Some NBA players announce they’ve signed a contract through Twitter; some just let their agent spread the word; some take to Sports Illustrated. Marcin Gortat channels his inner Walter Kronkite.

“Center Marcin Gortat has signed a contract extension to stay in Washington,” the Wizards center reported on NBC 4 News in DC in mid-July.

The ordinary is passé for the 30-year-old from Poland. He’s established a niche around the league and in the nation’s capital for living his extraordinarily strange life in the public eye of Twitter and Instagram. The 6-foot-11 big man uploads images, often without explanation or context, and it’s hard not to appreciate their sheer ludicrous and random nature.

Marcin Gortat with a pig? Marcin Gortat with a pig:

The seven-year pro most recently made headlines on Saturday, when he didn’t think twice about asking a Twitter follower’s advice — ergo, the world’s — about whether a subscription to a porn site was a worthy purchase.

@WSOBto8 I don’t have one yet…is it good?

— Marcin Gortat (@MGortat) August 3, 2014

That kind of unbridled curiosity from a man who just signed a $60 million extension has its own charm, regardless of the topic.

The center kicked off his not-so-private offseason by arriving in style to a basketball camp he runs in Poland. Military-style, to be exact: atop a Humvee, manning an enormous turret. Again, there is no indication why he felt the need to terrify the campers, but the lack of detail is part of the appeal.



Weird? A bit. But shocking? Not from someone who wants in-game fighting in basketball.

In an ESPN interview, Gortat expressed some envy of his NHL breathren, who can settle disputes with fewer whistles and more punches.

“During the game. Quick, 15-20 seconds, throw few punches, then referees jump in and break this thing up,” Gortat said, explaining his ideal NBA. “I think the game … these two guys, they resolved their problem. They’re both suspended and they’re leaving. But end of the day, they fix the problem between each other, fans are super excited, and I think that would be a pretty cool idea.”

At the very least, Gortat keeps things interesting for the Wizards. Which is key in case those Kevin-Durant-coming-home narratives don’t come to fruition.