Sandro Mamukelashvili shared candid reflections on his basketball path during a Fullcourt Passport podcast with Ric Bucher and Bostjan Nachbar. He described his early years in Georgia, saying, “I would definitely say it was very hard at the beginning because I did not think… I don’t think they saw anything that I could have done to kind of make it as a profession.” His family initially urged him to focus on academics, but by age 13, “everybody started noticing me a little bit and then I went to them and I was like, ‘Okay, I really want to do this.’”
Born in New York but raised in Georgia, Mamukelashvili detailed his move to Italy at 14 for basketball development. “Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. It was…I would wake up every day and I would just be like, ‘Do I want to do this? Do I want to keep doing this?’” he recalled, noting language barriers and cultural adjustments. He credited Italian youth coach for shaping his game: “He’s a great youth coach and kind of develops players really well…Just make sure you make the right decisions offensively.”
Reflecting on international player development, he said, “European, you gonna get developed and you gonna be a great player. American basketball you gonna become a dog…you’re going to become a guy who understands how important it is to work hard and…be a dog on the court.” He also compared experiences in college to Europe, emphasizing mental toughness gained at Seton Hall: “College…that’s where development started for me…like by end of my second year, I’m doing the same thing…I’m trying to eat, too. I’m trying to get a piece of this cake.”
Mamukelashvili discussed his NBA journey, explaining his decisions with Milwaukee, San Antonio, and Toronto. About the Raptors, he said, “I think Darko [Rajakovic] is amazing at that…He loves fast-paced basketball which kind of fits me a lot as a player…If you make a mistake, you’re going to hear about the mistake in the film…He loves to challenge you.” He highlighted the defensive philosophy, noting, “If you don’t get beat, that means you’re not playing hard…I love that kind of…just be aggressive.”
On personal satisfaction, he reflected, “I would say just the way Kevin Willard opened me up again and kind of let me be who I am…just being myself and he kind of got me back to that confidence level I wanted to be.” He also emphasized gratitude for his journey: “Every morning I wake up I’m just grateful to be at the position I am and blessed…coming from Georgia, small country…so I always think to myself, wow, how did I get here?”
Looking ahead, Mamukelashvili expressed a vision for basketball development in Georgia and Europe. “I want to finish my career there…even on the professional level…if we can get bigger and there are kids who love basketball and want to be basketball players…I think maybe doing summer camps…bringing in coaches and kind of showing more of the talent level we have in Georgia hopefully it’s going to help us develop.”
