There’s nothing like a good cup of coffee to start the day.
Hawks fans have come to appreciate guard Bogdan Bogdanovic’s precision on the court. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the 32-year-old has a similar approach to enjoying a cup of Joe.
And if Bogdanovic is making it for guests, he wants them to have nothing but the best.
“If you come there and you want to try first coffee, I’ll make sure I give you the best one,” he said. “I will set the grinder size. I will set pressure, temperature to feed the right temperature, because it’s important, how you tap it, how strong you tap it, how you lock it, how you like squeeze it, you know? And then that determines the pressure of that water that comes and meets the coffee over there and beans. And, yeah, it’s science.”
The veteran and the Hawks open the regular season on Wednesday when they host the Brooklyn Nets at State Farm Arena. The upcoming year will mark Bogdanovic’s eighth season in the NBA but the Hawks sharpshooter still looks forward to finding new coffee spots in the other 29 cities in the league.
Through his travels, he has already found coffee shops that he enjoys in Miami, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
“I really realized that since I came to the States, like I remember the first day I came, there was no place to drink coffee, and especially in Sacramento,” Bogdanovic said. “And I don’t understand that. Sacramento, it’s not like a (big) city. Downtown, it’s not big. It’s not big buildings. It’s housing.
“So, I feel like in Sac, there should be a place like where people can get social like, but I think I don’t know how that everything works, but I think everyone likes the privacy, so they cook it at home, and they do that at home, but it’s such a nice weather. You can be outside. There’s a lot of things that drinking coffee actually brings you can make it meet a lot of people. You can have your time for yourself, but you can also talk with your closest ones or friends or meet somebody new, or whatever. I think it’s more that social act and behavior than anything else.”
He frequently visits the coffee shops within walking distance of the hotels the Hawks stay in when they’re on the road. Those walks to get his morning coffee allow him to maintain a similar routine he follows when he is at home in Atlanta.
Each morning when he wakes up, he drinks his water or some juice because he does not like drinking coffee on an empty stomach. Then he grabs his coffee, espresso with a little bit of milk. Right before a game, Bogdanovic forgoes the milk and drinks straight espresso. If he’s home in Atlanta, he’ll stop by Dancing Goats Coffee. On the road, he walks somewhere close by. He said he drinks about five to six shots of espresso a day.
“I think morning routine is really important for me,” he said. “I don’t want anyone around me in the morning. I come (to the coffee shop) read my book a little bit or my phone. Also, I learned that I like to do something in the morning right away. It’s more like, read something good or listen to some podcast or something about self-development, improvement.
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t need to be motivational or whatever. Just something that you can learn (from). Because I think in the morning I have the freshest brain, and when I wake up immediately I want to do something because if I don’t schedule something, I’m on the phone. I realized that a long time ago, so I don’t want to waste time.”
Even if the coffee comes in a to-go cup, Bogdanovic never rushes and makes sure he takes time to savor the beverage. It’s reminiscent of his methodical approach to warming up before a game.
Before each game, Bogdanovic will get treatment before he jogs onto the court with roughly 55 minutes remaining until tip-off. He then goes through shots, beginning at the rim and moving out to the perimeter. Then he moves to the free-throw line, where he practices off-balance shots. Of course, he practices regular free throws, too.
So, when he visits a new coffee shop, he wants the time to appreciate the science of how the baristas prepare the coffee.
Bogdanovic, who first started drinking coffee when he played for Fenerbahce in Turkey, has a few limits, though.
“OK, if it’s super cold, it’s snowing and bad weather, I’m not going,” he conceded. “But even if it’s cold, I think that’s what I like the most. Like, I go in a city, I get warm coffee, walk outside, I feel, I already, you know, I did something in the morning good for me, for the body. I’m awake.”
Last season, Bogdanovic averaged a career-high 30.4 minutes per game, while suiting up for a career-high 79 games. He averaged a career-best 16.4 points on 37.4% from 3-point range on a career-high 8.1 attempts per game.
His increased load occurred amid the Hawks navigating injuries to several key rotational players like Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, De’Andre Hunter and former Hawks forward Saddiq Bey.
But between the injuries to the team last season and navigating his own at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, the 32-year-old has gained an appreciation for sticking to his routine.
“There’s always challenges in life, you know?” he said. “And that was just one of them. You cannot measure what was harder, what was less harder. Everything is hard. I think you just have a challenge in front of you, and then you create a routine. And I said, ‘OK, I prioritize these things, these things, those things.’ And that’s how I go.”
The Hawks won’t hit the road until Oct. 27 when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center just 10 days after their trip during the exhibition season. But he’ll have his list of shops to scope out ready to ready, anyway.
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