Regarded as one of the tallest living humans at 7-foot-6, Tacko Fall played in the NBA with Boston for two seasons before a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. From there, he spent two years playing in China before signing recently with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL.

The big man recently recovered from a quad injury and spoke to HoopsHype about his career overseas, his thoughts on getting back into the NBA, his time training with Hakeem Olajuwon, and more.

How has it been playing for the New Zealand Breakers?

Tacko Fall: It’s been great. A great experience. The lifestyle here is amazing. I just come here with the opportunity to travel with my family and be somewhere where it’s comfortable and the organization has been pretty great, as far as taking care of us and everything else.

What was it like playing two years in China?

TF: China can get a little lonely. Obviously, there is a huge language barrier. I was fortunate enough to be on decent teams as far as people and staff and everything else. Like both teams had people who spoke English but outside of that, it’s just a lot more challenges in China.

What was the one thing you really learned from playing in China?

TF: China is very physical in a sense. There is a lot of adjustments that I had to do as far as physicality. In China, that was the main focus every game. Guys would sometimes play a little dirty so there’s a level of physicality that I have to match which helped grow my game a lot because I would just adjust a little bit.

A lot of players stay in the G League because it’s an easier pipeline to get back in the NBA. How much of that went into your decision to go overseas?

TF: Obviously, you’re playing in the States. Pretty much have all the eyes that you need to be able to have the chance to get back in the NBA. But for me, just the way they play in the G League I just didn’t think it would be helpful for me. I could go overseas in a good league and still have the same eyes on me. Most people already know who I am, and what I’m capable of.

For me, just a matter of time. Playing on a consistent basis. Being in China kinda took that away from me because I’m on the other side of the world, so I think a lot of people haven’t got to see this side of me in the last three years.

The NBL is a great league, there’s a lot of eyes on it, so for me it’s a great opportunity to have a chance to show it.

How tough has it been for you in your journey of trying to get back to the NBA?

TF: For me, I just been taking it by the day. I haven’t been focusing on how hard it is going to be. I believe I have the skillset. I mean obviously I have the size. I do know I have the skillset. I wasn’t fortunate to be in the situations where I have a lot of opportunities to be able to show that, so when that opportunity comes, I just gotta show that.

Even when I was in two great organizations, I mean I loved being with the Celtics, people really believed in me, but it was just not the right situation for me to be able to have the chance to be on the court a lot. At this point, I think that’s all I need.

Do you look at any NBA player now, and think 'I could play like him' and get on the court and be in an NBA rotation?

TF:  Absolutely. There’s a lot. There’s Rudy [Gobert] defensively. Rudy has multiple Defensive Player of the Years. Great player. Pretty much everything he can do on the defensive end of the court I think I’m capable. Being longer, back-to-the-basket guy, low-post scorer. I believe there’s really nobody who can, once I have a good position, there’s really not much that anyone can do.

So is this a matter of finding the right situation? Even Rudy, if you put him in the wrong situation, he might not be in the same boat as he is now. Many of these situations where people have him playing at his strength, and like I said, that’s all I need.

You originally played for the Celtics. Are you surprised with how dominant they’ve become?

TF: No, I’m not. Over the years, all the things that have been happening in the background, I’m not really surprised. You could see it building. Obviously, when you try to win a championship, you’re trying to accomplish a great goal, it’s not always gonna be a smooth ride, but those guys spend the time on the court and they made it happen. It’s not surprising they be so dominant, and they’re gonna continue to be dominant in the next years as long as they keep those guys.

When you were there and in the gym with them, who would you say worked the hardest?

TF: I’m telling you, every single guy in the gym works hard. There’s some organizations you might have guys that come in there literally right before practice. Those guys [in Boston] came in there way before practice. They spend a lot of time in the weight room. They have a great supporting staff over there, and they have great trainers, great nutrition. Guys coming in and getting some early shots in. Even the best friends, JB [Jaylen Brown], JT [Jayson Tatum] stay afterward and get a lot of shots in and take good care of their bodies. It’s their culture, in particular goes on from the top to the bottom.

I say one guy that would do even more when I was there, and most people agree. That would be Payton [Pritchard]. He's a workaholic. That kid is different.

Which players in the NBA now would you say you’re the closest with?

TF: Most of those guys are the guys I played with in Boston. Really close with Jaylen. Spent some time with Jaylen in the summer in Boston. Close with JT as well, and another one that’s not with the Celtics anymore but Grant Williams. Two of them are actually my two daughters' godfathers. Outside of them, maybe Enes Kanter, but Enes is not in the league anymore.

What’s the type of advice that you’ve kinda taken to heart with these guys?

TF: Just stay the course. I mean those guys, they’ve seen me on a daily basis. A lot of guys don’t see the amount of work I put in, and actually what I’m capable of. Those guys have seen me. I’ve played against them, I played with them, we practice every day, like the amount of work that I put in and they really believe in me. They believe that I’m that player, and I just need the chance to go out and prove it, and they tell me to keep working hard and pretty much stay the course.

You are a huge fan favorite. From playing against Zion Williamson in the NCAA Tournament to being on Speed’s stream recently. What is that like with that amount of popularity?

TF: I’m grateful for it. I look at it as a blessing. Sometimes, it can be a little distracting. However, to be able to have that much impact on people, most people that I have never met. All those people always willing to support me and cheer for me, and follow me throughout my career is something that I am very grateful for.

What do you miss most about college?

TF: The camaraderie. We were so young, and a lot of those guys we pretty much grew up with each other. I spent a lot of time in Florida, especially when I was in high school, and some of those guys have no reason to before I got to college. We kind of saw each other below and that’s what I would say that’s the thing I missed the most.

Playing professionally, you're always moving, even in the NBA. Unless you are the franchise guy, you might spend a few years here, a few years there, two years here, two years there, one year here. Like with the Boston Celtics, I got to build lifelong relationships, even though I was there for two years, but that’s very rare. I would say that’s one thing I would miss.

Being a computer science major at UCF, have you thought about pivoting away from basketball and maybe pursuing a career in CS?

TF: I thought about it. I still want to be involved in some type of shape and form with the game of basketball. I think there is a lot I can offer even once I’m done playing, especially coming from Africa. I really wanna help grow the game over in Africa, and see how I can do that with the help of the NBA. So I still want to be involved with some of that, but absolutely. You never know, I’m 29 years old, I have a few more years to play.

You trained with Hakeem Olajuwon. What was the biggest thing you picked up from him?

TF: I would say he’s the most skilled big man ever. His chief philosophy is his mindset, especially coming from where he came from. There’s a lot of things that I could relate to him from Africa, being here, pretty much almost the same way that I came here, and got where he is now. It is very inspirational, and he is one of those people that I look up to. Like him and Dikembe [Mutombo]. These guys had a lot of impact on guys like us, who came from Africa.

Was there anything that he told you that still resonates to this day?

TF: I couldn’t really move. I have pretty good footwork for someone like me. Learning how to stay in balance. I remember we used to do this drill where like you would have to go up and down, but you take a dribble and you do a spin move and you keep your balance. For him, staying in balance was very important, especially for a guy like me.

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Tacko Fall: All I need is the right opportunity