I am going to tell you about a rising new star you probably haven’t heard of: Marko Arapovic of Cedevita Zagreb, which has advanced to the Final 16. But first, a few words on some familiar names who could be missing out. Maccabi Tel Aviv won its sixth European Basketball title in 2014 (under David Blatt, you may remember.) Then last year, Real Madrid shook off a 21-year drought to win their ninth title, the most of any team in Europe. With losses next
Among the 14 players selected in the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery, only Sixers picks Joel Embiid and Dario Saric have yet to play in an NBA game. Embiid, the third overall pick, has been sidelined with a debilitating foot injury for the entirety of his NBA career, sitting on Philly’s bench in street clothes for a year and a half now. Saric, selected 10th by the Magic and then swapped for Elfrid Payton, has been in Istanbul in Andolu Efes colors,
So, two groups of Russians and a group of Spaniards walk into a bar—stop me if you’ve heard this one … Sitting on one end is first Russian contingent, from CSKA Moscow, calmly sipping on warm vodka. They’ve had four, and they’ve yet to slur a word. They might have six or eight more before it’s all over, and if you ask them for their keys, they’ll shoot you a How dare you? glance before walking out when they damn well please and
NEW YORK – Dragan Bender is the trending name amongst NBA general managers and executives after Maccabi Tel Aviv’s tour in Chicago and New York. At 17, the Croatian forward has the league drooling over his long-term potential and future lottery teams scheming for the ping-pong balls to select the 7-footer in next year’s draft. League executives and scouts from Denver, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Utah were on hand at Madison Square Garden to watch Bender. “Closest thing to Pau (Gasol)
You may not have heard of these guys recently, but you might be hearing of them in the days ahead. Sixty players will hear their names called in New York this coming Thursday at the 2015 NBA Draft, but some of the greatest excitement on draft night comes from the high volume of trades. From the hours leading up to the draft until the start of free agency, teams start to shake up their rosters, giving eager fans a sense of which
On Friday, four of Europe’s top teams head to Madrid to compete in Europe’s premier basketball competition, the Euroleague Final Four. Several NBA scouts and GMs will get a live look at the action to see if they can find some new international talent. Which future NBA players will make their name known this weekend? Which former NBA players will shine with the pressure on? Here is a guide for the casual NBA fan on what to watch for in NBATV’s broadcast of the
In a rematch of last season’s Euroleague Championship, Maccabi Tel-Aviv narrowly edged out previously undefeated Real Madrid 90-86 for an important Top 16 victory on Thursday night. Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis (known as Sofo in Europe), stood out for Maccabi Tel-Aviv, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the opening period, and drawing eight fouls to go along with his eight rebounds. Former Memphis Grizzlies guard Jeremy Pargo also put in a strong performance for the winning side, going for 11
The Euroleague, European basketball’s top level of competition, just finished the first half of the 4th round of the Top 16 round. With some of Europe’s top teams taking the floor, we take a look at some of the top performers around the league through Thursday night in this week’s Eurohoops update. [Read more…]