“Bringing more of that swagger, the attitude”: Duke‘s Kyle Filipowski gives inside look at what he's bringing to the table as an NBA rookie
Kyle Filipowski spent two seasons with the Duke Blue Devils. After the end of his sophomore campaign, he decided to forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2024 NBA draft on April 12.
With the 2024 draft inching closer, Filipowski held a Q&A session with fans on Instagram. During the session, one question asked the Duke star about what fans can expect out of him as he nears his NBA rookie debut. Filipowski answered by saying that he will cherish a competitive mindset heading into the NBA and will never back down from any challenge:
"You can just, you're gonna expect a guy that loves to compete, loves to have fun out there. You know, not backing up, not shying away from anyone no matter who it is and really, bringing more of that swagger, that attitude," Filipowski said.
During his freshman season with the Blue Devils, Filipowski helped the program win the ACC tournament championship and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. He averaged 15.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game that season.
Last season, Filipowski once again put up a dominant performance on the court. In the 36 games that he played, he averaged 16.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 2.8 apg along with a field goal percentage of 50.5 %. The Blue Devils finished their 2023-24 campaign with a 27-9 overall record and were eliminated in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament by NC State.
Kyle Filipowski believes he still has room to improve as a player
During a recent interview with USA Today Sports ahead of the 2024 NBA draft, Kyle Filipowski had a special message for teams in the league who are interested in acquiring him. Filipowski said that he has not yet reached his full potential as a player and that he will develop into a dangerous player on the court with his efforts and dedication to the game.
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"I'm not even at my fullest potential. I'm not even at my best yet, where that comes with physically and my skillset of course. Obviously I think a lot of players can say that but for me, my upside is a whole lot more in my opinion just because of that hip surgery.
"I'm still getting better from that everyday. So just the strides and leaps I can take with that, they'll get a guy that's going to be a dangerous player but also that just loves competing that loves playing the game," he said.
Standing at 6-foot-10 and 229 lbs, Kyle Filipowski has a lot to prove as a rookie in the NBA. It will be interesting to see if the center can go on to compete with the likes of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic on the big stage.