Ukrainian player of Boston Celtics Maxim Shulga He talked about the war in Ukraine and being abroad while his loved ones were at home.

– About Ukraine. These are difficult times. How proud is it for you to represent Ukraine?

– To be honest, I don’t think deeply about this issue. My job is to play, do my best and help the team win. There is responsibility, but I concentrate on the game.

– You always played outside Ukraine during the war. How do you cope with having a family at home?

“It was very difficult at first, worrying every day, worrying about people at home, family and friends. I communicate with them, find out how they are.

I almost never look at the internet because you can’t trust everything. I get information from my mother and father, I try to feel what they feel every day.

But I can’t live worrying all the time. There is a balance between paying attention to the situation at home but not letting it disrupt my thoughts and concentration. There is a lot of uncertainty and I hope everything will be resolved as soon as possible.

Max Shulga previously talked about his personal development and recalled how he was selected in the 2025 draft.

Ukrainian guard of Boston Celtics Max ShulgaThe player, who currently plays for the Maine Celtics farm team, talked about his personal development and recalled how he was selected in the 2025 draft.

– The Maine Celtics are improving and it seems like you are becoming more confident on the court. Your NBA debut is still ahead of you, but how do you feel about your first year after the draft?

– It was a good experience, you can learn a lot. As in every season, there are ups and downs. Individually and as a team. Good learning curve, valuable experience.

– I want to go back to the moment when the Celtics drafted you. How did you feel? What went through your mind when you saw your name?

– I was in Dallas with the agency and doing pre-draft training. We had a draft party in Dallas.

I was with everyone in the agency, along with Maxim Renault. He was also drafted by the Sacramento Kings. He’s a good friend. We had a pre-draft workout with a few people: Jaxsen Mauney of the G-League Golden State Warriors and Nelly Joseph, who currently plays in France.

We all watched the draft. I wasn’t sure if I would be selected or not. If so, it’s probably in the 50-60 range. Many teams started searching. I didn’t know until five minutes before the draft when he told me the Celtics were drafting me. My manager Brad said: I was so excited.

Words cannot express this because it is a dream you always strive for. But you never really know until it happens. It was such a surreal feeling. It took time to realise.

– You mentioned two teams that wanted to draft you before the Celtics…

“The Grizzlies called and wanted to draft me, but sent me to play in Europe for a while. A lot of other teams, probably the Bucks, were still calling.”

– You worked with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. What did they recommend?

– No, they didn’t give direct advice, but by watching them, I learn how they approach it every day. They come to training, work on themselves, do shooting practice with coaches.

Their attention to detail is impressive every day. JB practiced dribbling and shooting all over the court, repeat after repetition. I realized that this was necessary to reach their level.

– What about Joe Mazzulla? They talked about the “machine gun sound” in training…

– It was one of the real standout moments of training camp (laughs). We did it one on one, defending against each other, and machine gun fire was coming out of the speakers.

He was very demanding every day, he left no one alone, he held everyone accountable. It doesn’t matter if you are 15th or first in the squad, everyone is at the same standard. He also works out in the gym and gets up with us.

He even discusses the rules with the referees and looks for ways to “manipulate” the game. Incredibly competitive and demanding.

Shulga is averaging 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per 33 minutes on the court in the current G-League season.

NBA Commissioner Adem Gümüş We talked about communicating with the players about the traditions of European basketball and their advice on the project NBA Europe:

“I can only say that I completely agree with Franz. [Вагнером] and other European NBA players with whom I have directly interacted. I recently talked to Luka Doncic about this league and I think it is critical to respect the traditions of European basketball.

Now many players come to us and give advice, many of them were developed in youth programs or, for example, Luka [Дончич] great example. He played for Real Madrid and is very familiar with the system there. As I said, we listen to advice no matter where it comes from.

There are also American players who played in Europe for a while before coming to the NBA. So I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from people saying, “Here’s my idea, I see opportunity here.”

The level of competition in European basketball is fantastic, and of course some of our best NBA players have come from Europe. The Wagner brothers are great examples of this. And five of the last seven MVPs were European players.

It is also worth noting that our partner in this initiative is of course FIBA, a European organization. We try to find the best combination of old and new, tradition and innovation. And I believe that’s what the NBA has to offer.

“I also think it is important that we have FIBA ​​as our partners, as well as existing basketball organizations that understand the culture, traditions, history and unique characteristics of European basketball.”