NBA Q&A: Mikhail Prokhorov

Courtesy of Steve Serby

Q: How would you describe your management style?

A: I like to find the best people available and then give them free rein to do their work. I am a strategy guy, but not a specialist in most things. It would be silly for me to interfere in questions that really are not my area of expertise. At the same time, with independence comes accountability.

Q: Leaders in sports or history you’ve admired and why.

A: I admire Catherine the Great. She brought the Constitution to Russia. With her came enlightenment. In the US, the Founding Fathers for their contribution to the development of democracy. In terms of sports, I would say Soviet gymnast Nikolai Andrianov, who won 15 Olympic medals and dominated the sport, and the great basketball coach Alexander Gomelsky.

Q: Why are you so driven?

A: It’s all I know, really. Even on vacation, it’s very intense. I do sports of different kinds for up to eight hours a day. My posse usually needs another vacation after a vacation with me.

Q: Who are you more like, your mother or father, and in what ways? Describe each of them.

A: My father was an emotional person, but I’m much more like my mother. She was cool as a cucumber, as you say in English. In Russian, we say calm as a boa constrictor!

Q: Best piece of advice your mother or father gave you.

A: It’s a long story, but basically I had written an essay in school about wanting to grow up to be a Red Army commander, because I’d seen in a film how well they ate and, as I was in the middle of a growth spurt, I was hungry all the time. The school called in my parents and asked them why they weren’t feeding their child. They were aghast. At that point my parents told me: “It’s bad to lie, but you don’t have to tell everybody everything.” They made me re-write my essay to say I wanted to grow up to be a cosmonaut.

Q: Boyhood idol.

A: None. I’m not an idol kind of guy.

Q: Why are women so hard to figure out?

A: Who’s trying to figure them out? I think we just need to love them.

Q: Describe your ideal mate.

A: Beautiful, smart, sexy and makes a mean bowl of borscht.

Q: Is marriage something you would consider some day?

A: I have said that if the Nets don’t win the NBA championship within five years, I will punish myself by getting married. We are in year three. So no one is more interested in winning a championship than yours truly.

Q: What was it like meeting President Bush? What was it like meeting President Obama? What were your impressions of each?

A: Both were very nice to me, friendly. Both of them talked to me about basketball, actually. When I met President Bush, I was owner of Russia’s CSKA and they were the best in Europe. When I met President Obama, I had just become the owner of the Nets.

Q: Which actor would you want to play you in the movie about your life and why?

A: Chris Rock or Danny DeVito. For obvious physical resemblance.

Q: Why did you want to own an NBA team so badly?

A: I have a lot of experience with basketball, having owned CSKA in Russia. We made it to the Euroleague semifinals every year during the time I was there, and won the championship twice. Plus, this was just a wonderful opportunity — a down-and-out franchise about to make a historic move to Brooklyn, a new arena, a chance to really build something and make my mark. I wasn’t interested in buying any team at any price. I really wanted a big market, and when this opportunity came along with a great partner in Bruce Ratner it was obviously the right thing to do.

Q: How would you do in a one-on-one pickup basketball game against James Dolan (right)?

A: I’d rather split a pizza with him and watch our teams battle it out.

Q: Why will you be Dolan and the Knicks’ worst nightmare?

A: Are you kidding? We’ll be their dream come true! Having a rivalry in New York is great for everyone. This city will have so much to talk about and cheer about.

Q: What would you say the major reasons are why you have been so successful?

A: I keep my emotions out of my decision making. In big business, there can be a lot of ego involved, but that is a vulnerability. Hard work. And an ability to find reasonable compromise when warranted, and to never compromise when required. And, as they say, the wisdom to know the difference. I don’t always have that, by the way.

Q: Since you always aim high, will you pursue LeBron James again, and what do you think your chances will be of bringing him to Brooklyn?

A: Ha ha ha. You know NBA rules forbid me from speaking about another team’s player! I’ve been an owner for over two years now, and I know the manual cover-to-cover.

Q: Since you play the guitar and sing, why not perform at a concert with Jay-Z?

A: One thing this planet does not need is me rapping.

Q: Your impressions of Avery Johnson and Deron Williams.

A: Avery is very straightforward, systematic. I like the fact that, in addition to having a talented team, we have a team with a lot of spirit and high morale, which is something Avery really works on. He’s great with discipline for those who need it. With Deron, he’s obviously an incredible player. Many feel he is the best point guard in the league, and I agree with that. In terms of personality, I think he’s a very considered person, does not take decisions lightly. Wants to win at all costs, which, of course, is a goal I share.

Q: If you knew the world was going to end in 24 hours, how would you spend your last day?

A: I’d have a big party with lots of music and good food and wine. I’d gather all my friends and family and party like it’s 1999.

Q: What do you remember about the U.S. hockey team upset of the Soviets in Lake Placid?

A: I remember watching the game. It was a total shock and disappointment. I loved hockey. I remember very well that there were only six gold medals won by the US in that Olympics. Five by Eric Heiden, and the last one was hockey. Brezhnev cried.

Q: Three dinner guests from any point in history?

A: I would want to invite Ivan the Terrible and try to convince him to take Russia in the direction of Europe. I’d invite my grandfather on my mother’s side. I never met him. He was a military doctor and he died in World War II. People in our family say I resemble him. And Benjamin Franklin because I feel I know him already. During the wild 90’s, when there was no real banking system, Russia had more $100 bills in circulation than any country in the world!

Q: What would you want your players and Nets fans to say about you?

A: Thanks for the championship win. Let’s do it again next season.

Q: People who influenced you the most growing up and in what ways?

A: My parents, of course. They really gave me everything good that is in me despite the hardships of growing up under the Soviet regime. I have great memories of my childhood.

Q: Fill in the blank — if I were NBA Commissioner, I would ...

A: … move the league to Siberia and cede the position to David Stern.

Q: Fill in the blank — if I were president of Russia, I would ...

A: ... not cede the position until my two terms were over, then step down.

Q: People you haven’t met and would like to meet?

A: This person called Honey Boo Boo is at the top of my list at the moment. From Moscow it looks as though the US has lost its collective mind on that.

Q: In a movie about your life, what life-changing emotional scenes — happy, sad, tragic, etc. — would have to be included?

A: I’m not the reflective type and don’t dwell on sadness or tragedy. I just enjoy life and there’s lots of happiness in it.

Q: When do you expect the Nets to win an NBA championship?

A: In June.

Q: Athletes and coaches in other sports you admire?

A: In terms of hockey, Anatoli Tarasov, the father of Russian hockey, and in soccer Valery Lobanovsky, for his original approach to the game. I hope Brooklyn Nets coach Avery Johnson will also soon become a living legend.

Q: Why do you work out at least two hours every day? What is a typical workout like?

A: The one thing that is not negotiable in my day is my workout. I do different kinds of things — treadmill for cardio, circuit training, jet skiing and heli-skiing. And I also do a special kind of Tibetan martial arts that’s fantastic for coordination and developing smaller muscle groups. The exercises look simple, but then you find you can’t do them at all! And there are thousands of them, so it never gets boring.

Q: What did you learn selling jeans?

A: I learned that getting money is not what drives me. At a certain point when I was whitewashing jeans I finally saved up enough to buy my first car and I remember thinking that I could now afford to take a girl out to any restaurant. That was the first and last time I really felt joy at having money for its own sake. Since then, it’s been all about the challenge of climbing new mountains and trying new things. This is one of the reasons I got involved in politics in Russia.

Q: Who is in better shape, you or Putin?

A: We haven’t competed against each other in anything other than the presidential election. I think we’re both in fighting shape.

Q: Describe Putin.

A: Tough leader. Has a clear vision for the country. It’s not my vision.

Q: Why should LeBron and other free agents want to play for the Brooklyn Nets?

A: Ha ha ha, again. We can’t mention players for other teams, remember? In general, I can say that, if two years ago we had to tell potential players about our vision for the team, now they can actually see it. I honestly can’t imagine any players not wanting to look seriously at our franchise.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: You won’t believe it, but I like fresh Russian white bread with a slice of what we call “doctor’s bologna” and hot tea with sugar. Not a meal, really, but more of a snack. Reminds me of my childhood. Also, pasta with truffles at Nello’s. Absolutely to die for.

Q: Favorite restaurant in the world and why?

A: Generally, I like small places with chefs who prepare a few specialties you can’t find anywhere else. That’s the difference between a five-star meal and a really memorable one.

There’s a place in Moscow with great Armenian food called U Burcho. Very casual homestyle cooking. I like their dumplings, stir-fried veggies and Armenian fish cooked in its own juice. I don’t want to give you the names of any other places because I won’t be able to get a reservation after that!

Q: Favorite sports movie?

A: All the “Rocky” movies, except the one where he beats up on the Russian, of course.

Q: As a child, what did you think you would be when you grew up?

A: I was a good student, but I knew I wasn’t a physicist, mathematician or humanities guy, but something in the middle. And we had a financial academy five minutes’ walk from our apartment, so I went there.

Q: Describe the kind of people you like to surround yourself with.

A: Individuals with unique personalities. One-of-a-kind people.

Q: Why are you a bad loser?

A: In order to win, you cannot even contemplate losing.