"I'm not finished yet": as he further establishes his NBA stardom, Antawn Jamison is taking on an even more daunting task: turning around the Golden State Warriors - Interview

Basketball Digest, Feb, 2002 by Ashley Jude Collie

LAST SEASON ON A GOLDEN State Warriors team that went 17-65, third year, top-five draft pick Antawn Jamison posted some outstanding individual statistics. In fact, North Carolina grad Jamison earned 12 top-10 NBA rankings, including finishing third in minutes played, sixth in offensive rpg, seventh in points, and ninth in scoring average at 24.9 ppg. He also had two consecutive 51-point games, an offensive outburst that placed him in the record books as the first player since Wilt Chamberlain more than 26 years ago to score 51-plus points in two consecutive games.

Those consecutive 51-point games also put Jamison into the national media spotlight for the first time after two injury-troubled and difficult years, a period that saw him criticized as just another first-round bust. Some said that he would never feel comfortable in the NBA game, being too small to play power forward and lacking the floor game of a small forward.

Yet in spite of his third-season success, Jamison finished eighth in All-Star voting among Western Conference forwards, a fact which left him miffed. He had set himself some high personal goals and surpassed them, fully expecting that doing so would earn him All-Star recognition.

After the conclusion of his third season, "Twan" had some serious thinking to do on whether he would continue on with a losing Warriors franchise or move on to a winning team, as many associates had suggested. He spoke to his family and to his good friend and former Tar Heels partner, Vince Carter, who was also deciding whether to stay with his team, the Toronto Raptors, or move on. In the end, Jamison thought beyond individual concerns, signing a multiyear contract extension considered the biggest contract in the history of the Bay Area.

Twan entered his fourth season determined to turn around a losing franchise. As team captain at 25 years old, he wanted to lead by example and work more from a team standpoint, even if that meant his individual stats diminishing.

BASKETBALL DIGEST caught up with Jamison to talk about his decision to stay with Golden State, his optimism for the Warriors, and his decision to put aside personal goals for team play.

BASKETBALL DIGEST: You put up All-Star numbers last season. Did you set personal goals for the 2001-02 season?

ANTAWN JAMISON: I'm maturing as a player. The first three seasons, I had so many individual goals--scoring this amount of points, this amount of rebounds, making the All-Star Game. This year is totally different. It's now about winning basketball games.

There was no way I shouldn't have been playing in the All-Star Game last season. [But] if we start winning games and start playing the way I know we're capable of playing, that's when we'll start getting individual recognition. I didn't set any personal goals for this season. It's all about doing whatever I can to make this team win.

BD: What made you buy into helping turn the franchise around by signing for another six years when you could have taken the money and ran to a winning team?

AJ: While it might seem greener on the other side, you never know what might happen. I feel so comfortable with the organization. I love the Bay Area. Being from the south, it's completely different. I never imagined coming here and feeling so comfortable. The fans are terrific. I want to give something back to the longtime fans--I've only been here going on four seasons they've been supportive through thick and thin. They opened up their arms to me and made me feel very comfortable with their support.

I came here when everything was bad and people wanted to get out, but I said to myself, "Why not stay and be part of the turnaround process?" Two years from now, I hope to be saying, "I remember when we used to win only 17 games and missed the playoffs. But now look at us, we've got a sellout crowd every night and we're in the playoffs." That's something that I want to be a part of.

BD: It was Michael Jordan's seventh season before the Chicago Bulls won a championship, wasn't it?

AJ: Exactly, and that's what I'd like to do. It took Michael Jordan a long time there to turn Chicago into a winning team. Most people don't realize that it's a long process. You've got to be patient and stay positive. Every time there's a roadblock, don't try and take the easy way out. For me, it was simple--why leave?

BD: People were telling Vince Carter to leave Toronto, but he said the same things as you, that he loved the city and fans and organization.

AJ: Right. If he left the Raptors, you never know what might happen. So with Vince and myself--we spoke [together] about our situations--we felt comfortable where we were. Vince and I are close. We keep in contact. Vince was there for me my first season, calling me weekly, telling me my time would come. It's times like that you know who your real friends are.

BD: What pressure do you feel being the team leader at 25 years old?

AJ: I can recall my dad when I was young asking me, "Are you a leader or a follower? Don't be a follower." He used to say that all the time. Just by him constantly getting that into my head, he let me know that he wanted me to be a leader. I guess he always knew that I might have the opportunity to lead and that people would look up to me and things like that So, it's naturally in me to be a leader.