Poverty, NBA at your fingertips, why he did not play with the Blues: Amara Sy tells her story

Cap screwed on the head, Jordan brand banana around the hip and Paris Basket backpack: Amara Sy is punctual on this sunny afternoon, at the "One Ball" basketball center in Noisy-le-Grand, in Seine-Saint-Denis.

Small misunderstanding: he had to train individually here at the agreed time of the interview.

"

", he asks.

It will last 1 hour and 20 minutes, interspersed with the sounds of bouncing orange balls and squealing shoes.

Once launched, the strong winger with 22 professional seasons is talkative.

"

“, he laughs.

There is something.

Legend of one against one on the Parisian playgrounds, the double champion of France with Asvel (2002 and 2009), Malian international, started from afar.

His journey, from a tumultuous childhood in Pigalle to being familiar with the NBA and the pride of having 3 young brothers follow his path, commands respect.

His first steps: "I learned 80% of what I know how to do today on the playgrounds"

Do you remember the first match of your professional career?

Yes.

It's on YouTube by the way (

).

It was against Antibes in 1999. I made a good start (3 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal).

It remains a huge memory for me.

You told CNews you didn't expect a career.

Did you have something else in mind?

Oh no.

Even when I started basketball, like most 14 year olds, I didn't know what I was going to do.

When I meet kids who know very early on what they want to do, I tell them it's a chance.

They have a motivation.

But unfortunately, most teenagers don't really know what they want to do.

Except if they have a father who is a doctor, who is an artist, if they had a model at home.

Me, my father did the cleaning in the metro, my mother was a cleaning lady, so obviously, that's not what I wanted to do.

It's much less obvious.

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You grew up in Pigalle until the age of 10 in a difficult neighborhood...

Pigalle was catastrophic.

It was hot, it was hot... There were 7 of us living in a room of fifteen, twenty... I don't even want to say 20m².

Come on, 15m² square, something like that.

We slept on top of each other, it was complicated.

You come from the playgrounds, you were even one-on-one world champion in 2004 (during a tournament organized by Nike).

We must tell you about it often...

Yes yes, after that it is not a common prize list (

).

It happened once, so I'm the only one chosen.

They never did it again afterwards.

Apparently it was a plan that Nike had, to do it every year, but it went wrong for them because I don't think they expected it to be a Frenchman who barely spoke English who wins (

).

Americans are chauvinistic, their image has taken a hit.

Maybe that's why they didn't do it again, I don't know.

Did you sometimes play on the playgrounds during your professional career?

(

) But all the time!

After that, it's been a long time since I did it, since 2013 and knee problems.

But it was actually normal.

I liked this sport through the playground.

It's not because I'm a pro that I'm going to neglect... In addition, we have a lot of fun on the playground.

It makes you develop your creativity.

I learned 80% of what I know how to do today on the playgrounds.

Afterwards, everything that is tactical, it was the coaches who helped me, but technically, I learned almost everything on my own.

"Oh him, he's doing a fadeaway on one foot, I'll try."

It was instinctive.

The France team: "Vincent Collet tells me that he absolutely needs me"

You opted for the Malian selection in 2001. You weren't thinking of Les Bleus at the time?

No not at all.

In fact, it's weird.

Before I turned pro, yes, I saw myself playing in the France team, in the NBA, everywhere.

Unfortunately, my freshman year is not going well.

I sign with Asvel but I do not play.

It made me lose a lot of self-confidence, I was short of playing time. At the end of the season, I was offered the Mali team.

Me, as I want to play everywhere, on a playground outside or in a gymnasium... I am told about an international competition.

I don't ask myself any questions, I say yes directly.

Playing for my country of origin, with friends... I met exceptional people, within the Mali team or opponents from other nations.

Amara Sy with Asvel in May 2009, while Vincent Collet hopes for him at Les Bleus Fep / Panoramic

A few years later, in 2008, the rules changed.

You can change selection once.

It fell when Vincent Collet took the reins of the France team.

He told me he absolutely needed me.

I said to him: “

He talks to me about the Olympic Games and everything, I told him that I dreamed of it, but that I was going to do it with Mali.

I couldn't turn my back on my home country.

I have been playing with them for 7 years, I have friends there, they are proud of me, I am received like a king there.

I have a certain affection for this selection and this shirt.

In his eyes, Vincent was disappointed (

).

I was flattered, it was a crazy opportunity, and I know that objectively, my career is very good, but it would have taken on another dimension if I had been a French international.

It's the truth.

You are not treated in the same way, your contracts are not the same, the sponsors are not the same thing... Even the teams do not respect you in the same way.

The NBA: "He texted me: ''Because your agent is nobody''"

You have also touched the NBA on several occasions...

(

) Me anyway, whether it's the NBA or the France team, there are always incredible stories (

).

I believe in fate and I think it was not written.

For example, after my first Summer League (

) in 2004. With my agent Pascal Lévy, we had an appointment with a coach who was to take me at Los Angeles Clippers training camp.

The guy came an hour and a half late... I did 10 minutes of training.

They thought I was making fun of them.

Then the second time was in 2007, again with the Clippers.

That's when I understood how it was in the NBA.

I do training camp with NBA and college players.

It goes well.

I am recommended to the Clippers.

I'm doing a mini-camp with them, it's going really well.

Without being the guy, I was the best player on the team.

The way of playing suited me.

I was super confident, but I was... not naive, I just didn't know.

In my position was their top draft pick, Al Thornton.

I literally walked on him, every day.

He always told me that I was playing too hard (

).

I was 23 years old, for me we were going to share the playing time. I was in the world of Care Bears...

Al Thornton in the colors of the Washington Wizards in 2010. Panoramic

First game, I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was in the stands because there was a match before ours.

And an assistant coach comes with a playbook.

He tells me to look at the systems for position 4 (strong winger).

I've never worked on that all week, we're playing in 30 minutes... I look quickly, I tell myself that maybe I'll play 5 minutes in position 4, out of the 30 that I'm going to play (

).

I must have played 3 or 5 minutes.

And in position 4!

A shock.

I did not understand.

I asked the coach why I wasn't playing.

He didn't know what to tell me.

I understood later.

It was an agent thing.

Because my agent was no match for the others, and those are just arrangements.

In the team, they did not plan to sign anyone.

It was to showcase Al Thornton.

We were pawns.

The Summer League is to help agents and get their rookies to play to prepare them for the NBA.

The American dream of this unknown player started from nothing, does it not exist?

That doesn't exist.

(

) It doesn't exist.

But I found out afterwards, because I was stubborn.

One day, I do the Summer League with another team.

I run into Makhtar N'Diaye, a former teammate of mine who works at the New York Knicks today.

I tell him that I feel hot before a match.

He tells me that he spoke with the coach and that I was not going to play.

I ask him why?

“

He texted me that.

It seems that you also almost signed for the Dallas Mavericks in 2009…

I was coming out of a season at Asvel where we are champions of France, things are going very well.

But behind, I do not agree to re-sign.

My new agent advises me to come to Dallas, where he had an individual coach.

Take care of me while I find a club.

Then, this coach must be absent for 10 days for a conference in Africa.

My agent calls me, tells me he negotiated with the Dallas Mavericks who will resume training.

“

“They already had to cut 3 players from their squad, they have no room.

I went there, I caused a carnage (

).

Even I didn't think I could do that.

But maybe because there was no pressure, no stakes, I was liberated.

Shawn Marion (

) had just signed and he was going crazy.

He wanted to prove, but he couldn't do anything.

I was too determined.

I walked on him.

Rick Carlisle (

) loved it.

He asks if I can do the preseason with them.

Aamara Sy with Paris Basket in 2022. Jonathan Rebboah / Panoramic

I have an interview, I sign papers in the offices.

It's talking about an unsecured 3-year contract.

I call my parents, it comes out in the press, “

I was too happy.

(

) My agent is calling me.

“

“I had a problem with my visa.

I had a tourist visa and not a work visa.

But I couldn't get a work visa without signing my contract.

It was mandatory since the law changed 2-3 years earlier.

My agent tells me the coach wants me to sign right away, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn't want to.

It's been 2 months since he wanted to get rid of 3 players, and we want to add a 4th one that they weren't sure they would keep?

I was looking for solutions, but I couldn't...

His childhood in Pigalle: "We played with rats, syringes"

You are also very proud to have seen 3 of your brothers become professional basketball players after you?

I don't think that's ever been done in France.

2 professional brothers, it's already happened many times.

3, already less.

And 4... that's a lot (

).

I started basketball at 14, Mamoudou

) started at 17.

He still managed to play pro.

Mamadou and Bandja started early.

It is a great pride for my parents.

When you think of where you left from in Pigalle…

Afterwards, it was more for our parents that it was complicated.

We were children.

As long as we eat and play, we do not realize.

Our parents have always made sure that we have clothes, that we eat.

They have always taken very good care of us.

I often say it: I don't know if there was a young person with a better childhood than mine.

I had too much fun when I was little.

Despite poverty?

I didn't really feel it.

Just sometimes, I was a little ashamed at school, I lied, I never said that I lived in Pigalle.

One day, I said I was going to eat at the restaurant.

There's another little one who said to me: “

His mother was a volunteer there.

I had recognized her.

I was too ashamed.

But for me, it was the restaurant, there was a dessert main course.

I never had that (

).

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Afterwards, I was quite free.

My parents worked a lot, I was outside.

We were still doing dangerous things.

It was hot... We were playing with rats, syringes.

It was very very hot.

In addition there was a lot of drug trafficking, a lot of shootings.

But people took good care of me, I was the neighborhood mascot.

I returned to the free cinema, I was offered sandwiches.

I always had money because there were prostitutes who sent me to buy something, told me to keep the change.

Afterwards, when I moved to Cergy, it was the holidays.

There were green spaces, fruit, everyone was doing sports.

Her vision and the evolution of basketball: "I love women's basketball because we rely a lot more on the collective"

How has basketball evolved since your beginnings?

Today, I want to say that the game is much more athletic.

I'm talking about jumping, speed.

He is much more technical, on the individual part.

Everyone knows how to do everything.

On the other hand, at the tactical level, it is a disaster.

(

) Tactical level, it's a disaster.

I think the players understand things less.

I don't know if they want to do them less because they feel they can do things on their own.

We rely less on the collective.

I find it a pity.

I think the quality of the game offered is poor.

Maybe before, we had to because we had less individual technical capacity.

A bit like what you can see on women's basketball.

Me, I love women's basketball.

Some don't like it, but I like it because we rely a lot more on the team.

It's basketball that I love.

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Even though I come from the playground, I do things well.

I'm the one-on-one world champion, there you can do whatever you want.

But when you play in a collective, you have to respect the collective, you have to do the things that are planned to have the best result.

I manage to switch.

It is because you have this hindsight that you have had this longevity...

Exactly.

But I'm not smarter than anyone else.

They explained things to me.

In Espoirs, I only wanted to score.

It was Bogdan Tanjević, who taught me.

And I won by listening to it.

He was right.

He won before me and after me.

He trained great players like Dejan Bodiroga.

Even Dwight Howard (

) can shoot 3 points in training.

But he's not going to do it in a match because he has a role.

The most striking example I have seen is Chris Andersen.

I met him in Houston, during a pick-up game.

He walked on everyone.

We made mistakes, he didn't ask for one.

He was shooting 3 points, he was doing step-backs.

And when you saw him play at the Miami Heat (

), he didn't even look at the basket!

(

) The idea is to say I can shoot 3 points, of course, but in my team;

there are plenty who do it better than me, so I'm not going to waste a possession by shooting 3 points.

Plenty don't make a career out of it.

It's about understanding your role, and being the best at it.