In the buildup to the 2011 NBA Draft, Bismack Biyombo has been described as a " high-energy rebounder/defender", a "monster shot blocker", and "a helpside terror". But how many languages does he speak?
English, Spanish, French, and two languages from the Congo, Lingala and Swahili. Lingala is what people speak in Kinshasa, the capitol, and Swahili is what we speak at home in Lubumbashi, which is 2,000 kilometers south.
But that's only the beginning. After the jump, Bismack talks about his girlfriend, his favorite players, and more. I'm already bitter that the Washington Wizards probably won't draft him.
So, so bitter.
Here are some more highlights (with emphasis added). His favorite players:
Hakeem Olajuwon, this is my favorite player. But there are two others I idolize in the way they play the game. Kevin Garnett — I like the way he wants to win every game. Every time he's on the floor, he plays intense and plays hard. When he's not on the floor, you can see the team missing him. On the other hand is Kevin Love. Some of the time people say, "You're crazy man. Why you're taking about Kevin Love? The reason why I say Kevin Love is that I love him, I love the way he plays the game. He's smart; he knows where to be to get the rebound. He's the best guy at grabbing the rebound over anyone.
How old is he?
This is a question I have faced from when I first came to Spain. Nobody knows about me, so people are quickly like, "Who is Bismack? Who is this guy? Where did he come from?" Now, some people ask me if I can look them in the eye and say I'm really 18. I can look anyone in the eye and tell them that. If they want to believe me, they can believe me, and if they don't want to believe me, they don't have to. I'm not President Obama, I'm not gonna hold up my birth certificate in public to show to the world. But we show it to the teams who are looking at me, and we show them X-rays and passports and other documents that prove to them my age.
Favorite music?
Let me tell you the truth: I don't have one favorite. On my iPod is music from around the world. I have 5,000 songs, and it's really all over the map — Spanish music, American music, Arabic music. I don't really speak Arabic, only a little bit, but sometimes I just get the urge to listen to Arabic music, so I put it on. I like pop music, I like R&B. Growing up, I had three little brothers and three little sisters. I did a lot of babysitting. And sometimes I put on Congolese music and we'd dance in the living room.
His favorite movie?
I love going to the cine!
Does he have a girlfriend?
Yeah, for sure! I met her at a house party, hanging out with some friends. She lives in Madrid. But now is the NBA draft, and I don't know what's going to happen. I came back from [the Hoops Summit in] Portland so excited, but also sad because I know that moving to the U.S. means maybe leaving my girlfriend. We've been together 6 or 7 months. We say "I love you" to each other.
Seriously, the whole interview's like this. Not only does he have the best name in the draft (by far), but he's got the best the personality. Why can't Bismack just play for every team, ya know?