Bulls PG Tomas Satoransky talks Marcin Gortat, his Blu-ray collection and more in this week’s Chat Room

The No. 1 sport in the Czech Republic is soccer. Hockey is second.

But Tomas Satoransky’s family played volleyball.

Growing up, Satoransky always played a ball sport. It just so happened that basketball — the one he was best at — was his favorite and the one he ultimately committed his life to.

Satoransky’s love for the game was fueled by a combination of ‘‘Space Jam’’ and Michael Jordan. (OK, it also helped that shortly after he saw the 1996 flick, a basketball class opened at his school.)

“I started that, and I followed it until now,” Satoransky said.

The Wizards drafted Satoransky 32nd overall in 2012, but he didn’t make his NBA debut until four years later.

Over his first three seasons, he put up modest numbers in Washington. Satoransky mainly shined when he got the starting nod in place of injured John Wall last season.

In need of point-guard depth, the Bulls acquired Satoransky in a sign-and-trade deal with the Wizards in July.

At 28, Satoransky still has a lot to accomplish in his young career. He signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Bulls.

Satoransky talked about some of the hardships he has faced in his NBA career, his friendship with Polish big man Marcin Gortat and more in this week’s Chat Room.

Is there a certain player you’ve tried to pattern your game after?

Tomas Satoransky: “Manu Ginobili. I think that was one of my biggest influences lately because before it was, like, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, but I try to be realistic [chuckles]. And I think Manu Ginobili, he has all those values that I respect. He’s a winner, and he’s a very complex player, so I follow him a lot, and he won a lot of games.”

What was the biggest adjustment you had to make coming from Europe to the NBA?

TS: ”You start from the beginning. No one really respects what you did there, and you have to earn your respect here in the States. So, for European players, it’s a little bit frustrating because you know what you’ve done and what you did with your teams, but everyone starts from zero here.

”And sometimes just adjusting. . . . You’re treated like a rookie, even though you don’t feel like it. But you just have to accept it, and I think those players who are actually strong mentally, they stay here for more.”

You talk about being treated like a rookie. Do you have any stories from your first season that you might look back on now and laugh?

TS: “I don’t know if I laugh about it, no. . . . No one really likes to play at garbage time when you play for the last minutes [of the game]. I know sometimes as a rookie you have to do it. But when you’re putting in work and then you play those last minutes, those teams don’t even try to attack the basket, [and] you feel like that’s a waste of time. But you just have to get used to it.

“In the NBA, if I learned something, it’s that you have to be prepared for an opportunity when it’s time. So I did that, and fortunately my situation got better.”

Who helped you get through those tough situations when you were with the Wizards?

TS: “I went [to] Marcin Gortat. We’re pretty close — as a country, as well, with Poland and the Czech Republic, we are neighbors. So the same traditions, but he had a little different path because he didn’t really play in Europe that much. . . . He really helped me get through that. And, for me, it always helps to talk it out. So I did that with Marcin.”

What do you miss most from home?

TS: “Probably my family and friends. I’m not really into the food of my country because I played seven years in Spain, [where they eat] really light Mediterranean food, and we are really heavy. We’re like the Polish, a lot of sauce, dumplings, as you guys know here in Chicago. You have a big Polish community. So I don’t miss the food that much but definitely miss the people.”

What was your most recent impulse purchase?

TS: “An impulse buy? Like when you don’t think about something, and you just go buy it? I usually shop like that, actually.”

That can be dangerous.

TS: “Yeah, my wife hates me for that because she needs to try everything on, and I just go and shop for something. But I have a favorite spot in New York. It’s called Y-3 [by designer] Yohji Yamamoto. And I always go there and buy some stuff, and that’s like a must to do when I’m in New York.”

When you’re not playing basketball, what are you doing?

TS: “I think I’m a big foodie. I love discovering new restaurants, new tastes. And I watch a lot of movies, trying to read some books [chuckles], as well. But I have a Blu-ray collection which I’m always following.”

What’s your favorite movie in your Blu-ray collection?

TS: “ ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ ‘Inception.’ That’s one of my favorite movies. Oh, and I love ‘Whiplash.’ That’s, like, one of the last ones because I like it from the athlete standpoint as well as about motivation. So those are my top three.”