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  • Zion.

  • We're going to start with an opening question, which I'll ask you to your left.

  • No.

  • And then we'll leave it open to questions from the media.

  • Could you just talk about feelings about going number one overall in the draft, please?

  • All these feelings I can really describe, you know, it was a little kid.

  • You say you wanna go to the NBA?

  • You know, people basically say you gotta, like, have a plan, because the chance of doing it is just a little to no.

  • And for me to be selected Number one, I can't do me no better than that.

  • Design Steve Nash burner, eh?

  • NBA dot com There's been no secret about your draft position for months.

  • Has been no suspense here tonight.

  • That changed anything.

  • And yet in the moment you remote, your emotions sort of welled up on you.

  • Can you Can you talk about why do you think that happened the way it happened tonight when you heard your name?

  • Because I love the game of basketball.

  • You know, you can hear people say things like, Oh, that it was likely that I was going to go number one, but I guess you don't know until you actually go through it and you're hearing my name calling.

  • I was able to make it on stage without a tear, shake the commissioner's hand, but in the interview on Mom's Standing beside me and my emotions just took over just a follow up.

  • How much responsibility do you feel to the people that have been there for you up to this point to the people that are going to pay attention to you now, and particularly to yourself as the number one pick not just drafted into the league, but the very first player of this class?

  • Um, I don't see as much responsibility like I love, I love the game and I love the wind.

  • So whatever the team needs me to do, I'm willing to do it because I feel like people remember winners.

  • Brennan Harper, 6 82 fan in Atlanta.

  • Just want to ask to play for a guy like to play for a guy like coach gay coach K.

  • For however long is a privilege.

  • What will you take from him?

  • Everything from what he's taught you with the year that you've had that could possibly make the transition to the MBA just a little bit easier for you.

  • Um, just be myself and trust myself because that's what got me this far.

  • And I mean, just continue to do that while haunting my other skills and just can't keep my love for the game.

  • What excites you the most about the roster you're going to join, especially playing with young, watery picks like Brandon Ingram and Wanda, especially, um, what excites me the most is the fact that they're young and, you know, like there close to my age, so they can, like, help me a lot more like with how to deal with this transition.

  • And I mean, I think waken build something over there.

  • Zion Dan working with the Los Angeles Times to your left over here, people have no new for a while because of things like instagram and stuff like that.

  • But when did you first think that the n B A could be more than a dream and was an actual possibility for you when the college coaches started coming to my house, Um, and telling me that they expect me on campus six day months and then just see me later.

  • Uh, I'm thinking to myself, uh, I don't know about that.

  • I'll be there like 234 years.

  • Like who knows?

  • Um, and I made Duke and Coach K's just telling me that I can keep up the hard work and I can leave after this year.

  • I mean, hits different Coach K Top five figure in basketball telling me that little progress through one year.

  • I mean another motivation.

  • Do you need?

  • So I on Eric Slater wtvr Bethlehem You coming to a relatively young team, Relatively young team, going to get younger in the next few years with new draft picks.

  • You see yourself stepping into more of, ah, leadership role right off the bat because you've been so anticipated as a figure in college and even high school.

  • Um, yeah, I see myself trying to step into a leadership role.

  • Um, but I think about doing that after also, like understand my teammates and understand what their heads right, because I think if you're not on the same page and things don't usually go well, so the thing is just a matter of us coming together, making the same goals and just willing to win, I think we could do something special.

  • Sion General, Um, and Sally with Penske Media.

  • Congratulations.

  • What do you believe?

  • Since you're out there so much in the media, you're the number one pick.

  • What do you believe is the biggest misconception about you going into the league?

  • Um, guys, Not sure.

  • I think that I get labeled, says get labeled.

  • And, you know, like I was in the position of, like, hearing about somebody else a lot with, like, all this player could do this that you want to see for yourself.

  • So I think that people just trying to lay with me and I don't think is that seriously?

  • I'm just looking to play basketball and win.

  • Tenny 10.

  • Isa McGee, Eagle News.

  • Congratulations.

  • What is one attributes that the whole world should know about you?

  • I'm gonna do anything.

  • The win.

  • Just gonna do anything the way Lloyd Carol, The Queens Chronicle.

  • Let's talk money.

  • Obviously, you're now in the highest tax bracket.

  • I know you have an agent, but let's talk about Are you gonna be involved with your finances?

  • How much have you studied about managing money, having an investment portfolio, not just depending out of agent to do this.

  • A lot of athletes have gotten in trouble for that.

  • It's like pretty polished person.

  • So I like to read the journal every day.

  • What's your strategy?

  • Um, my strategy is like I'm still learning, like I'm gonna learn as much as I can about what I need to know and any tips you know.

  • Please shoot him.

  • Like to hear all kind of advice.

  • Max Bond Stutter.

  • Sports Illustrated.

  • First of all, Zain, congrats on being the first overall pick.

  • Your also the first player to be born in the year 2000 to be drafted in the NBA.

  • You're making history in many ways how you change the league, especially how players relate to young fans in the future.

  • For how old are you?

  • 15 respect?

  • Ah, like that.

  • Um, you know, times change, like I think that's why there's so many to debase about.

  • Like who people think the greatest players of all time are late.

  • I think if you were in the time of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, you'll probably say one of those two or if you're in a time in Jordan, your price.

  • A Jordan in our generation, a lot of them say LeBron.

  • So times change.

  • And I think I mean younger fans like younger players.

  • Zion in the back.

  • Rick Leventhal, Fox News Channel.

  • Congratulations.

  • Who are you looking to for advice and counts on how to handle all the fame and fortune?

  • And what's the best advice you've gotten so far?

  • Um, veterans from all teams who have been in the league for, like, 10 plus years, maybe seven plus years because they've been through.

  • They usually been through it all by then.

  • In the best advice I've been given is is being myself and keep my love for the game.

  • Valium.

  • Congratulations.

  • Valid.

  • A Rabinovitz sport.

  • LeBron James told me he has a lot of advice for you and you know how to reach him.

  • Did you get to talk to him before the draft?

  • Will you talk to him?

  • What do you want to learn from him?

  • And from all the veterans in the league?

  • Um, actually did see that interview, actually, Uh, yeah, yeah, I probably will hit him up, Hopefully responds to me.

  • But my advice market not advice.

  • My questions would probably be like, What do I have to do?

  • The maintain like What do I have to do that?

  • Just try to, like, make my way to the top?

  • Zach yelled CBS sports radio wf n.

  • Everyone saw the moment that you shared on the stage with your mother.

  • In the emotional interview, he said she sacrificed a lot and she means everything to you.

  • How do you describe your mother for people that don't know her?

  • Um, how would I describe, uh, in a lot of words?

  • Uh, tough love?

  • Like she would always be like the 1st 1 to keep it real with me.

  • You know, it was never, you know, she's trying to, like, cover it up with love, Like she would always keep it real with me.

  • She taught me growing up in whenever I needed something, she would do everything in her power just to get it for me and my brothers.

  • She she put aside her James just so me and my brothers Kabir chance at ours.

  • I mean, I don't think a lot of people are fortunate to have, like, being that kind of situation.

  • So I just think, God, I got a mother like I did Daryl Johnson.

  • New beacon, uh, reflect on the draft process doing it with to your to teammates, to your good friends.

  • Talk about that process.

  • Almost makes the process, like, more enjoyable.

  • Uh, no one did.

  • Three of us from the same team are able so, you know, get our names called.

  • And, you know, we just we would we would talk about like, how we were all born in three different parts of the world in our journeys led us to the same part.

  • And we just find that crazy And, like, we wish the best of luck for each other.

  • Derek Sall Withy do chronicle design.

  • Have you given thought into being able to play with Cam again?

  • Potentially in New Orleans.

  • Oh, well, now I have, uh yeah, Cam came the New Orleans connect so much more.

  • Kim's a very talented special player.

  • Um, I said this Ah, media day yesterday.

  • Uh, I wish our at scrimmages we had before the season.

  • Nice looking.

  • Can like, man.

  • It's do it differently.

  • Hit five threes in the road and come dunk in the middle of lane.

  • His ball handled a like that.

  • Size is different, so I have a lot of respect for camp.

  • And if we could get him in New Orleans.

  • I will love the I on Tom Beller from The New Yorker.

  • Um, I moved to New Orleans about 10 years ago, and I think that cities really looking forward to your arrival, and I think you're gonna enjoy it.

  • It's a city like no other with so much going on culturally.

  • And I wanted to take the focus off basketball for one second.

  • Since music plays such a big part and ask you, Do you have a favorite brass instrument of a favorite brass system?

  • Wow.

  • Wow.

  • That's a great question.

  • Uh, I'm not sure.

  • Well, not sure that's a great question.

  • Generic, always with playmaker sports.

  • I know one of the exciting parts about getting ready for draft is finding out what's aware how exciting was therefore you for his fashion.

  • Um, I just trusted Adrian with this suit.

  • He, uh he said your skin will pop in this color.

  • You know, I was like, I don't know about that, but I mean, he's been in the fashion business for a long time, and I trust my game.

  • So I was like, all right, I guess would do the cream white suit.

Zion.

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