It’s the end of the road for Nicolas de Jong, who is calling time on his career as a professional basketball player after 14 seasons, 13 of them in the French National League.
We take a look back at his career in France and his experience abroad, but also ask him about his vision of professional basketball and his future plans.
Hi Nicolas,
You’ve announced that you’re ending your career this season. First of all, how do you feel? What’s the prevailing feeling?
I’d say it’s a slightly ambivalent feeling, because I’m disappointed with the team as a whole, because we just missed out on the final, which was our goal, but it was still a great year.
Personally, I ended up a bit hard on the body, which is also why I chose to stop my career, but I enjoyed myself right to the end.
So I really managed to take a break from basketball for a few days, even though my career change meant that everything quickly followed on from my future job as an assistant coach.
Yes, it’s easier to say you’re going to cut back than to actually do it!
I think that when you’re passionate about the sport, cutting back means you stop evolving in that world, so it was important for me to follow up with this job, but it has to remain a pleasure. You have to remember that your job is your passion, whether you’re a player, coach or general manager. After a 15-year career, vacations are a bit like quotation marks anyway (Laughs).
15 years is a long time! How do you look back on your career? Have you started to take a step back from your career and all the things you’ve been able to experience thanks to it?
I’ve been taking a step back since December with Boulazac. We thought through this conversion together.
I’m extremely proud of my career, not just in terms of individual achievement, because I’m aware that there are people who have been much more successful than me, but more in terms of the fact that I’ve gone to the very end of things, to the very end of myself. I did as much as I could with the cards I had, i.e. a temperamental body, a number of injuries, but also talent in my hands and a feel for the ball.
So yes, if I hadn’t injured my knee in Strasbourg, I think I would have had a different career curve, but these things happen in top-level sport. It’s part of a career and I’ve acclimatized to it.
So I’ll remember above all that I never cheated and that I went all the way.
You’ve also played for a number of clubs, met a number of team-mates and even had some experience abroad…
It’s true that I’ve met a lot of team-mates who have all contributed to me in one way or another, and frankly I’m very happy with how far I’ve come.
I was lucky enough to spend a year with the ACB in Zaragoza. That year, I said to myself: “Ah, if I’d been here before! I was very happy to have had that experience, it taught me a lot.
Honestly, I still have a very positive image of my career. There’s been a lot of suffering too, because it’s also a level sport, but I haven’t given my share to the dog (Laughs).
Talking about your ACB experience, what did you retain from it? What differences did you notice compared to your seasons in France?
For me, the Spanish championship is objectively better than the French one. But beyond that, what really stood out for me was the culture of hard work and, above all, high standards. The requirement to know and execute the systems, the requirement to work every day, to perform.
After that, what changed a lot for me, and perhaps for others who went abroad too, was that we went from being local players to being foreigners. There’s a different kind of pressure, you’re less forgiving of mistakes, you’re a bit more in the spotlight, you’re judged more quickly.
You’re also under less time pressure, unlike in France, where you have two or three months to acclimatize. Over there, you have to perform right away.
Personally, I really enjoyed it, because that’s part of progressing in your career. It’s understanding that when you’re 25, 30, 32 or 34, you must never stop progressing, because if you stop wanting to progress, you stagnate and are replaced. There’s such a high turnover that the competition always ends up catching up with you.
For me, it was good because at that stage of my career, I was 28/29, I had a job as 6th man in Pro A, with a lot of responsibility in attack but not really a starting job. I’d come to terms with the situation.
Leaving gave me a real boost and enabled me to take on more responsibility. I worked on my professionalism and the demands I made on myself. I realized that the work was never finished. I was able to see players who were much better than me training constantly. That’s where I saw the difference with clubs like Real or Barça.
And in the spirit of never stopping progress, what’s your next step? Are you already set on your future projects?
Right now, I’ve got two projects, finishing my university studies and taking the DES.
The latter is being carried out in partnership with the BBD, and I’m joining the staff as second assistant to the pro group.
At the same time, I’m studying for a Master 2 in work and organizational psychology.
So you started this degree during your playing career?
It’s a bit of a paradox. When I came back from Spain, I finally got my Pro A status and that’s when I chose to go back to school.
But for me, it made sense. Our profession is still that of basketball player. So I prioritized my main activity. Mind you, for me, studies are extremely important and it’s a necessity to train during one’s career, but I think that every player must first honor his contract, and the rest must adapt to our activity as basketball players.
In my case, this led to some rather peculiar situations where I had to take my exams in a room next to the changing room, because the exam was at the same time as the end of training. I sometimes had to come to the room at 08:00 for an exam, then follow on at 10:15 with training, only to take another exam at 11:45. These weren’t the best conditions, but I prioritized and adapted by doing my degree in 4 years instead of 3, for example.
I was lucky enough to be able to do this remotely. But it’s true that when I had an exam at the same time as my training, I prioritized training and then caught up during the week.
So yes, I’ve made some concessions, but today I’m going on to do a Master’s 2, so it’s perfectly feasible.
What triggered you to start training?
I went back to school at the age of 30. Yet that was the time when I had the most responsibility and was earning the most money. So in the end, I don’t think it’s fair to say that it only concerns us at the end of our career.
I set myself the age of 30 to go back to school, and I stuck to it.
Then I settled down and realized that my rhythm as a player had changed. I needed less training and I really wanted to reinvest that time in something that would benefit me. Hence my decision to go back to school.
I’d had a career where I’d always set myself the goal of constantly improving, which I did until my injury in Pau. At 22, with the pace I was going, it was impossible for me to study! That’s one piece of advice I’d give, train yourself, but do it if you have the time to invest in such a project and prioritize your career, but don’t forget to think about the future and stay open to these subjects.
I imagine it’s a real source of pride for you to have completed this course of study and still be able to pursue your basketball career?
Yes, I’m very proud to have done it, but also very proud to have respected my work, i.e. when I couldn’t do my studies, I didn’t do them and I accepted to adapt and that it took longer.
For me, this is very important because sometimes, in certain clubs, there is this opposition between players and staff.
The coach doesn’t necessarily understand why his player is less involved in the sporting project, and the player doesn’t understand why there’s so much apprehension about his training project. Things have to be clear. This kind of project has to be done with the club, and the player has to make it clear why it’s important to him.
And I’d recommend every player to take the plunge, because it’s all very well to make a living from basketball, but you also have a lot of time off and you have to make the most of it, if only to open your mind to other things.
Precisely, did you feel that your double project brought you something in your daily life as a top-level athlete, that it brought you balance?
Yes, maybe to get rid of the feelings that you develop with basketball and that can sometimes eat you up, like stress, or the need to perform, to make stats.
It allows you not to dwell too much on all that, because you’ve got other things to think about, like classes or exams. That’s stress too, but it’s different. You have to switch to a different way of thinking.
As for me, I’ve always loved studying and getting back into it hasn’t been too complicated. But I know it can be for some people. So it’s important not to forget how important it is.
I’m going to sound a bit old-fashioned here, but if you’ve got nothing on the side and rather than always playing PlayStation, start thinking about it!
We’re in a profession where we tend to dwell on things a lot, and studying can help you break out of that routine, especially the negative spirals that can set in after several defeats or under-performances.
Did you feel that your club was reticent about your training project?
Not at all! When I arrived at the club, my project was clear. My priority was basketball, but I also wanted to train. So I didn’t ask the staff for any special arrangements, and I think that in three years I’ve had to move one training session from the morning to the afternoon, but that’s all.
My principle has always been to respect my employment contract, my club and also my team-mates. It was out of the question for me to withdraw from my professional obligations.
So I’ve kept to my word, I’ve done everything to ensure that my training project doesn’t impact on my career as a player, and I’ve never given it a second thought!
I think you can’t have everything, and being able to validate my diplomas over several years was a real plus. We mustn’t forget that what keeps us going at the end of the month is our basketball contract, and that’s why I decided to prioritize it.
It may be a bit pragmatic, but that’s how I see things. You can’t always do everything, and sometimes you have to be prepared to make certain concessions.
And what will your future position as 2nd assistant at BBD entail next season?
As far as my role as 2nd assistant is concerned, it’s fairly cross-functional. I’ll be in charge of the development of the inside players and video for the pro group, and part of the collective training for the U-21 group.
Now that you’ve moved over to the technical staff side, particularly with the U-21s, what do you think of French training and the departure of young players to foreign clubs?
I think French training is really very good, and the results of the national teams prove it. We have some very good young players.
The difference in training is in the transition from espoir to pro. There’s a glaring difference between the structures. For example, some are going to be equipped with a staff dedicated to developing young players. I’m thinking in particular of Joseph Gomis’ work at ASVEL, which will involve both young and experienced players. This is important because I’ve noticed that some players over 25 or 26 no longer work individually.
Obviously, I’m aware that some clubs don’t have the financial or human resources to invest in these positions, but the result is that we end up with players who stop progressing after a certain age.
I’ve seen this difference in my career. For example, when I was at SIG, I made huge progress under Vincent Collet, even though I was 24.
Once again, I know that clubs do what they can with what they have, but as a result, the reflex of 25-year-old players is to say: “Now, my level of play will depend on how the coach uses me”. And that’s totally wrong! You can always improve!
And that’s why I decided to go into coaching. We have to look after these players so that when they join a club at 25, they don’t leave 2 years later without having made any progress. They shouldn’t say to themselves, “It didn’t go well because the coach didn’t use me”, but rather, “Have I progressed as a professional player during these years? And that’s the responsibility of the club, but also of the player’s willingness to work.
The best example I can give is my former team-mate at Zaragoza, Gary Neal, NBA Champion with the Spurs and ACB top scorer the year I was there. He arrived at the gym an hour early every day, and this guy has progressed throughout his career.
So to answer your question, I think that if young players go abroad today, it’s perhaps because they feel they’re making more progress elsewhere, and that they’re given more time to work on their sporting project.
And what are your objectives as a trainer?
My main objective as a member of staff for a professional team will be to ensure that when the players leave at the end of the season, they have acquired skills or progressed in certain areas of their game. What they’ve acquired with me or someone else, they’ll keep for the rest of their careers, and that’ll be a real source of satisfaction.
We mustn’t forget that players and coaches are always passing through. So these exchanges have to be beneficial for everyone, and if they can be part of a project that will help the club grow, all the better.
I think we need to take things one step at a time and remain ambitious so that everyone can move forward together.
Thanks for the interview Nicolas, I know you’ve got a workout to do so I’ll leave you to it. But first, would you have a message for any players who might be reading this interview?
The main message I’d like to pass on is that the most important value in a career is hard work. It’s the first thing that the coaches who supervise you during your career will ask you to do.
You should know that the day you get into the mindset of arriving at the gym just in time for the start of group training, that’s it. As I said earlier, when you’re not progressing, you’re stagnating and being overtaken.
That’s why I always advise you to be proactive and work with the staff.
Do it for yourself, whatever your relationship with your club!
In any case, the work is yours and it’s you who will benefit from it.
I can give you an example: Nadir Hifi. I don’t know him personally, but all the feedback I’ve had from him is significant. At Portel, he was the one who opened and closed the room. And just look at how things are going for him today… there’s no secret!
So yes, it’s difficult, but if you don’t have that motivation inside you, nothing will happen, I guarantee it.
Thank you very much Nicolas for this very enriching interview about your career and your vision of training.
I have no doubt that it will resonate with young players and professional players thinking about their post-career future.
We wish you a wonderful adventure with Boulazac and every success for your Master 2.
See you soon!