Most basketball fans spend their whole lives dreaming of what it must be like to play in the NBA: the money, the fame, the girls, the cars, the clothes. Those guys seem to have it all.
I imagine your rookie year in the NBA is a lot like your freshman in college. Everything to do, everything to see, all new experiences, and your whole career ahead of you. But, for one rookie, the NBA hasn’t lived up to the hype. In fact, Charlotte Hornets rookie Malik Monk would describe life in the NBA so far as “boring.”
“It’s boring,” said Monk. “Boring is good, though. You fly here, you get to the hotel, don’t do nothing until game time. I’m in my hotel room watching highlights, watching movies, stuff like that. It’s just boring.”
But, Monk is looking forward to his first summer as an NBA player (and it’ll most likely be a long one for the Hornets).
“But in the summertime it’s fun because you get to do other stuff and you got a little bit of money,” continued Monk. “You can vacation, go to places. In season is boring, but that’s good, so you won’t be out getting in trouble, club life, stuff like that.”
Of course, a boring rookie year isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for a rookie with high expectations. With Monk doing nothing but watching film and playing basketball, he will have plenty of time to learn the Hornets system, adapt to an NBA-style of play, and improve his skill set.
“When I’m comfortable in the system, I’m going to know when my shots are gonna come,” said Monk. “Get to my sports, how to play, I’m going to be fine. I just got to get the system down like the back of my hand, and I’ll be all right.”
Monk has potential; he just needs to work for it. Even Head coach Steve Clifford has noticed things he didn’t see out of Monk in the past.
“He has a good feel for the game, a high IQ,” said Clifford. “He passes the ball a lot better than I realized, and he has a lot more of a pick-and-roll game than I realized. His defense is already getting better. It’s more learning NBA coverages and schemes.”
So, hey, maybe the NBA is boring, but, as Monk said, that’s not a terrible thing.