His playing career may be over, but Pops Mensah-Bonsu isn't done with basketball. Mensah-Bonsu, who spent four seasons in the NBA with a total of five different teams and represented Great Britain internationally, played his last season in 2014-2015 with AEK Athens in Greece and was banned from professional basketball for two years in June 2015 over a doping case. He now works for the National Basketball Players' Association (NBPA), helping players nowadays get the most positive experiences in the league.
Mensah-Bonsu may not be able to participate in professional events, but he is still able to compete in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 64-team competition held across the United States. His team, City of Gods, received the top seed for the 2016 TBT Northeast Regional at Philadelphia University and took care of its first two opponents on Saturday and Sunday, advancing to the Super 16, which will also be held at Philadelphia University.
After City of Gods defeated the Talladega Knights on Sunday, Mensah-Bonsu took the time to speak with VAVEL USA about his career and his thoughts regarding professional basketball.
The interview
Zach Drapkin (ZD): You played both in the NBA and overseas. What are the pros and cons of playing in each and what were the major differences between them?
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (PMB): I’ve seen two different styles of basketball. The European style obviously is a grind and it’s a little bit different from the NBA. The NBA is obviously the highest level, so when you play against different teams, you need to adjust your game. Because I’ve seen different levels of the game, different styles of the game. And I think that’s benefitted me in this tournament.
"If IBM sees a prodigy in high school, they have no problem going to get them. We have to extend that courtesy to guys in our league."
ZD: You spent a full four years at GW. What do you think now about more players choosing to go one-and-done and how that affects the quality of the basketball?
PMB: It’s funny you say that. Part of my job now at the Players’ Association is to figure that out going into the new CBA. I feel like if you’re at IBM and they see a prodigy in high school, and they want to have them work for them, they have no problem going to get them. Or Major League Baseball, Microsoft, something like that. I feel like we have to extend that courtesy to the guys in our league. If you have the ability like a LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, you can’t deny those people. You also have to make sure they’re taken care of on the back end. If they can’t get the education, if they haven’t developed fully as a player and they don’t make it initially, you have to make sure to keep developing them as men and as athletes too. I think that’s the solution.
ZD: Can you talk a little bit more about your role with the Players’ Association?
PMB: My role is to basically make sure that the players are in good standing on and off the court. Any issues they have physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, I have to help give them resources to handle that. They hire former players in my position because we’ve sat in those seats before and players respect that and they understand that I know exactly what they’re going through.
ZD: What can you tell me about your ban from playing professional basketball?
PMB: I think if I really wanted to, I’ve gotten word that it’d be lifted because they knew it was some sort of medication and it wasn’t something that I was taking as a recreational drug or a PED, it was something that I need to function on a daily basis. I’m not ashamed of it. Obviously, I wouldn’t have wanted that hanging over my head, but at the same time, it’s something that I’m okay with. I’ve got a great job that fell into my lap but I’d give anything to play professionally again. You’ve just got to play the hand that you’re dealt.
ZD: So, had you not been handed the ban, would you have considered playing professionally again?
PMB: I would have been riddled with the decision. The job I got was so good and so fruitful and it’s put me in a position to help the next generation of players and this generation, but I would have been riddled with the decision. I can’t say fully that I definitely would have retired or if I would have kept playing. It would have been a decision I would have had to think about.
ZD: What changes did you want to see in the NBA while you were playing?
PMB: Just put the players in a better position to succeed. Now that I’m at the Players’ Association, I know how to approach that. I know what players need, I know what I needed as a player, and I know what I went through on and off the court. I want to make sure no player goes through some of the things I did and I hope that they can build off some of the good things that I did too. So those are some of the changes that I would have wanted.
"To have a country that’s so developed and has so many resources, we should have a better basketball system."
ZD: How do you feel about the presence of basketball in England? Is it growing?
PMB: I think it could be better. That was another passion project of mine. At some point in my life, I’m going to want to help that and going to want to build the game in Great Britain. But to have a country like that, that’s so developed and has so many resources, we should have a better basketball system, from the grassroots level all the way up to the professional rankings. At some point in time, hopefully, that will be adjusted.
ZD: Are there people interested in basketball there?
PMB: Yeah, there’s a lot of interest there. It’s just that with soccer and all these other sports, we need the resources, the backing, and the funding to get it to where it needs to be.
ZD: Anything to add?
PMB: Watch out for City of Gods.