Rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina is set to embark on his first year in the league with the New York Knicks.

A couple of years before being drafted into the NBA, Ntilikina participated in a Jordan Brand Classic where he had the opportunity to meet Michael Jordan for the first time to which he asked him what made him successful and the Hall of Famer gave him back a thoughtful answer, according to his personal piece on The Players' Tribune.

“What you have to do is love basketball. You can’t be great unless you really love the game. Once you love basketball more than anyone else in the world, then you’re willing to sacrifice. You’re willing to wake up early. You’re willing to do what it takes to be the best. But first, you have to really love it.”

Throughout his illustrious career, Jordan had exemplified and professed his love for the game of basketball on many occasions. This helped him reach the level of stardom and skill to be mentioned in the conversation as arguably the best player ever to play in the NBA.

This is clearly something that Ntilikina still holds near and dear to himself over the last couple of years. He has an opportunity in front of him with a potentially large role with the Knicks in his first campaign as possibly the starting point guard.

It's a deep-rooted message that can have a major impact on the player he will become over his NBA career.