DENVER Nuggets star Kenneth Faried took the long hard route to the National Basketball Association, and among the factors that contributed to his success was the skills he learned through playing three-on-three basketball.
The 25-year-old Faried, who is joined by San Antonio Spurs forward Danny Green for the sixth edition of the NBA 3X Philippines this weekend, said his experiences playing in the tough streets of his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, molded his in-your-face style of play that has made a name for himself in the league.
“Three-on-three basketball is important because it minimizes the game from a scale of five-on-five. It kind of helps a player to figure out certain aspects of his game that he’s good at, and what else needs to be worked on,” said Faried, a member of the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team in 2012.
He went on to share his experience of playing in a three-on-three tournament finals in high school, where one of his teammates fouled out and left just two men on the team. Thus, Faried had to play inspired ball, leading their squad to the championship.
“I used to play three-on-three a lot in the park with my friends, even in a tournament. So, for me, I understand what these kids are doing right now and what they’re trying to prove,” he noted. “What I can tell them is to never give up. Never count yourself out, keep playing hard until the final point is scored.”
The former first-round, 22nd overall pick by the Nuggets went on to say that he never thought in his wildest imagination that he would make it to far-off lands just because of the game of basketball.
Last summer Faried was an integral part of Mike Krzyzewski’s 12-man rotation in Team USA’s rout over the competition in the 2014 International Basketball Federation Basketball World Cup in Spain. Now, he finds himself in the Philippines, where the country’s love for the game has been well-documented.
“It’s 100 percent a dream come true to travel because of the game of basketball. As a kid who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, you dream of things like this. To live out a dream like this is amazing to me,” he noted.