Surprise Star Marreese Speights Talks Breakout Year and Warriors' Early Success

Marreese Speights is in the midst of his career-best season with the Golden State Warriors, averaging 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in just 17.2 minutes per game off the bench. The backup big man took time on Dec. 17 to chat with Bleacher Report about dance moves, the source of his resurgence and goals for the Warriors season.

Bleacher Report: Most important question first. Andre Iguodala got a technical foul against the Memphis Grizzlies for dancing after what he thought should have been a traveling call. Ever seen anything like that before?

Marreese Speights: Never, never. We saw the clip of it and it was real funny, but I've never seen anybody get a tech for that. That's crazy.

B/R: Did you critique him? Give him a one-to-10 score or anything?

MS: (Laughing) Nah, nothing like that.

B/R: You're having what I think, and what a lot of people think, is the best year of your career. I said last year that you came into camp out of shape and that it hurt you. What did you do, specifically, this past offseason to make sure you were ready?

MS: I made sure I didn't go days or a couple of weeks without doing anything. I always made sure I was doing something every day, even if it was just riding the bike a couple miles or getting up shots. I wanted to come to camp this year and prove that I wasn't just some guy they signed who couldn't do anything. There was a lot of (bad-mouthing) me last year because I didn't play to my potential, so I knew I had to come in this year and be in better shape, ready to play.

B/R: When you're putting in work over the summer, do you approach it from the perspective of adding to your strengths in your game or addressing weaknesses?

MS: For me, it was just about getting in basketball shape. I know what my game is, and I work on my game. But I know I can shoot the ball, and I know I can make plays. So I invested in this machine called The Curve this summer (Ed.'s note: The Curve is a self-propelled treadmill with a built-in incline.), and that's something I tried to get on and run every day, even if it was just five or six minutes at a time.

B/R: Speaking of your shooting, I assume whoever you patterned your game after when you were coming up was a big man who could shoot? Anyone in particular?

MS: Yeah, I liked watching Rasheed Wallace when I was growing up. That was the guy I really looked up to and respect.

B/R: There have been seasons in the past where you've played more than you are this year. You were a regular starter in Memphis three years ago, for example, and obviously everybody wants to play as much as they can. That said, where does this year rank for you in terms of enjoyment?

MS: I enjoyed my time in Memphis, and I still do every time I go back. But this has got to be one of the best years...it is the best year because I get an opportunity to show what I can do on a consistent basis. In the past, I sometimes didn't get consistent minutes. I'd never know if I was going to play 10 minutes or get a DNP, so that kind of messed my head up.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Now, I go out there every night knowing I'm going to play. That's when I'm at my best, knowing I'm getting consistent minutes, knowing I'm getting in at this certain time. I'm going to be ready to play every night.

B/R: You know you're going to play, but on a team like this, with nine, 10, 11 guys who have a case for playing time, roles are important. What's your job on this team?

MS: My job is to bring the extra energy we need when, sometimes, we're down. Sometimes we need a spark. I know that when coach gets me in the game, he wants me to make plays, but he wants me to play defense, too.

Coach says sometimes that he never knew I was this kind of player, but I'm glad he really trusted me and gave me an opportunity to show him and the coaching staff. It's kind of crazy because me and (Warriors assistant coach) Luke Walton played together. And he knew how I could play, but the rest of the coaching staff didn't because they only saw me a couple of times a year.

It's all about just going to that arena every night, making shots, hustle plays, taking charges.

B/R: You're second in the league in charges taken this year. Did you know that?

MS: Who could be first? It has to be me.

USA TODAY Sports

B/R: Kyle Lowry has you beat by one, 14-13. But you've had a few in the past few days. Maybe that stat's old. You might be ahead of him now.

MS: Yeah. I had one last night, then in New Orleans I had two, and Dallas...I don't think I had one.

B/R: Maybe you caught him then. Talking about defense, you spend a lot of time on the court with a second unit that has four players who can switch almost any matchup—whether it's Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson or Draymond Green. What does that change for you as a center behind those perimeter guys?

MS: Actually, sometimes it'll be all five of us switching, especially if Draymond's on the court. I just gotta make sure I talk to them on the defensive end, calling out coverages. I have to let them know that I'm going to be up on the pick-and-rolls with them, and that they have time to get back in front. It's really just all about communication.

B/R: When you have to come up and contain or hedge hard on a pick-and-roll, who's the guard that's toughest for you to handle?

MS: Man, all of them really. Guys like Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Chris Paul—all those guys are tough. That's why you really have to attack them before they attack us.

Like, that New Orleans game, Evans was really hurting us on the pick-and-roll, so me and Klay adjusted, tried to trap him so he'd give up the ball. And we got some steals that sparked that comeback we had. Most times we cover that stuff in pregame, but if a guy's really hurting us, we'll adjust on the fly.

B/R: The winning streak's over, but you still have the best record in the league and the best defense. Most people who have been paying attention think you guys are for real. Do you think you're getting the respect you deserve, or is it still not quite there?

MS: We're getting respect, but like you said, it's not quite there yet. People say, "they're winning, but they played against a team without their bigs, or...They really aren't living in the moment, you know what I'm saying?

We live in the moment over here. For us, we're winning right now, so that's all that matters. They're living in the future, or worrying about other people.

B/R: There are good things about being looked at as a legit contender, but there are also benefits to being an underdog. Do you prefer one or the other? Do you care?

MS: That underdog thing is over for us. The Golden State Warriors used to be the underdog. Nobody knew about them and they made their run in the first year (2012-13) and they were just underdogs. But now everybody knows about us, and everywhere we go, teams are going to try to throw their best shots. We're prepared for that.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

I mean, we went down to Dallas and beat Dallas without our full squad, with no Bogues and no D. Lee. Memphis, too. That was a hard game, but we had no starting center and no starting power forward. That just shows the world that we're a deep team and we're going to make a run when the time comes.

B/R: Last thing: You guys had sort of a theme song you'd play on the plane after wins during the streak. That got shut down, though. Do you have a new song yet, or are you sticking with the same one and just keeping it off Instagram?

MS: Oh, we aren't done with that yet. We'll probably have something. We gotta figure out something we're gonna do. It was fun.