Q&A With Luis Scola

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

There is a patience that surrounds Luis Scola: settling things on the court by being in the right place at the right time and never getting rattled; pulling aside a teammate to explain something he’s noticed from the bench; playfully teasing one of his four sons in the locker room after a game. Whatever the situation, there is a calmness around 35-year-old Scola. With eight years of NBA basketball under his belt and 20 years of playing professionally since his debut in Argentina at the age of 15, Scola has earned his comfort and familiarity on the floor. From Raptors head coach Dwane Casey to former Houston Rockets teammate Kyle Lowry to rookie Norman Powell, everyone that passes through Toronto’s locker room has their own stories of appreciation for Scola.

After spending the summer dominating at the FIBA Americas, winning a silver medal with Argentina as well as being named MVP of the tournament, Scola arrived in Toronto and began preseason coming off the bench. It took four games before Casey had moved him into the starting lineup where he has remained. Through nine games, Scola is averaging 9.2 points, seven rebounds, 1.2 assists and nearly a block per contest. When he’s on the bench, he is often standing beside it as he shouts instructions and encouragement to his teammates. His impact is immeasurable and extends well beyond the boxscore.

“In practice, he’ll make coaching points,” Casey said. “He’ll stop things and go and teach. You cannot put a value on that. It’s very sound. A lot of times a player will suggest something and there’s no way [the player he’s helping] can do that, or your team can absorb it or understand it. He’s already teaching everything within the concept that we’re trying to do. The defensive system, offensive system. He’s a valuable, valuable veteran.”

In Wednesday’s victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, Scola scored 21 points, including 17 in the third quarter where he shot 8-for-10 from the floor. When he wasn’t in the game, he was counselling Powell.

“I talked to him a little bit on the bench, telling him, ‘When you play a good game like that and you make those type of mistakes you have to be happy because those are easy to fix,’” Scola said. “The hard things, he did; score, guard, rebound. The little mistakes he will learn. It’s a good thing.”

Whether on the bench or in the starting lineup, playing 10 minutes or 30, Scola is the same player and teammate. His demeanour does not change.

“The way Luis plays, he’ll be able to play forever,” Lowry said. “His motor is unmatchable.”

Despite Lowry’s words, with 20 years of basketball under his belt, Scola knows he is closer to the end than the beginning of his playing journey. What sticks out most when speaking about his career is the joy he has gotten from it. There is a respect for the game that runs deep. What follows is a conversation with Scola about basketball and life and making sure to savour them both.

Luis Scola: My dad used to play basketball, so I went to see all of his games and some of his practices. I don't know exactly when my first memory of basketball[ is, but it was when I was a little kid, watching him play. I started playing at seven. I turned pro at 15, in Argentina, played two years there and then I signed with a team in Spain and I played 10 years.

LS: It feels like it has been long, yeah. It’s been 20 years, so it happened a long time ago, but I like it so, it doesn’t feel like, ‘Oh my god, how long this is, when is it going to stop?’ it feels fun.

LS: I think for one part it was a little hard because I was coming from a place where I already had a name, you know? I had a status in the league, I was important to the team I was playing [for], I was important for the league I was playing [in]. Coming to the NBA, having to start form scratch, it was a little disappointing. Not disappointing. It was a little difficult. I knew it was going to be like that. I was prepared mentally for it and I also think the fact that I had experience in other leagues helped me to do the transition. It took me a minute, but it wasn’t that long.

LS: Shane Battier in the NBA. I’ve had other great ones on other teams, but in the NBA, Shane Battier was my best teammate.

LS: He was always playing attention to details, thinking ‘How can I help the other teammates?’ He was always talking. He was a great professional. He worked hard. He was all about the right things.

LS: I have been given a lot of advice. It’s hard to pick up one and remember who gave it to me, but I think the best advice I ever had was just to have fun and I don't even know who told me that. Probably multiple people told me that. But that’s what I tell young kids who are trying to play. Just have fun. For two reasons: That’s what the game was meant to be. Just fun. It’s a game. You have to have fun in order for you to play well. It’s just the way it is. You have to have fun. And secondly, if you want to become any good at it, you have to put a lot of hours, a lot of effort in. It’s going to be a lot of years of working and hours, traveling, and the only way to do all of those things, you have to have passion for it. You have to have fun. If not, you probably, it’s going to be too hard to put those hours in. I think you have to have fun.

LS: It’s kind of like a flashback connection. I see a lot of him running and playing and I can't help but remember when I was a kid and when I was playing and I see myself reflected in him and it’s a little bit special. Sometimes I get emotional. He’s just practicing, you know, I feel silly, but it’s hard for me not to start picturing him doing what I do, or picturing any of the other kids doing what I did. I have to [stop] because the only important thing for him is to have fun. I tell him all day long that. Every time I see him playing and practicing,[I’m asking] ‘Did you have fun? Did you enjoy it? Do you want to come back?’ Not only because that’s the only way he’s going to succeed at it, but also because that’s the way the game was created.

LS: Four boys. [Ages] nine, eight, six and five.

LS: The Olympic Gold medal will always ben the highlight of my career, at least until I win another one.

LS: Toronto is an unbelievable city, obviously. Canada is a great country and I’m happy to be here.

LS: I’m not sure what I would be. It’s very hard for me to imagine life without it. I’ve been struggling with the thought because soon it’s going to be over. I’m 35 and I don't know how many years I’m going to play, but I’m obviously closer to the end than the beginning. It’s going to happen but I don't know exactly what it’s going to be. I’m struggling, not for the fact that I’m not going to be able to play basketball anymore, but more for the fact that I really don't know what I’m going to do.

LS: It does. I think playing 20 years is something. You kind of go through different mental moods and mental states. Sometimes you think one thing and then you start changing because you grow, you mature. You grow, you think, you see things different. When you have kids you see things different. When you move to a different city you see things different. Every time something happens, you adjust and learn and it changes your perspective of things. Obviously, along the years, it’s changed the way I feel about basketball. NBA, national team and all of those things, and yeah, going towards the end, it makes you think a lot of things and those thoughts sometimes make you change your way of looking at things.

LS: My dad used to play number four. I wanted to wear it for him and then it became my number.