De'Anthony Melton joined the Warriors and was struck by how seamlessly the roster works together. He's played for Phoenix, Memphis, and Philadelphia before landing in Golden State, and coaches told him to be himself and play versatile, win-focused basketball. His nickname "Mr. Do Something" came from a Memphis announcer and stuck with fans.
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Welcome to Golden State.
Thank you.
What did you know about this team, or what did you think you knew about this team before joining them?
I would say what I knew was from playing against them and playing in the playoffs against them. They just resilient, resilient, and unpredictableness that they bring is tough to guard. And you got so many guys that can really just go out there and just play their game.
Is there anything that surprises you about Golden State now that you're a member here?
It's crazy, nothing really surprises you, but then you just get surprised at how well they play together. Like, you know what I mean? Coming from the opposite side, how everybody plays together constantly and consistently.
I was thinking about your path here. Okay, so Phoenix, Memphis, Sixers, now Golden State, just 26 years old, man.
Yeah.
What do you think about your arrival here and the moves you've had to make in your career?
Man, it's been a lot. It's been a lot, but I think I've worked for it. I think I deserve, you know, everything that's coming, and I feel like I deserve it. You know, even more, because, you know, the time and work you put into it, it's important. So I feel like definitely this summer I've really attacked what I needed to and understand how to get better and how to expand myself.
What have the coaches told you about your role here?
Just go out there and be you.
Yeah?
I mean, the way I play is just winning basketball. So much versatility just in terms of shooting, defense, ball handling, playmaking. So all that type stuff is always eager to expand on. Defense.
Yeah. Okay, that is an emphasis for this season. The Golden State team wants to get back into the top 5 if they can. So what makes a good defensive team?
Effort. Effort. You gotta wanna do it at the end of the day. No matter what, the effort, and when it's tough, you gotta wanna do it again and do it again and continue to stay on it. So I think that's the biggest thing, effort and discipline. There's two things that go into defense.
How do you like to guard people? How chatty are you out there with an opponent? Like, what's your style?
My style, my style's all business. It's all business, you know what I mean? So I'm here to do the job. My job is to stop you. And so whatever comes with that. I mean, I'm not gonna give too many tips and tricks, but like, you know, grabbing and holding, all that type stuff. It's important, establishing position early. And I just love to annoy the offensive player.
Your nickname, Mr. Do Something. How did that originate?
From Brevin Knight in Memphis, one of the announcers. When I first started playing, he was just like, "He's always doing something," like, and just call him Mr. Do Something. Like, yeah, so he came up with that. Honestly, at first I didn't like it.
Crazy.
Yeah, I just thought it was like, go out there and do something. Like, you know what I mean? You're not doing nothing. But as time went on, it grew on me.
Okay.
Fans started to like it more and more, so.
You've embraced it.
Yeah.
It's okay if fans hear you say, "Mr. Do Something"?
