Goga Bitadze, the NBA Draft media day's invisible man, says, "It's all good."
In fact, his viral moment — being ignored by members of the media in favor of the 2019 NBA Draft's projected No. 1 pick Zion Williamson — has made Bitadze only hungrier to succeed.
The picture of Bitadze looking on forlornly from an empty table as a scrum surrounded Williamson blew up after Wednesday's media day in New York.
NBA draft prospect Gogo Bitazde got slotted next to @Zionwilliamson at @NBA draft media day.
— Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) June 19, 2019
Unfortunately he’s a bit overshadowed.
Gogo actually a guy I’ve heard @PelicansNBA have interest in. pic.twitter.com/mHq5g3SPxg
But the 19-year-old from the country of Georgia, who is himself a potential first-round pick, laughed off the experience in an interview with Eurohoops TV.
"It just makes me more hungry and humble to see this guy get a lot of focus," said Bitadze, who won the 2018-19 Euroleague Rising Star award. "I know he's a great player, he's probably the top player but that doesn't bother me at all.
"I had people come and ask me questions, so it doesn't bother me at all. It's all good and I'm really excited for this process."
Yesterday, an image of Goga Bitadze looking on at Zion Williamson’s media day went viral as a meme.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) June 20, 2019
So I wrote about Bitadze the player today, and why he’s the No. 1 international player on my board. Why I think teams in the top-10 should look at him: https://t.co/HFkfwkcHZu pic.twitter.com/irROcJFiVP
The Pelicans are expected to select Williamson with the first overall pick on Thursday night having won the NBA Draft Lottery last month.
Williamson, who left Duke after one year, enters the NBA amid huge hype and an expectation that he can become one of the greats of the game.
