"Post Sports Live" asks Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat why he loves Steven Seagal, what he orders at the Cheesecake Factory and other important questions. (Randolph Smith and Jayne Orenstein/Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

"Post Sports Live" asks Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat why he loves Steven Seagal, what he orders at the Cheesecake Factory and other important questions. (Randolph Smith and Jayne Orenstein/Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

A year ago, the greatest basketball player Poland has produced was a member of the Phoenix Suns. Today, Marcin Gortat is a key contributor for the rising Washington Wizards on the court and a local celebrity in Washington off it. He is a rare quality center in today’s spread-the-floor NBA and a rarer personality, a charismatic and brazen character unafraid to speak his mind, reveal his emotions and shave his head into a mohawk.

His offseason escapades, which included riding an armored truck in Poland, make his social media presence a must-follow. He appeared on ESPN’s “Pardon The Interruption” last week as the show’s guest Stat Boy in a suit and defended point guard John Wall with his five seconds of airtime. On Jan. 31, the Wizards will hold a Marcin Gortat action figure giveaway night when the team hosts the Toronto Raptors at Verizon Center.

“I guess it’s just who I am,” Gortat said. “That’s the personality, the character I have of fooling around a lot. I’m always trying to stay positive. At the end of the day you’re a basketball player that makes a lot of money. Come on, man. You can’t cry that you got two-, three-hour practices and unfortunately you have to play in front 20,000 people. It can get a lot worse than that. Seriously.”

Twelve years ago, Gortat, the son of a two-time Olympic bronze medalist boxer and a member of Poland’s national women’s volleyball team, was a 6-foot-10 soccer goalie for LKS Lodz, a sports club in his home town of Lodz, Poland. He was 18 years old when he went to the soccer club’s director and notified him of his sudden desire to play basketball. The director warned Gortat it was too late, that he was too old to begin a sport anew. But Gortat began playing basketball for the club anyway.

“I went and never came back,” Gortat said. “And from the first day I was impressing people and felt like this was the sport I should play.”

The Post Sports Live crew and some Wizards players offer their expectations for the season. (Post Sports Live/The Washington Post)

Gortat dedicated himself immediately, and his ascendance in the sport was rapid. By 19, Gortat was playing professionally in Germany. By 20, he was representing Poland on the national team. And by 21, he was a second-round selection of the Phoenix Suns.

But the ascent slowed once he arrived in the NBA. He was traded to the Orlando Magic soon after being drafted and served as superstar Dwight Howard’s backup. He flashed glimpses of potential whenever he was on the floor for extended periods of time, but he never averaged more than 15.8 minutes per game with the Magic. Only when Orlando traded him back to the Suns during the 2010-11 season did Gortat cement his place in the league.

“Unfortunately, being the 57th pick, I guess I can’t demand too much,” Gortat said. “You just have to go and do it and go get it on your own and create something.”

Gortat averaged double figures in scoring in his 21 / 2 seasons with the Suns and career highs in points (15.4) and rebounds (10) in 2011-12. Days before the start of the regular season last year, he was shipped to Washington for Emeka Okafor and a first-round draft choice. The price was significant, the timing was inopportune — but Gortat quickly fit in on the front court with power forward Nene and as a pick-and-roll partner with Wall.

He averaged 13.2 points and 9.5 rebounds in a career-high 32.8 minutes per game to help the Wizards advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He parlayed the performance into a five-year, $60 million contract in the offseason. The Wizards reasoned a five-year pact for a 30-year-old center with low mileage was worth it in today’s NBA and expect familiarity should boost his play this season.

“It’s a big difference,” Wizards Coach Randy Wittman said of having Gortat for the preseason. “But he picks things up quickly. He’s a guy that’s been around. He has a very good basketball IQ. But obviously having him here from Day 1 [helps] and Marcin gives us the things that he’s given us. He’s able to run the floor, defend at the rim. He has good hands in the pick-and-roll situation, so he’s a really solid player for us at that position.”

Gortat explained a shoulder injury he suffered when he collided with then-Chicago Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer in the postseason last spring hindered him during the offseason. He was unable to work out his upper body or play as many pickup games. The setback, Gortat revealed, has affected him this preseason.

“It’s going to take time, but with each day I feel more comfortable and I feel physically better, so right now I just have to find a rhythm in the game,” said Gortat, who is averaging 7.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in six exhibition games. “My shot is a little bit off, so I have to continue to work.”

But Gortat’s celebrity status hasn’t been affected by some preseason struggles. He is a star in his native Poland despite basketball’s standing in the country’s sports landscape. “I think I’m quite popular over there,” he said. “But basketball is falling deep right now. Falling deep, deep, deep.”

Since arriving in the District, Gortat has established a connection with the Polish embassy and met a number of Polish dignitaries, including Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland. He hopes to become more involved with the local Polish community and establish a Wizards Polish Heritage Night. But his focus is on the court.

“You got to enjoy the moment,” he said. “The NBA has given me so many different things that put me in this situation that I can meet a lot of people, I can experience a lot of different things. It’s amazing.”