By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Denver Nuggets guard Facu Campazzo broke down how he dealt with the trash-talk experience during his rookie season in the NBA.
“It [trash talk] is the hardest thing for me, there’s a lot of talk, they rush you. It doesn’t happen that much in the World Cup or the Olympics but in the NBA, it’s [happening] all the time,” Campazzo said in an interview with Caja Negra. I’m shooting a 3-pointer from the corner at the side of the opposing team and you hear them say ‘let him shoot, don’t put it in,’ and I think that I can turn around and celebrate it.”
“If it goes in, you turn around and you’re the best. But if it doesn’t go in, they get into your head, it’s incredible,” Campazzo added.
Campazzo had a solid debut campaign in the NBA, averaging 6.1 points, 3.6 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 21.9 minutes in the regular season while increasing those numbers to 9.3 points, 4.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes during the playoffs. He received praise particularly for his defensive attitude and grit.
“They go one-on-one and they bite the ball and they tell you that you can’t guard it,” Campazzo said on the trash-talk he gets when he defends someone. “The worst thing of all is that they put it in afterwards.
What’s the Argentinian playmaker’s response? “I tell them to shut up, in English.”