{"id":544006,"date":"2026-03-16T12:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T12:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/544006\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T12:16:13","slug":"i-couldnt-care-less-rakocevic-feeds-off-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/544006\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI couldn\u2019t care less\u201d: Rakocevic feeds off criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI couldn\u2019t care less about what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Rakocevic has been at the centre of plenty of debate over the past week, but the Adelaide 36ers big man says the only opinions that matter to him come from inside the club.<\/p>\n

An unsportsmanlike foul against Akech Aliir divided opinion in Game 1 of the Playoff Series against South East Melbourne, with some experts calling for the 36ers import to be ejected and Phoenix owner Romie Chaudhari labelling him \u201cdirty\u201d.<\/p>\n

Adelaide and Rakocevic were also booed by fans in Melbourne during their Game 2 loss, which left them in a must-win scenario in the decider on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

The commentary has been harsh, perhaps unfair, but for Rakocevic only one thing matters: winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m used to that. I got that my whole life, so that\u2019s nothing new to me. I\u2019ve been playing basketball a long time, so it\u2019s going to continue to happen,\u201d he said on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just kind of makes me go harder because that\u2019s just people who either doubt or have something against me. That goes to my roots and it just gives me personal energy to prove people wrong. I love to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI invite all the boos and all the hatred that the crowd shows. It just makes me play better, like it definitely did the other night.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Rakocevic has been one of the 36ers\u2019 best players during the series, with back to back double-doubles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny to me how people like talking about that (the incident in Game 1), but they don\u2019t want to talk about how I\u2019m the first 36er in eight years to record a double-double in the Finals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to bring that up in the media. So I find that funny.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean anything to me. It never has. That type of chatter is for the media. My job is to go out there and win games and play to the best of my abilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in those first two games I gave everything that I had, but this is about the team and that type of stuff doesn\u2019t matter to me. If you go and ask any of the players on my team, you go ask the staff, you go even ask the Adelaide community, they\u2019re going to say something completely different about me. That\u2019s all I care about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to back my character, back who I am as a person. Everybody else who isn\u2019t part of this group or our team community, I couldn\u2019t care less about what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelaide is expecting another full house for its Series decider on Tuesday night, with a spot against the Sydney Kings in the Championship Series on the line.<\/p>\n

The 36ers are looking to end a 24-year championship drought.<\/p>\n

Watch Adelaide face the Phoenix on Tuesday at 7:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.<\/p>\n

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