Marcin Gortat, former NBA center, has a very strong interest in boxing. His father, Janusz, was a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (1972 Munich, 1976 Montreal) in the light heavyweight division.
After a long, 12-year successful career with Orlando, Phoenix and Washington, “Polish Hammer” spoke exclusively to DAZN about his love for the sport, boxing and pro basketball experiences, the mental aspect of being a champion and the critical role of an athlete's life partner. The full interview is below.
When you started your NBA career with Phoenix Suns, you stated that it would be hard to match your dad's two Olympic medals in boxing. After 12 years, more than 900 games played in the NBA Finals, can you say: “Mission accomplished”?
Marcin Gortat: Let’s see…probably not. I didn’t even play in the Polish basketball league, I was too young for that. I wasn’t a Polish champion - and my dad was, many times. The Polish National Team didn’t qualify for the Olympic games, so there were no medals there either. I can say that I was almost a world champion, playing for the Orlando Magic when the LA Lakers beat us in the finals. It’s not for me to compare: for some who think that pro wins mean more than amateur championship I accomplished more - for others not.
Even 15 years ago, being 6’11 would make you too big for boxing. Today - not so much. Did you ever entertain the thought, with your father's success between the ropes, him being a boxing Polish national team head coach, to lace them up?
MG: Father never pushed me, one way or another. I played soccer, basketball, volleyball (my mom was on the Polish national team), and many other sports and games. And I know boxing: we went together every time he was going to a camp, for every fighter. I was a “bring a towel, give him water” boy in the ring; it was fun. I had a national team coach as a personal trainer, I learned fast how to throw a punch, combination, and how to defend myself. With my boxing genes, I’m sure there was some kind of talent, but when I was growing up fast, my dad asked: “Marcin, volleyball or basketball? Which is a sport for you?”. The rest is history.
You have a big tattoo on your chest: the face of your father, Janusz Gortat, with two dates, when he won Olympic medals. How many questions, “Who is that?” did you have when you were an NBA player?
MG: (laughing) Only the young ones, new to the NBA, asked me. All the others in the US knew the story, with basically every TV or media guy talking about that at some point.
Knowing boxing and seeing a lot on the NBA floors, and in the training camps - did you spot any boxing talents among the basketball greats?
MG: Boxing was - and is - a big, regular part of NBA training in off season: doing pads, strength training, movement - everything. Some of them had real power, you could hear when they were hitting pads, they moved the coach backwards with every punch. Could they be a force in the ring? It’s hard to say: with their hands always down, no proper boxing position, no basics? OK, you could hit pads but I know that I would hit you three times before you could hit me. Many times, when we were talking about fighting, I asked my colleague to go to the gym with me, just hit a heavy bag for three minutes, simple combos. After 45 seconds, maybe a minute, they were done, exhausted. Trainers always knew that I had something to do with real boxing. Boxing is about character, and trust me: 90 percent of basketball players just talk on the floor. It’s bark, not bite. Ten percent are fighters.
The mental part, in any high-level professional sport, is crucial because everyone has a talent, works hard. What do the best in the NBA, in boxing have, that makes them great?
MG: I was thinking about that recently, talking to my friends when I was having fun training boxing. The hardest part is when you move from the small gyms, when you used the same gloves and towel countless times and then comes a big time: sold out arenas, TV lights, interviews, the whole thing. You already have a fantastic car, making millions: do you lose a drive, hunger, you don’t have the edge anymore, because you made it? You are not mentally the same youngster who didn’t have anything, who knew you had to beat this guy or it’s over. The great ones like Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, Klitschko brothers, Oleksandr Usyk, other champions who have 30-40 fights, are financially set for generations and still can motivate themselves. I can lose one game, no big deal, have 81 more, getting paid - no such luxury for fighters. Because it’s not about money in the bank, it’s about legacy. For them, it’s still a simple sport: me or the guy across the ring. And it has to be me.
On the highest level, no matter if you are an NBA player or elite fighter, it is also about people around you.
MG: Unbelievably important. People around me always pushed me to do something extra. Two hours are over, but we still have the gym open, and we can do an hour more. For me, it was first to be in the NBA, then being in the starting five, maybe playing in the All Star Game. I wanted to be better than the other guy, dominate. Even when I was already making a lot of money - it was secondary: how many cars, houses could I buy? You are a champ? OK, you have to work harder to keep the belt. Trainers, friends, PR people - everyone is important, but for me it always will be your wife or your girlfriend. She has to support you, understand what you want to accomplish, all you have to sacrifice. If I had met my fantastic wife ten years earlier,… I could have been even better.