Last season, the Adriatic League produced some of the top talents in the NBA draft, with Dario Saric, Jusuf Nurkic, Bogdan Bogdanovic going in the first round, and Nikola Jokic, Vasilije Micic and Nemanja Dangubic being selected in the second round. While we likely will not see six more NBA draft picks this season from the Adriatic League, there is little doubt that with the rich basketball tradition in the former Yugoslavian countries, it is no surprise that again young talent
Which former first-round picks are trying to earn their way back to the NBA via Europe? Gone are the days where being a first-round pick nearly guarantees at least a four-year NBA career, with several opportunities to produce before teams give up on you. With the new CBA, teams are cutting costs from every possible angle, and with many options for minimum salary players from the D-League and overseas developing, more and more first-round picks are finding themselves on the outside
This past week, the first stage of the major European competitions, the Euroleague, Eurocup and Eurochallenge group stages, came to a close. The final week of the Euroleague finished with a bang, with Unics Kazan failing to reach the top 16 despite having a high-budget roster featuring Keith Langford, after being upset by fellow Russian squad Nizhny Novgorod, who were playing without their star guard Taylor Rochestie. Although most of the European basketball community may be focusing on Europe’s top competitions, NBA
In recent years, there has been an increase of U.S. ex-pats returning from stints in Europe to realize their goal of returning to the NBA and making an impact. Some, such as P.J. Tucker, Chris Copeland, Gerald Green and Danny Green, have even been able to make big impacts on their teams after honing their craft in Europe. With only one week left in the Euroleague regular season before the Top 16 round begins, here is a look at some of
Overshadowing what was a fantastic week in European basketball, the overseas hoops community was struck by shock and despair. Just after the 10th anniversary of the famous Malice at the Palace, an even more tragic confrontation went down in Turkey, as a 25 year old Serbian fan was murdered just prior to a Euroleague game between Galatasaray and Red Star Belgrade. As a coach, there are very few things that give you more motivation than seeing your home fans give you undying
The 76ers may be piling up the losses stateside, but the seeds of their rebuilding plan are slowly growing thousands of miles away as a couple of their Eurostash prospects are beginning to sprout. Which American just left Europe and is a possible candidate to sign with the Lakers? What has former first rounder James Anderson been up to this season? David Blatt’s Cavaliers may be under the microscope by not starting off the season as strong as anticipated, but what is going
Welcome to my inaugural EuroHoops update column. You will be getting these once per week, and I will be keeping you abreast of all the guys who may one day be headed to the NBA, or those who already have been there and won’t be going back … like the first guy we are checking in on. [Read more…]
Who are this year’s international men of mystery whose names will be called at the 2014 NBA draft? We already have looked at Dante Exum, who is a near lock for the top five, as well as Dario Saric and Jusuf Nurkic, a pair of bigs playing in Croatia who could be in the lottery. However, this international class goes a bit deeper, with a few established players who can play right away, plus the usual draft-and-stash candidates who could come to the league after a few years of