CU360: With soccer as the dominant sport in Brazil, did people think it was strange for you to be playing basketball?

RN: All my friends in school was playing soccer and that's what got me into soccer also. But if you like basketball, you're really a fan of basketball in Brazil because it's so hard to get to watch basketball or to play basketball, ‘cause it’s not like they have a basketball court everywhere. So you have to really like it. So all my friends and all the people that played basketball with me, they still love basketball. It's kind of a passion. It's not something that you play for fun. I mean, you play for fun, but it's not something that you play everywhere, like in school or when you go to the street. It’s not like everybody's playing basketball.

CU360: What are some of the disadvantages of pursuing a career in basketball while growing up in Brazil, since the sport was so uncommon?

RN: It was just hard to find a place to play. We usually worked out for the whole year to play like three games or four games because there was no more teams around. We had to pay, my parents had to pay their own money for jerseys, or there was games that we had to have three or four parents with big cars taking us to games because we didn't have the money for a bus or for a minivan. So those things were kind of hard. But when you're a kid and you want to do something and you have parents that support you, that's not really an obstacle.

I was taking two buses to go to practice and taking an hour to go to practice. I was spending the whole day at the club that I was playing with my friends, just like playing pickups and just like playing all day. The culture is a little different than here. It's not as easy to play basketball, so I think it was something that kind of made me grow and made me really motivated, and ready to [reach] my goals and reach where I am right now. Probably one out of 300 kids in Brazil make a life of basketball.

CU360: What was it like transitioning to life in Spain?

RN: It was a change. I had my mom the first two months trying to help me with the house, and teaching me how to clean or how to cook. Then after that, she went back to Brazil. The good thing is that the language is pretty close [to Portuguese]. So from the beginning, I was able to pick it up, so it wasn't that hard communicating with people there. But then just the change of the culture and living by myself, going from living with my parents for like 18 years and going to live by myself, it was a struggle at the beginning. I thought it was going to be easier, but it wasn’t.

But Spanish people are pretty close to Brazilians. They're a little colder than Brazilians. Brazilians are just happy. They talk to everybody, they're easy-going and they make friends real quick. So that was the hardest part for me. I remember going out with my teammates [in Spain] and being in the same table with their friends, and not talking to them because I was just new. So those kinds of things was a little different. But overall, I had great teammates. I had great coaches, people that were around me, just helping me with everything. So it was a good experience.

CU360: How do you think playing in Spain changed your game?

RN: The people I was playing basketball with were way better than people in Brazil. So it was harder for me on the court. I thought I was going to just go out there and play 20, 30 minutes a game and score 20 points, just how I was doing in Brazil. But it wasn't the same. So with basketball and being by myself and not having my parents to support me and to be there for me, it was kind of hard at the beginning. But I think that's what made me grow as a player and as a man.

CU360: What was it like after getting drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2013, but then having to go back to play in Spain?

RN: I wanted to come as soon as possible, but they just said, "We like you, but you’re probably not going to play, so let's just keep you out there." So I went back to Spain for two years to get more minutes, get more experience and the [Jazz] just loved my game. So [when I was back in Spain], they were kind of helping me. I was in contact with a couple guys [from the Jazz], and I came to the states one summer and I stayed in Utah for a little bit, before I signed my contract. So it was good having them behind me, just helping me to grow and helping me with everything I needed—from vitamins to just support. When I was in Spain, they were always asking me if I needed proteins. They just wanted to support me.