Marcin Gortat played in the NBA for 12 seasons and was unfortunately on the receiving end of quite a few dirty plays in that time. During an interview with HoopsHype, the former NBA big man revealed some of the crazy things that players got away with on the court.
“I don’t know if this is appropriate for me to say it, but they would do a lot of things,” Gortat said. “When people box out, they will try to grab your balls and squeeze it… I swear to God, they do some crazy stuff.”
Gortat was asked how he didn’t end up fighting the players who did that to him.
“Imagine your first reaction is like, ‘Dude, what the hell?’ You smack and then you’re attacking the guy,” Gortat stated. “But the referee most of the time doesn’t see the first move. He sees just the reaction so and then you are f***ed, you’re cooked, because he sees your reaction.”
The 39-year-old said he especially had to be careful while defending in pick-and-roll situations and pointed to Chris Paul being someone who would routinely do something dirty.
“On the pick and roll, Chris Paul will grab your leg or he will punch you in the nuts too,” Gortat continued. “… Dude, all the time. That’s why what you do is, (during) screens you gotta cover up your nuts and make sure that you lift your weights so your body armor here is strong.”
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The fact that of all the players he played against, Gortat only brought up Paul, tells you something about the future Hall of Famer. Many have accused him of being a very dirty player and Gortat appears to have received a fair few punches from Paul during his career.
I can’t imagine how players stopped themselves from not angrily reacting to such dirty plays. As Gortat said, the officials would miss them, and a strong enough reaction to them might even lead to you getting ejected.
Marcin Gortat’s NBA Career And Where He Is Now
Gortat was drafted with the 57th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, with his rights later being traded to the Orlando Magic. The big man did not come to the NBA right away after the draft, however, opting to continue playing in Germany for a couple more years.
In 2007 he signed with the Magic and was the backup to Dwight Howard. While he got to play in the 2009 NBA Finals thanks to Howard, being the backup meant playing time was hard to come by. It was only in 2010 that Gortat would get his big break, as he was traded to the Suns.
Gortat became a double-double machine in Phoenix, averaging 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game in two and a half seasons. The Suns would then trade the Pole to the Washington Wizards in 2013 and he continued to be a solid reliable big man for a few seasons.
In 2018, Gortat would be traded for the last time in his NBA career, as the Wizards sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers. The big man would get waived by the Clippers during the second half of the season and that was that for his NBA career.
In total, Gortat played 806 regular season games and finished with career averages of 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He never won a championship or any accolades of note but had a solid stint in the league. Following his retirement, Gortat joined the Wizards as a temporary assistant coach in 2022.
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