Stefan Nguyen's mother made sure he'd follow his passion to where he is today

HO CHI MINH CITY (Vietnam) - Stefan Nguyen remembers those childhood days in Sweden. He wouldn't be where he is now - a player for the Vietnam national team - if it weren't for those earlier times working in the gym and honing his craft.

Twisting paths upwards, the basketball world like Stefan's, which saw him go from Sweden to Vietnam are always uplifting. More than the details of the journey are the important people behind it. For Stefan, he will forever cherish the fact that he always had the support from the strong women in his family.

"I have three sisters, and they all did their best to support me," he says, talking about how influential women have been in his life. "We didn't have much growing up. But what we had, we shared, and I believe that still lives on with me today. On and off the court."

Sharing is a big part of the 28-year-old's game as a point guard. He's dished off pretty passes playing for professional clubs in Sweden and Vietnam while also being a familiar face in the Vietnamese national team program. He also made an assist to three Swedish basketball stars while talking on a topic about the influential women in his life and the game.

"Amanda Zahui, Kalis Loyd and Farhiya Abdi are my favorite women's basketball players," he says. "They are my friends, and they are both playing well in Europe and for the national team."

(Amanda Zahui, FIBA Women's Eurobasket Qualifiers 2019)

Growing up in multiple cultures, Stefan Nguyen has had to make adjustments and adapt to get through. One of the biggest reasons he has been able to go through all of that and succeed on the court is because of the support from his late mother - even if she didn't expect it to be this way when he was a kid.

"Coming from an Asian minority community in Sweden, my parents weren't too fond of me playing basketball at first," Stefan reveals. "They all wanted me to focus on school mainly."

"But my mother saw the passion that I had for the game quite early. She supported it in a different way, like making sure food always was there when I got home from spending the whole day in the gym.

"She always made sure I was following my passion, and having that made me who I am today."

Stefan Nguyen is a big part of the up-and-coming Vietnam basketball scene. He was a vital member of the Saigon Heat in 2015, where the professional basketball club playing in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) took the big leap in popularizing the sport.

He's been featured as a leader on the national team in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2017 and 2019, in which the teams had broken records for the highest place in the final standings each year. He was also a member of the 3x3 team at the SEA Games in 2019, bring Vietnam their first SEA Games medal ever in a basketball event.

(FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2019)

He's an up-and-coming role model for younger Vietnamese kids all over the country who want to grow up and unleash a clean spin move for an easy layup like Stefan. But the road to this point has not been easy. When things get tough, Stefan turns to think of his role model.

"I'd say that [my biggest female role model] is my mom. If I feel like life is struggling, I think back at what she has gone through her life," Stefan says.

"They are small problems compared to how it was back then. [She was] a refugee coming to a country she knew nothing about, but still being able to make the most out of it is something I will forever be thankful and grateful for."

FIBA