Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam warns NBA he can keep improving
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Wednesday 23 October 2019 07:12, UK
The NBA's Most Improved Player from last season, Pascal Siakam, has warned the rest of the league he can keep on improving.
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The Toronto Raptors have just handed the athletic power forward, known affectionately as 'Spicy P', a four-year maximum extension to his contract.
It's after the Cameroonian took a huge leap in terms of productivity last season and averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 80 regular-season games (79 starts) in 2018-19.
That then got even better in the playoffs as he averaged 19.0 points, 7.1 boards and 2.8 assists in 24 postseason starts as the Toronto Raptors claimed the franchise's first NBA title.
Siakam will carry an even greater load offensively for the Raptors this season as their primary scoring option now that Kawhi Leonard has departed the scene but he's not daunted by the challenge.
He said: "Obviously it means the role is bigger and you're going to get the ball a bit more but for me it's just understanding and seeing the game better, being more mature.
"One of the things I've always done well in my career is playing off instincts, understanding and adapting to whatever is thrown at me, and figuring it out and getting to the point where I can be the best player I can be.
"So I'm expecting more attention from defenses and I can prepare for it all I want. When I'm doing it, I think that's how I'm going to get better at it.
"We try to stage double-teams and things like that to make me work on it but I'm just excited about this season to see what's coming and I'm sure I'm going to be ready for that.
"If I'm not ready 100 per cent, then I'm going to work to get to that point."
The added defensive attention he will face and the $129.92m he has secured in salary, which kicks in next year and is spread across the following four, means Siakam will be under the microscope more than ever.
The 2016 first-round pick, who was taken 27th overall, has already well outperformed his draft position and says he feels no pressure despite the big contract.
Siakam said: "I always take pleasure playing the game of basketball and I'm always at my best when I'm having fun and playing the game the right way.
"There is no pressure at all. I am going to work hard and I know that I'm at the level I'm at and I deserve to be here and I believe there is more to come.
"I'm not at my best yet but I'm going to get there and I think it's going to be a great season. I'm just excited about it. I can't wait to go out there and play with these guys.
"I always trusted if I did everything that I was supposed to do I was going to get to this point.
"I didn't know when it would happen, but I knew that if I continued to follow the steps from the day I was drafted - quick shoutout to my man (and trainer) Rico (Hines) - from that first day I got to the gym it was like, 'We are going to strive to be more. Okay, you were the 27th pick but we think you are more than that' and I believed I was more than that.
"So from that day on we were going to work hard to get to where we deserved to be at and we think I have not reached my potential yet and we have to continue to work hard and get to that level."
The jovial 25-year-old joked about how he's still not going to be in the position to buy all the team dinners yet despite his extension, as he still has to see out another year of his rookie deal, but he also made a more serious point about how he hopes his journey to achieving what he describes as a 'life-changing' contract can inspire other kids in Africa that it is possible to forge a career in the NBA.
Siakam said: "Just feeling blessed to be in this position from my journey and how I got to where I am today is pretty crazy, it's pretty incredible.
"From the first time I got in the league, I always used to tell (Toronto's president of basketball operations) Masai (Ujiri) that I wanted to change how Africans were viewed.
"It wasn't just about running and dunking and being an energy player, it was about trying to change a generation behind me. I wanted to make sure I go out there and be someone that people can look at and see my story and strive to want more.
"That's something I've always done from the first day I got here. I think just doing something like that is definitely going to change the minds of a lot of kids from Africa that look up to me and don't think that things like that are possible for them.
"They can look at my story and see the journey and how there were a lot of ups and a lot of downs and I just stuck to whatever I believed and continued to work hard to be able to be in this position.
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"It's a blessing, man, there's nothing more I can say. It's amazing for my family, for myself.
"I just believe in me doing the things that got me here, continuing to work hard and being that same person - definitely being in the gym before anyone else and then staying later. I'm going to continue to work."
