The French guard spoke with Euroleague.net's Javier Gancedo about his season so far
Andrew Albicy: 'I want to finish my career at Gran Canaria’
Interviews
10 Mins read
This is a special season for Dreamland Gran Canaria point guard Andrew Albicy.
A BKT EuroCup champion in 2023, Albicy is in his sixth season with the club and getting closer and closer to a couple of EuroCup records. Albicy ranks second all-time in assists (631) and steals (183), behind only Stefan Markovic (698 assists, 214 steals).
If Albicy plays the way he did in Round 6 against Joventut Badalona, he will not have to wait long to reach the top spot.
Albicy led Gran Canaria to a 76-78 overtime road victory last week with 11 points, 7 assists and 4 steals for a PIR of 22. He has helped Gran Canaria to a strong start, with five wins out of six games in Group A. Albicy is aware and excited about claiming his place in history, as he expressed to Javier Gancedo in this week's EuroCup interview.
"We are showing character and not giving up and I think this is why we are winning these types of games."
Congratulations on beating Joventut in Badalona. Another overtime win! You've been winning a lot of close games this season. What is the secret?
"Thanks. I would say it is just the character of the team. I feel like we are not where we want to be, everybody can be better, but we are winning and that is a good thing for the future. When everybody knows more about their role, we will do even better in the competition. But we are showing character and not giving up and I think this is why we are winning these types of games."
You had 7 assists and 4 steals. You know where this is going, right?
"Yeah, I know. Go ahead."
You are second all-time in both steals and assists, behind Stefan Markovic. I know you keep track of that. How much do you want that to happen, to lead one of these all-time standings or both?
"It is one of my goals this year, for sure. I want to get that first spot because it would be a big achievement and I know that beating me after that will be very hard and it could take a long time, so it would be something amazing. It is something I can tell my kids, too! Steals will be harder, but the assists record, I think I can do it this year."
We will be watching. You just scored your 1,000th career point. Only 32 players have reached that mark. How does it feel?
"I really didn't know that because I really never look to score. For me, it is secondary, I prefer to see my teammates score, but it is good. It is very good to know that!"
Another member of the 1,000-point club is John Shurna. You have played with him for the last six years and won the EuroCup together in 2023. How great has that journey been for you?
"John is the greatest teammate I ever had. He is a very good person, too. I think we understand basketball the same way, so it is easier to find each other on the court. And as a point guard, it is great for me to play with him. It is perfect to play with guys like John because he's allowed me to get a lot of assists!"
The last time we spoke was after the EuroCup Finals in 2023. It's been a year and a half already. Looking back, how much of an achievement was it for you to become a EuroCup champion?
"It is amazing because it is something every player wants, to have this trophy, especially me or John, for example. We played a lot of years in this competition so, for sure, it was a big goal for me, for my career and especially for the club, because they have always been in a good spot to win it, but they never did before. I have been here for a long time and we made club history, which is something big, especially for me because I want to finish my career here. So it was perfect to make history in this club."
This is your fifth season with Gran Canaria. That's a lot of traveling around Europe. How do you entertain yourself?
"Right now, it's sleeping more than anything else, because my daughter was born two months ago, so I am waking up at night all the time. So when I travel, I try to sleep as much as possible to have more energy for the games and also when I come back home. If not, most of the time I am watching TV shows because I love them."
"When we won two years ago, it was because we protected our home court."
Your next game is at home against Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, a good team with experienced players. How difficult is it going to be against the Wolves?
"They are in a really good moment. They just beat two big teams. Like I said, we will try to keep building the team and keep protecting our house. When we won two years ago, it was because we protected our home court, so we will try to do the game this year. That's it, we will play as hard as we usually play at home and get energy from our fans."
I wanted to ask you about T.J. Shorts, last season's EuroCup MVP, now in the EuroLeague. How is it that he is playing so well and also, how good is it for Paris to have a EuroLeague team this season?
"It was funny because we were talking about that, small point guards, with a French journalist. We can see a lot of small point guards dominate the EuroLeague: Shane Larkin, T.J. Shorts, Mike James, Sylvain Francisco... All short players who can do so many things on the court, who are so different. People think they have an advantage against them and we step up to show it doesn't make any difference and that we can play well in any team, which is great. Seeing Shorts do so well in the EuroLeague after his great last season with Paris is amazing because he keeps doing the same stuff in the EuroLeague, and we can see how he worked to be in that position. As for Paris, of course, it is also great to have them in the EuroLeague. It is great for French basketball, for the future, to see more young people playing at this level. I am from Paris, so it is amazing for me to see Paris Basketball in the EuroLeague and the way they developed year after year."
Other than Gran Canaria, which other teams do you see as top candidates to win the title?
"For sure, Hapoel Tel Aviv with the roster that they have, and of course Valencia Basket. I think these two teams want to win the EuroCup and have the roster to win it."
You won the silver medal with France at the Olympic Games in your own city. Can that experience inspire you to have an even better season?
"Like everybody saw, we started badly in the first round and were criticized a lot by journalists and fans, but we just kept working and stayed together. That was the most important thing: we fought, talked to each other and fought together, this is why we won the silver medal. We always stayed together and everybody worked for the same goal. Now, I hope we don't start the same way, but I hope we can have the same spirit. It is something that I hope we can get and I think we will have it because we could have lost some more games already but stayed together. We talked and were much better than in the previous game and this is something very important: trying to be better and helping each other to be better as a team, too."