VfB Stuttgart's Deniz Undav has retired from the national team after a successful season. The striker has shown his skills in the Champions League and DFB-Pokal qualification and is proud of his achievements. "I watch all the games that are on at our time on weekends. If we don't have a game and I'm at home, I'll definitely watch the NBA", said Deniz Undav in an exclusive interview with the US sports app "undrafted". "I'm a big fan of the 10-minute highlight reels." But that's not all: "I check all the results and stats from the night. It goes even further: I've been watching these whole sports talk shows from the US for a long time. The parts where they discuss the NBA. Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless - I listen to everything. I'm really into it", said the national player looking at his NBA passion. A teammate at TSV Havelse once "infected him with the NBA virus", he looked back: "What I saw there, completely fascinated me and drew me in." In particular, a player has particularly caught the attention of the native Vareler: "LeBron is my idol and an inspiration for me. LeBron is the GOAT. No discussion. That's for me." The superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers, who has just completed his 22nd season in the best basketball league in the world, has a lot to learn from. But he also didn't always think he would become a national player: "I had moments where I didn't believe it would happen for me anymore. That I thought it might not be for me." His doubts disappeared only after leaving Germany. "That changed only when I played a good season in Belgium and scored many goals. That was the turning point. And with the move to Brighton in the Premier League, it was clear: Okay, you've got it finally packed", he looked back. One aspect is particularly proud of the 29-year-old: "It's one thing to get to the top. But it's even harder to stay at the top. We know that from many sports and at my time it was also like this that I said to myself: You have to work even harder now if you want to play at the top for years. I'm very happy that I can say today: I've also achieved that."