The two former NBA players have good chemistry both on and off the court.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Mike Scott: Two friends hoping to improve ASVEL
Euroleague News
3 Mins read
This is the first year that Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Mike Scott are playing alongside one another, but the LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne duo have already struck up a friendship that they hope will result in more wins on the court.
The 4-18 ASVEL is on to its third head coach of the season, with Pierric Poupet having gone 1-2 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague so far, but Luwawu-Cabarrot confirms that there is a good comradery between the squad.
“Everyone gets along, we all joke on each other, laugh at each other, go out and have dinners, movies, play cards. It’s like a brotherhood,” Luwawu-Cabarrot says.
A friendship created at ASVEL
Luwawu-Cabarrot spent six years in the NBA across five franchises between 2016 and 2022, while Scott had nine years in the association across four clubs. The current ASVEL teammates never played alongside each other in the NBA, but it didn’t take long for them to strike up a friendship at the Lyon-based club.
“I used to joke with him because, playing [against] him in the league (NBA), he really couldn’t show his offensive package, his offensive skills,” Scott notes. “But I got to see his game a little bit more. He works on his game a lot, he’s in the gym, he’s one of the first guys in the gym, so I really got to see his game flourish. He’s been impressive.”
For Luwawu-Cabarrot, he only had positive words to say about Scott, who is in the midst of his debut season in the EuroLeague.
“He’s great. He’s been talking to the young guys since the beginning of the season, trying to help them,” the Frenchman comments. “He’s been trying to figure it out himself, but he had nine years in the NBA, so we knew eventually that he’d figure it out.”
Scott has been particularly impressed by the competitiveness of the EuroLeague, even echoing the league’s slogan when offering his thoughts.
“The culture of the basketball, I think every game really matters,” he notes. “It’s like a playoff game every single game in the EuroLeague, so it’s much more intense, more physical.”
Turning this season around
ASVEL sits rock bottom of the standings, albeit tied with 17th-placed ALBA Berlin with a 4-18 record, but Scott and Luwawu-Cabarrot remain confident that the French team has what it takes to make a late surge.
“I feel like the competitiveness is there, the unselfishness on both ends is there,” Scott states. “We’re in all our games, so if we can get rid of those mental mistakes, I feel like we’ll win more.”
“Top 10, I think, this is our goal,” Luwawu-Cabarrot adds. “This is where we want to be and where I think we can be. We didn’t have the start of the season we wanted to have, but like I said, we’re going to get better and better, we’re going to bring this group together and play better games.”