Rebecca Spring and Stefan Meier
He’s already a giant on the big NBA stage. In his first season with the Atlanta Hawks, the 27-year-old Center took on a lot of responsibility. He recorded 15.2 points and 14.3 rebounds per game. This made the Genevan the best rebounder in the best league in the world.
Amazing for a boy who started from a poor background in Switzerland. At the age of 14 he moved out of his home, his way led to France and from there to the NBA. «I could never have dreamed of such a career. I didn’t even think about the NBA, ”he says to Blick. “I thought if I could only play basketball in Switzerland, it would be a dream.”
Capela wants the NBA title and the All-Star Team
But Capela has long since escaped the Swiss level. With the Hawks he was in the semifinals. He formulates his goals for the future clearly and confidently. He wants to get the title. And he wants to join the all-star team – the elite circle of the league. Capela shows no doubt that he will make it.
“You have to keep dreaming,” he says. “When I was a child, I only dreamed. And it was just this dream that spurred me to work harder. It was only because of this dream that I had the motivation to train and do better at school. “
With these words Capela thinks of the young people he trains in Zurich. After holding a junior camp in Geneva in 2019, he also took on the kids in German-speaking Switzerland for the first time last week. Capela knows that basketball has a difficult time on this side of the Röschtigraben.
“I want to convey a message to the kids”
«I am very happy and grateful to be in such a position and to do something. I want to teach them something, I want them to get better, ”he says. Much more: «I would like to convey a message to you through my presence. What is important at your age, what do you have to work on? I want to answer your questions. And just enjoy the moment. “
Capela wants to make basketball big in Switzerland. He knows what he can do best to achieve this: become an NBA champion. He won’t stop fighting and believing in it.