you love and what
(15:18):
you enjoy. So yeah, once that ball goes up,
it's go time. It's go time and then from
there, like life is an NBA player, give give the listeners
an insight in terms of the travel, the training, the setup,
you know, all the things that gothrough that people kind of, you
know, they sit down on their TV and they watch a game and then
they watch you play again to thenext night and two nights later.
But behind the scenes, there's alot going on.
(15:41):
It is a lot going on. Yeah, we play a lot of games,
play a lot of games and probablythe number one thing is trying
to take care of our buddies, especially during the season.
I think that's the a priority. You also want to get better as a
player throughout the season because there's not that much
practise times, there's not thatmuch downtime.
So so you have to try to find a way to make sure that you're
(16:02):
still getting better throughout the season, you know, and that's
what that's what's going to likemake you a special player, like
make you be able to stick in theNBA.
You have to always, you have to continue to keep getting better.
Yeah. And what do you do during the
the season to continually try and get better?
You talked about the habits because there's not much time to
breathe in between games. Correct.
(16:23):
Yeah. So the one is just your habits,
you know, how, how hard are you going at your individual
workouts? How much film are you watching?
How hard are you going on to take care of your body?
Just a little things about how hard are you taking, how hard,
how good are you at taking the criticism that the coaches are
giving you, that are even your teammates that are giving you,
you know, just those little things.
(16:44):
Those little things really add up and.
And then. Yeah.
Do you get nervous? It's got to just.
Keep getting better nervous. I feel like you do get a little
like little butterflies before every game, but I think that's a
it's a good thing, you know? But like once the once you start
playing, all the nerves usually just go out the window.
(17:07):
Yeah, once that ball goes up, everything goes out the window.
You just want to go ahead and compete.
And, and how do you go off the court in terms of late nights
you're sleeping, maybe the hotelbeds not big enough, maybe the
bus seats not big enough for you, How do you go with all
that? He's got to be able to adapt,
improvise and adapt. Whatever comes at you.
(17:29):
You got to be able to think quick.
It's a depth to whatever's there, to be honest.
And in regards to what you consider your own biggest
strength, what do? What do teams pick you?
Why do you get on the court morethan others?
What is it about Diabreth you think yourself that that makes
you want to be picked and play lots of minutes?
I feel like this is what I bringto the team, you know, I feel
(17:51):
like I'm a kind of player that'swilling just to help the team
compete and win in whatever way that the the coach is.
Everybody want me to play. My teammates, however I can just
help facilitate for the team. Really feel like it's one of my
strengths and I feel like I'm a player that can that's pretty
versatile as well. I could do things that a little
(18:13):
bit of whatever the coach might need me at that night, you know,
just playing with a lot of energy.
That's something that I always feel like I got to bring no
matter what level that I'm playing at and just playing as
hard as I can. At the end of the day, just
being a good, a good character, a good guy for everybody that's
around, you know, because the end of the day at basketball was
a team sport. The last guy that doesn't even
(18:36):
get any minutes can also impact the starting five, you know, if
he has a bad attitude or if he doesn't work hard, you know,
because everything, just everything's A-Team.
Like everything when it comes tobasketball, like everything is
just team based, you know? No, absolutely.
I. Feel like I bring.
So yeah. Yeah, that's why I feel like I
(18:57):
really do bring that. Do you stop and pause every now
and then and reflect on where you've come from, you know, how
far you've gone or is this the moment, the moment where you're
going, well, let's just keep going as fast as we can and
going back to going back to yourstudy, like you know, you've,
you mentioned studies very beingvery important.
(19:18):
Have you, did you finish your degree, etcetera?
Is there something in the background as well maybe that
basketball is not going to last forever?
Yeah, I did finish my degree. What was it?
But like, so I got a free mindedscore, inter interdisciplinary
studies in Health Science, Sports Studies and leadership.
(19:38):
But I feel like, I feel like with basketball is it teaches
you a lot of skills, you know, especially when you get to the
higher level, there's a lot of things that you that you're
exposed to and the things, a lotof things you can learn and just
got to be open and willing to learn.
I think that's something I'm always ready for.
You know, I'm always willing to learn and I feel like it gets
(19:59):
explosive that and you're willing to learn things.
Opportunities can always come upfor you.
If you work hard and you're a good person and you do those
things, opportunities can come out in that.
That's some great advice. Did you, do you ever sort of
switch off and not think about basketball?
Is there a clear mind somewhere the basketball doesn't enter
your brain? Definitely, you know, when I'm
with my family and with some of my friends, I try my best not to
(20:24):
think about basketball. So I try to just be in the
moment, you know, just enjoy themoment that I mean, because you
don't always get those moments and.
And when you come to your goal setting now in the in the
offseason, there's a little bit of little bit of time.
Do you reset your goals and and what are your goals if you don't
mind some of them to be shared? To be honest, right now it's
(20:48):
just try to stay in the NBA as long as I can and just keep
competing at the highest level, to be honest.
So that's my whole goal at the moment, just focusing on that.
Yep. And then from that would.
Be the best player that I could be.
Yeah, that's definitely a a great goal to have and and
obviously the little practises and habits as you mentioned
along the way to get there. Do you up?
(21:10):
I'm interested to know, I asked the the the guests sometimes
what their favourite all time sporting moment is.
What would be your favourite alltime sporting moment?
My favourite all time moment would be winning the bronze
medal at the Olympics. Yes, Yeah, that's the moment.
(21:31):
That was the moment I always remember.
Yes, and what a game that was and it was Andrew Gauge
favourite moment too. It gets replayed quite a bit.
Just the emotion, the raw emotion from everyone involved
in basketball in Australia to see that, that that medal and
we've got, you know, we've got another three years coming up
for the Olympics and we've got Brisbane 2032.
You reckon you're going to make it to Brisbane 2032 either as a
(21:52):
as a spectator or a part of the part of the team somewhere?
God willing, we'll see. We'll see what in store for
that. I have no idea.
And then also I ask our guests around their scoreboard moment,
which is a moment in your life which is very, very clear and
sometimes can feel like yesterday, but it's a moment
where from that moment it's so picture clear that you like that
(22:13):
something changed from after that moment.
What's your scoreboard moment job?
Probably I'm signing my signing my deal in the NBA, signed a two
way deal, getting my first contract.
So that was definitely a big moment in my life, just knowing
that all the hard work that I'veput in and that at the end of
the day you do get rewarded for hard work.
(22:35):
Yeah, just to continue to keep working hard.
I kind of just validated a lot of the hard work that I've put
in. No, that's, that's brilliant.
And I've got one final question around advice for for kids.
We're living in a in a differentworld.
When you were growing up and I was and I was growing up and in
regards to people that want to play at the highest level and
they want to play sport and you obviously picked up a ball a
(22:57):
little bit later than some people pick it up.
Now my my question is around advice, advice to young kids now
who are playing sport that want to look up to you and make you
an idol and say I want to play in the NBA too.
I'd say just keep believing no matter the circumstance that
you're in or what people say, just keep believing and just
(23:19):
keep have that tunnel vision I feel like.
And what's what, what are some of the characteristics you
reckon that you've got? Are you, you're resilient,
there's empathy, you've you're determined, you're a learner.
What other ones that come to mind?
You said the pretty. You said like the main ones, in
all honesty, but I feel like another one is just, I think my
(23:44):
faith, my faith plays a lot intomy character.
Yeah. So I think that's just a big
foundation for me. What?
What about competitive? Are you a competitive person?
Oh yeah, that's yeah, that's definitely in my DNA.
Yeah, very competitive. Right off the court as well.
(24:05):
Off the court, very competitive as well.
And, and there's some people kind of you're playing a card
game, You, you just want to be the winner.
You don't care whether the outcome.
You're just like, no, no, no, we're going to keep going till
we win, till I win. Definitely, definitely.
I don't like losing that much. Dear Ree, thank you so much for
being on school board the podcast today.
(24:27):
I wish you well in the offseason.
I really do appreciate your time.
Congratulations on what you've achieved thus far in your
basketball career. I look forward to following your
progress, look forward to to catching up and meeting in
person one day and and looking forward to following you next
year in the NBA season. Definitely.
Thank you for having me, it was great.
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