Phoenix Suns addition Marcin Gortat found basketball late

Marcin Gortat's father, Janusz, boxed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics for Poland, twice winning bronze medals.

His mother, Alicja, played for the Polish national volleyball team.

From a 6-foot-3 father and a 6-1 mother, an athlete was born but nobody guessed he would turn into the 6-11 center the Suns acquired Saturday.

There was no inclination he would be that tall. There was no Polish pipeline to the NBA, just Suns castoffs Cezary Trybanski and Maciej Lampe. Most of all, Gortat did not grow up playing basketball.

He loved soccer

In his first eight months of basketball, Gortat was invited to join the under-20 national team. A year later, he was on the regular national team. It was his play for a German pro team over three seasons that got him drafted in 2005 when Phoenix made him the 57th pick on behalf of Orlando in exchange for $350,000.
Teams chased him after seeing him post an 11-point, 15-rebound, four-steal outing when he started against Philadelphia in a playoff series-clinching game for a suspended Howard.

"I was just doing what people thought I could do," Gortat said. "People in Poland said, 'Oh, my God, he might play NBA.' All right, let me try. There's nothing wrong with that. I went to try and, boom, I made it. Let me keep going. I got to the NBA and decided I have to work hard to stay. Then there was a time for me to go farther than being a backup. This is it, what I need.

"I said, 'Finally.' I put in the work and it's a big opportunity. I have to use it."