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Pascal Siakam played a decisive role in winning the Toronto Raptors' first game against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors did well to hold Kawhi Leonard, the main man of the Raptors, but they were not expecting Siakam, who started playing basketball at the age of 16, participate in the party.
Siakam scored 32 points in his 118-109 victory over Stephen Curry's Warriors, to maintain a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.
The Cameroonian was born in his home country in Douala and grew up in Bafia, but basketball was not what he intended to do among his older brothers who were key athletes in the family.
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And Siakam's goal was to use his academic talents to raise him as a priest, which was his goal during his early years of childhood.
However, at the age of 15, he changed his mind, but he did not want to go against that father's wishes.
"I would never go against his will," Siakam told ESPN. "There is no better man I have known in my life."
At age 17, Siakam had developed his basketball skills and had been impressed at a camp hosted by his Cameroonian compatriot and NBA player at the time, Luc Richard Mbah, a Moute.
He participated in a program called the Borderless Basketball Camp, where he drew the attention of Raptors President Masai Ujiri, who is one of the most prominent African personalities of the NBA.
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In 2016, Siakam was a Raptor player perceived as an incredibly raw, long and athletic hope, but he did not have a free kick, so it was hard to see that he was going to make his mark in the NBA.
In the playoffs of 2017, Siakam played only two games, averaging just five minutes per game. It was at that time that he knew that he needed to make improvements.
"I think it was two years ago when we were eliminated from the playoffs. The next day we went to the gym. He had the following impression: "Listen, I must learn to shoot; I see that in the playoffs, you have to be able to shoot to be on the ground. " (We) went to work on this shoot, we changed some mechanisms, but it's a very small thing.
"When I saw Pascal at Basketball Without Borders (in 2012), I could not even tell you if he was an NBA player. It's like his story is amazing, " Ujiri told ESPN.
"He took it and ran absolutely with it; just two, three times a day, every day. I'm just trying to improve this part of his game. This shows that he was extremely hardworking, like beyond, super, super committed to finding a place in this league and improving his game. .
"I've heard a lot of people or told him some things this year; they do not stop saying, "Are you surprised?" He says, "No, it's still what I envision for myself," so I think it's a powerful statement as well. he believes in himself and he worked there.
But now, Siakam, one of the candidates, intended to win the NBA's most improved player trophy, a season in which he scored 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in 2019.
Siakam hopes his story will contribute to the growth of the NBA in Africa, as he aims to be a continent ambbadador.
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"I think it's amazing. It just shows the growth of the continent, Cameroon, and basketball in Africa in general, Siakam said Friday (AEST).
"Being on this stage and representing the continent is incredible. I feel blessed. I just want the game to continue to grow in Afirca and the kids see it. hope it inspires them.
"It just proves that if you put the work in – it's so cliché most of the time, but that's the story of my life – I'm just going out every night, working hard to get to that level and know that I have so much to learn and so much to improve and grow. Moments like this show that I will continue to be myself, to continue working hard and that I have so much to improve. "
Source: Yen.com.gh
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