The Magic in Elfrid Payton

A mid the excitement of the NBA playoffs and the road to the throne by the Golden State Warriors, the Junior NBA program continued locally and the league brought in an up-and-coming player to inspire the kids.

You have to hand it to the NBA, they know their stuff, and they’ve always sent over players who eventually become stars: Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala, and Gordon Hayward, to name a few.

Enter Elfrid Payton, the dynamic player from the Orlando Magic, who is definitely a future star.

He was drafted 10th over-all by Philadelphia in the 2014 Draft and, on draft night, was sent to Orlando. He is another of those triple double phenoms, as he has already registered eight in his career, five coming last season!

Philippine STAR: Welcome to the Philippines! I heard the kids are very excited to be able to interact with you, are you just as excited to be able to meet them?

Elfrid Payton: Yes, I am excited to play with them! I heard basketball is big here in the Philippines, so I’m excited to see that interest, too.

Is this something you like to do, giving back, teaching kids and promoting the game of basketball?

Oh yeah! Definitely. I do a lot of work, too, back at home and came here to see more, do more, play a lot, I’m looking forward to it.

Let’s talk about the Magic, do you think you have the foundations in place to become even more successful for the next couple of years?

Ah, yeah! I think we found something that works, especially after the All-Star break. I think we just need to continue to build on that continuity and we’ll be in the right direction.

From a personal point of view, what are you looking to do to get better?

I wanna continue to get stronger. I wanna be able to finish at the rim better. I wanna continue to work on my jumpshot. I want to continue to be a better leader, and help my teammates develop.

You know people are making such a big deal about a triple double . What do you look forward to when it comes to a game, do you know what you need to concentrate on?

My focus is just to try and impact a game, in some kind of way, by getting a rebound, getting my teammates involved, what I can do defensively. I give myself a chance to score. I just look for different ways to impact the game. That’s what I do.

You know a lot of fans are wondering, in the back of your mind, do you know what your stats are because obviously you may need one rebound here, and maybe need an assist here?

You know sometimes,  actually most of the time it’s like, it’s your teammates . Especially the guys that are not in the game, they’ll tell me what I need.  But while I’m out there, I’m just trying to impact the game.

Some say it’s very hard to make a transition from college to the pro, but not for you, why?

I have to give it to my college coaches. And the coaches that I had in the NBA, they prepared me. And thank the grace of God. I just continue to work hard. You never know what to expect, but just try to adjust as fast as possible.

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