A few days before the All-Star Game, Nizhny Novgorod forward Stevan Jelovac delivered a jaw-dropping performance in Tallinn, scoring a League-record 49 points vs. Kalev. In an exclusive interview with VTB-League.com, Jelovac looks back on the historic game, talks about his attempt to make the NBA, counts the number of languages he can speak, names his childhood idols and evaluates Nizhny Novgorod’s postseason chances.
– Your team is one win back of the top eight and a spot in the postseason. Is that what the team expected?
– We could have been in the top eight a long time ago, but we lost a few heart-breakers, which dropped us to 11th in the standings. It’s really important to not lose any more games against other teams trying to make the playoffs. That includes Astana, our opponent on Sunday.
– Your team has lost by three points or less in four games against contenders (UNICS, Zenit, Khimki twice). What was missing in those games?
– Sometimes it was lack of experience, sometimes luck. Without question, the toughest loss to swallow was in Khimki, when Alexey Shved hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds and forced overtime. We had the game basically wrapped up, but found a way to lose.
– Your 49-point, 15-rebound performance vs. Kalev will go down in League history. Was that the best performance of your career?
– Yeah, absolutely! It was an incredible evening and I’m happy I was able to write my name in the history books. But the most important result was that the team won in overtime.
– Did anyone mention during the game that you could break the League record?
– Yeah, I knew about it and my teammates kept feeding me the ball in the second half. After the game I found out that I had broken the record set by Keith Langford, 42 points.
– You’ve got a good chance to lead the League in scoring this season…
– The main goal is to reach the playoffs. There aren’t that many games left in the season, which is why we need to do everything we can to reach our goal. I’m not worried about personal stats considering the circumstances.
– Does defense win championships in today’s game or are 3-pointers more important?
– Championship teams need to do it all: defend and shoot 3-pointers. But I think teams that play well on defense still have an advantage.
– Right now Nizhny Novgorod is 12th in the League in points allowed…
– We definitely need to get better on defense to make the playoffs. I think we have enough talent and the potential to be more effective on defense.
– What’s the difference between Zoran Lukic and other coaches in your career?
– He demands two-three times more of his players than other coaches, which I really appreciate. I’m serious. I’ve never practiced as much as I am right now. We practice twice a day.
– Lukic is also from Serbia. Does that help?
– It’s nice that my coach is a fellow Serbian. But we almost never talk to each other in Serbian because the team almost always uses Russian. Jake Odum is the only guy I translate instructions from Russian to English.
– You speak excellent Russian. Where did you learn the language?
– I didn’t know it very well before coming to Nizhny Novgorod. I’m trying to learn here, in Russia, at practices. It comes pretty easy, since it’s very similar to Serbian.
– What other languages do you speak?
– In addition to Serbian, Russian and English, I’m decent at Spanish and know a little Turkish. So, almost five languages. I say almost, because I’m not fluent in all of them.
– There are a lot of young players at Nizhny Novgorod. In your opinion, who’s got potential?
– Everyone’s got an equal opportunity, since there are almost no foreign players on the team, which helps the local guys develop. I’d single out three players: Gosha Zhbanov, Ilya Popov and Vasya Martynov.
– You recently debuted for the Serbian national team. Was it a long time coming?
– Honestly, I was just happy. The experience and emotions were indescribable. Unfortunately, we lost the first qualifying game vs. Germany, so it was not an ideal debut. But the second game went much better and we defeated Austria. I hope I make the national team in the future. It’s a huge honor.
– Would you like to play vs. the Russian national team?
– Why not? I know a lot of players from both teams. It would be very interesting to play in a game like that. I hope it happens someday!
– You played for Dallas in the NBA Summer League in 2016. Why’d you decide to go overseas?
– I had a chance to play in the Summer League and I didn’t turn it down. It’s no secret every player dreams of playing in America and would do anything to sign with an NBA team.
– What was the Summer League like?
– I gained a lot of experience, even though it was tough. I was on a team with 11 African-American players! I could tell basketball in America is very different from Europe. It’s more wide-open and exciting. You’re told to “go play and have fun.” Nonetheless, I prefer European basketball.
– Did you get a chance to talk to Dirk Nowitzki?
– I would have loved to meet Dirk, but it didn’t work out. He wasn’t with the team in the summer. But I did get to hang out with Salah Mejri, who I knew from the Spanish league.
– Who were you favorite players growing up?
– For obvious reasons, I was a Kings fan, since they had two Serbians: Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic. They were my idols.
– Do you have their jerseys or any other famous jerseys in your collection?
– Yeah, I’ve got a Shaq jersey. When I was a kid, he was already dominating the game. I dreamed about his jersey from a very early age!
– What do you like to do in your free time?
– I love to spend time with family and friends and go out. There are several restaurants in Nizhny Novgorod that I frequent regularly.
– A lot of players are obsessed with video games. What about you?
– I’m not into video games, but sometimes I play Counter Strike online. That’s the only game that can suck me in.
– Can you imagine life without basketball?
– I don’t think so. There’s a lot of different things I could do, but I’m best at basketball. Even after I retire, I want to stay connected to the game. For example, I could see myself coaching kids.
