It all started with a little tune, a melody. If they put it up, it means that basketball must be a “cool” sport. Maodo Lo started playing because of this tune, intrigued. He has rhythm inside, which is why he immediately decided to play basketball in the most American way that is possible. He calls it “streetball”. And coincidentally he played and became a real player a few blocks away from Harlem, at Columbia University, in upper Manhattan, a beautiful campus overlooking Central Park North. In those parts everyone plays basketball in the playgrounds, streetball reigns supreme. “In America, they appreciated my way of playing more than they did at home,” he admits.

Maodo Lo, how does it feel to be a World Champion?

“I want to address it. The World title may be considered unexpected, but we, as a team, in the locker room, our goal, our expectation, has always been to win a medal. We also wanted it the year before at the European Championships and we achieved it by winning the bronze. This year we had the same team; the same chemistry and our goal was to get a medal. We have a special group of players, which over the years has built its chemistry, a certain level of familiarity, and then there is a lot of talent. We have a generation of great players. And in recent summers, it showed.”

And will it happen in Paris in a year too?

“We will certainly start with the same expectations and the same goal, which is to get on the podium and win a medal”.

How did the story of Maodo Lo the basketball player started?

“I fell in love with basketball through my brother. He always played this Nintendo video game. It was a long time ago. At the beginning of the game, before the game started, there was this melody. I was little and I liked that music. So, I said to myself, this sport must be cool, so I started playing.”

Yet, in the beginning you weren’t considered by the big German clubs, not even by Alba which is your hometown team.

“When I was young, I was really small, I was fast, but small. And then I played a type of basketball that was different, that wasn’t particularly appreciated in Germany. I played streetball I liked dribbling between my legs, behind my back, doing some tricks. But in Germany everyone wanted to play differently, slow down, control the game. My type of game wasn’t appreciated and this I think is the reason why Alba Berlin didn’t look for me back then. But neither the national teams did.”

Hence the decision to move to the United States at a very young age.

“It wasn’t difficult at all, because basically I did what I liked, I played basketball. It is what has guided me and impacted most of the decisions I have made throughout my life. I knew my style of play would be more appreciated in the United States. So, I got my scholarship and improved as a player.”

You went to Columbia, which is a great university academically, but doesn’t have a great basketball program.

“For me it was important to get a first division college, basketball-wise, that would guarantee me a good education, too. In life you never know what can happen, how your career will go, you can always get injured, maybe your health is not there. There I had the chance to go to an Ivy League college, get a high-level education, plus I was in New York City. For me it was an easy decision.”So, you lived for four years in New York.“Those four years in New York were incredible. I lived in Manhattan and made friends that will last a lifetime. And then I attended a quality school, good professors, excellent academic courses. In four years, I have learned a lot, I have grown a lot. I’m really happy with the choice I made.”

They called you The Chairman.

“I never understood why, how the nickname was born. But there are many intelligent people in Columbia who can make strange associations. It must have been like this; I didn’t really know.”

During your years at Columbia, finally the big German teams began to take notice of Maodo Lo.

“After my second year at Columbia, I received several offers, all the three big German teams proposed to start my professional career immediately, but as I said it was important for me to complete my studies. I graduated from Columbia, and when I will finish my playing career if I decide to work in another field I could do so.”

Once you finished college, you also had a chance in the NBA.

“When you make a decision, you never know how things would have gone if you had taken a different path. I have no regrets, although I occasionally wonder what would have happened if I had accepted the partially guaranteed contract the Philadelphia 76ers offered me. But I had a good contract in Bamberg, which was in the EuroLeague, had a talented team. I chose the EuroLeague over the uncertainty of the partially guaranteed NBA contract. But then in Bamberg I met my girlfriend. Life has taken that direction and I’m happy about it.”

Then followed many years at the highest German levels, you played in all the teams that made the EuroLeague and won a lot of trophies in your homeland.

“As a player my aspiration has always been to compete at the highest level possible, have the opportunity to learn and grow. I believe that, as people, we should have the aspiration to never stop learning, growing, and evolving. My experience at Bayern mostly, but also in Bamberg and Berlin, allowed me to continue to grow and evolve as a player. The last few years I was in Berlin, my hometown, where my family lives. In a player’s career there are private situations that sometimes impact your decisions. For me over the last three years it has been really important to stay close to my family, to be together, to support each other. Playing at Alba Berlin, which is a great organization, in my city, was important.”

When you were in Bamberg you played along Nicolò Melli.

“It was in my first year as a professional player. Nicolò was the same guy he is now, very humorous, responsible, obviously a great player, a great person. He helped me in Bamberg with some of the other veterans during my first year as a professional, and he is also helping me now in Milan. It’s helpful for me to have someone I’m already familiar with.”

Like Joannes Voigtmann.

“Jo Voigtmann is a quiet guy, who understands basketball very well. He is a big man, but he has qualities that not many big men have, his talent as a shooter and passer, his game vision for a player of his size is impressive. That’s what he brings to the team and it’s special.”

How would you define yourself as a player?

“Creative and unselfish”.

This summer you finally made the choice to come to Milan.

“Milan has taken an interest in me for years. In the past, as I said, the conditions were not right. But when you get interest from the same people, for a long time it has an impact, it makes you think. Then it is a big organization, which has great ambitions, and I would like to be part of this team and help it compete at the highest levels, with my strengths. Now that I’m starting to be an experienced player, I’m 30 years old, I know I won’t play basketball forever. I think this was the perfect time to take a step forward and be part of this club.”

Did you realize that you have always played well against Olimpia?

“Maybe because in Italy I always eat a good plate of pasta before the games… No, jokes aside, I know I often played well against Olimpia but I’m honest: they weren’t my best games, I’ve played other better games”.