Wolves forward Arnoldas Kulboka is shaking off the rust after missing a season and a half to a knee injury and starting to show the form that made him a star
Arnoldas Kulboka: 'I'm just happy to be back on the court'
Interviews
9 Mins read
After nearly a year and a half away from basketball, Arnoldas Kulboka made his return to action with Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius in Round 9 and since then has been slowly but surely recapturing the form that made him an elite prospect.
The forward left his native Lithuania when he was just 16 to play in Germany. Basketball has since taken Kulboka to play for teams in Italy, Spain, the NBA and Greece. In the summer of 2023, he suffered a knee injury in training camp with Prometey Slobozhanske and he required a second procedure after joining Wolves. But now all of that is in the past.
In this week’s EuroCupbasketball.com interview, Kulboka spoke to Frankie Sachs about his recovery from the injury, what it means to play for a young club in Wolves, his relationship with star guard Anthony Cowan and much more.
It’s great to see you back in form with Wolves. Can you take us through what the last year and a half have been like for you?
"It's been an awful period of my life for sure, not just on the court, off the court as well. If I could delete 2024 from my life, for sure I would do that, but it is what it is. I'm just happy right now that I can be back on the court and help as much as I can for my team and if we're winning, it's amazing.
"I had a knee injury, I had some problems that had to be fixed and unfortunately the recovery wasn't going well and it took more time than it was supposed to. At the very end, when I was trying to come back on the court, I still felt some discomfort and I just wasted some time over-thinking what I should do when all I had to do was another surgery and that's it. I had the second surgery and finally after a year and a half, I’m back."
Recovering from an injury like this can also be very difficult mentally. How were you able to stay focused on the recovery?
"I mean for every person, it's a different thing how you overcome it. For me it was my family around me - my wife, my son – helping me to go through that. There's a lot of help that you can get everywhere. There are many places that you can go and can help you, but it's difficult for me to tell you. It's different for every person how you overcome them, but for me, also basketball helped me a lot. I have that goal that I want to reach one day and it keeps pushing me forward. So I guess that's how it helped me.
"Basketball players, we've been doing this ever since we were kids, 5-6 years old whatever and that's pretty much all you know. You live with this every day and this is our job. Not only job, but it's our life. So at the end of the day, you have certain goals that you want to reach. If you're strong mentally, you keep pushing no matter what. I guess that's how I did it."
Were you able to shoot during the early stages of the injury, or were you forced to stay off the court altogether?
“I would say the first maybe four months I couldn't even watch basketball. It was really tough mentally just looking at those games and thinking ‘that should be me right there on the court’, especially after the season that I had before in Greece. It felt like I should be there playing and having a good time, so it was kind of tough. I had some problems in my personal life and everything added up, but after that I started shooting again. I was not able to be running on the court and doing many things, but shooting, I was still doing that.”
Were you still recovering from the original injury when you signed with Wolves over the summer?
"Yes. The club knew everything. We tried to do the recovery the last part with the club and like I said in the very beginning I still wasn't able to be back 100% so the last step was another surgery and that's it."
Would you say that you are 100% back to your pre-injury self?
"I'm still not back 100%, that's for sure. Though it's still been only a month that I'm back. You know, being out of the court for a year and a half, it's difficult to get into rhythm this quick, but I feel like I'm getting better every day and not just month after month, it feels like I'm a different player after every practice, you know, just getting used to my teammates and all that. Even if you're out for a month, you need some time to be back, you need to feel the rhythm, the speed and everything on the court, so it's taking time but I'm happy. I can see that I can already help my team a little bit, so it feels great.
"Team chemistry is good. We're winning games, so it helps a lot, but you know we have a great group of guys, everybody's friendly. Most of the guys knew each other before the season, I would say, especially you know the locals. It's a small country, everybody knows each other, so it's easy to get going and the last thing, I just need some more time to be back 100% on the court, but I feel like everything's been going well, so it won't take too much time."
"I feel like I'm getting better every day and not just month after month, it feels like I'm a different player after every practice, you know, just getting used to my teammates and all that."
Can you share your emotions when you entered the game for the first time, which I believe was the EuroCup game against Buducnost?
"When I was on the court, I didn't feel anything new, nothing special, but I would say when we had the warmups and team presentations, when I heard my name again being called and running on the court, that's where I felt something and I could feel some emotions going up. But once I stepped on the court in an actual game, it felt like a natural thing I would say."
Wolves have won four straight home games, including against some of the top teams in the group. Tell us about the fan support and atmosphere at your games in Vilnius.
"It's a brand-new club. It's only the third year that we exist and we're kind of making our own history here on the go and kind of building a legacy. So it's a nice thing to be a part of an organization like this. You could feel the first couple seasons that we don't have that many fans, especially having another great club in Vilnius. The fan base that they have is the biggest in the city, but you know winning games, having a great product to show people on the court, I feel like every game we're having more and more fans and it feels amazing, actually. We have a great group of fans over here celebrating for us and like you said, especially when we play at home, we feel that push and we keep winning games and we’re super thankful for the fans."
From a personal point of view, you are playing in Lithuania for the first time since you left Zalgiris as a 16-year-old. How much are you enjoying this?
"I mean basketball is basketball no matter where, but at the same time I'm back home for the first time in many, many years. I have my family around me. It's a little bit different than always and it's nice. I missed the Lithuanian weather, I missed the snow, so it feels great."
"I have my family around me. It's a little bit different than always and it's nice. I missed the Lithuanian weather, I missed the snow, so it feels great."
Your first EuroCup experience came with Promitheas Patras two seasons ago where you were a teammate of Anthony Cowan. This season Cowan has been one of the best players in the competition. What is it like to play with him and what changes have you seen in his game from the 2022-23 season to now?
"It's a great pleasure to play with him, especially we had that connection. He's a great passer, great slasher, always looking for me on the court and it feels like this was not lost in those couple years that we didn't play together and we're back here again. He's looking for me, for my shot, and it's amazing. Talking about his game, for sure he's having a great year, but he's been playing great for the last couple of years and you could see that in any competition – domestic league, EuroCup, Champions League. I feel like he's ready to make that big step and go further. I’m just happy to see his progress overall. You know, he's improved a lot and is ready to be the team leader. It's been a great pleasure to play with him and I'm super happy for him."
What is it like playing for Coach Alessandro Magro and what does he bring to the team?
"Great leader. Not only on the court but like off the court, it's great to have a coach like this. Not only a coach, but a person. In the locker room or traveling or whatever, it's always great to talk to him not only about basketball. He’s the perfect definition of a player’s coach. It's not all about basketball. Sometimes you just gotta be a friend and help each other. Like I said, it's great to have a coach like this."
Wolves enter Round 14 in the thick of the hunt for a spot in the EuroCup Playoffs. What would it mean to you and the team to take Wolves to the playoffs for the first time?
"That's the big goal right now for us, just to make it to the playoffs and I feel like we're able to do that and like you said, for the team, for the organization, for a brand-new organization, that would be a big step forward, making the playoffs and putting ourselves on the European map."