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Ex-NBA players in EuroLeague: Which team has the most? – BasketNews.com

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1 year ago

November 27, 2023

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Barcelona takes NBA experience to the top, leading the EuroLeague with 1396 games split between six players. Zalgiris stand out as the lone EuroLeague team with no NBA experience following Naz Mitrou-Long’s departure.
An increasing number of former NBA players choose to embrace the EuroLeague basketball, enticed by its distinctive physicality, memorable fan experiences in packed arenas, and a relentless every-game-matters mentality.

Willy Hernangomez

MIN:	17.21
PTS:	10.89 (57.27%)
REB:	4.67
As:	0.11
ST:	0.44
BL:	0.33
TO:	1.44
GM:	9

Instead of pursuing diminished roles in the U.S., players like Semi Ojeleye, who previously played for the Celtics, Bucks, and Clippers, view the EuroLeague as a genuine competitor to the NBA. Ojeleye notes the league’s toughness and the continuous elevation of talent, making it an increasingly appealing destination for top-tier athletes.
“It is a tough league, and it’s getting better all the time,” Ojeleye affirms about the EuroLeague. “It is already a good league, and by adding more players coming from the NBA, the talent is going to keep rising, and I think those guys realize that it is as big of a challenge as it is to play in the NBA.”
Nine-season NBA veteran Mike Scott agrees with the current Valencia Basket forward.
“Love of basketball. It’s high-level basketball. If you are not playing in the NBA, it doesn’t mean you cannot play high-level basketball,” Scott shares, explaining why many ex-NBA players find fulfillment in Europe. “It’s high-level here: great players, great coaches, great organizations, competition, and, of course, fans. I like the level of competition, and I enjoy it [this EuroLeague experience].”
The recent additions of Kendrick Nunn and Chris Chiozza to EuroLeague teams further underscore this trend.
With their arrivals and the recent departure of Frank Jackson from ASVEL, the EuroLeague now has 95 former NBA players competing in the league (32.8% of all players on the rosters), most of them based at Real Madrid — nine athletes.
Disclaimer: Crvena Zvezda power forward Nemanja Bjelica was excluded from this article and all countings, as the future of his basketball career is up in the air amid retirement rumors. He spent six seasons in the NBA, playing 449 regular-season games and claiming the championship with Golden State in 2022.

Nikola Mirotic

Team:	EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Position:	PF
Age:	32
Height:	208 cm
Weight:	102 kg
Birth place:	Podgorica, Montenegro

The alignment of NBA experience with the performance of EuroLeague teams is evident, especially when considering the top contenders.
For example, three of last season’s Final Four participants and this season’s teams in the upper part of the table — Real, Barcelona, and Monaco — are leading the league in terms of NBA regular-season games played by their players.
Barca takes the lead in this regard, amassing a total of 1396 games among six key players: Tomas Satoransky, Willy Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, Alex Abrines, Jan Vesely, and Nicolas Laprovittola.
Real Madrid secure the second spot with 1255 matches contributed by their nine former NBA athletes, while Monaco claims the third position with eight players accumulating 1232 contests.
However, some teams exhibit quite significant distinctions between NBA experience and recent EuroLeague performance.
ASVEL and Bayern, ranking fourth (1214 games) and fifth (1210) in NBA experience, find themselves at the bottom of the ratings despite their substantial NBA background.
Maccabi (16th with 205 games) and Olympiacos (14th with 418) defy this trend, achieving higher positions than their NBA experience might suggest. This applies to the previous season as well.
Interestingly, Zalgiris Kaunas is the only EuroLeague team with no NBA experience following Naz Mitrou-Long‘s exit. That could change if the Lithuanian champions would materialize a deal with Kevin Pangos, a former Cleveland Cavaliers guard.
Regarding individuals, Bayern center Serge Ibaka stands out as the EuroLeague player with the most extensive NBA experience.
He is a 14-year NBA veteran who has played 919 games in the strongest league. The 34-year-old is also one of nine NBA champions gracing the EuroLeague court and two-time NBA blocks leader in 2012 and 2013.
Behind him is legendary Italian sharpshooter Marco Belinelli. Slowly approaching his 38th birthday, Belinelli has spent 13 seasons across the Atlantic, featuring in 860 regular-season outings, winning the NBA 3-Point Contest in 2014, and claiming the Larry O’Brien Trophy with San Antonio the same year.
Arguably, the loudest off-season arrival to Europe — Kemba Walker — concludes the podium here.
Walker is the only NBA All-Star who plays in the EuroLeague, having been selected to the show event four times from 2017 to 2020. In addition, the star guard earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in 2019, and he now brings 750 NBA games of experience to the EuroLeague.
As mentioned before, Ibaka and Belinelli are two of nine NBA champs playing in the EuroLeague. Others include Chiozza, Jordan Loyd, Ognjen Kuzmic, Rodrigue Beaubois, Elijah Bryant, Devontae Cacok, and Kostas Antetokounmpo.
Only three athletes have a double win of NBA and EuroLeague championships. Kuzmic won the EuroLeague with Real in 2018, Beaubois is a back-to-back champion with Anadolu Efes in 2021 and 2022, and his teammate, Bryant, secured a title in 2022.
The latter is a unique one among all, as he won the NBA and EuroLeague trophies in two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). Bryant joined former Los Angeles Lakers forward Jim Brewer as the only professional hoopers to win the top basketball championships in the two continents in back-to-back years.
Brewer, now 71, was the second pick in the NBA Draft. He played the center position, mostly for the Cleveland Cavaliers (1973-79), before winning the NBA title with the Lakers in 1982.
At 30, he moved overseas for Pallacanestro Cantu, lifting the European title in 1983 with the Italian team.
Overall, the numbers above illustrate that Ibaka and Belinelli could be considered the most experienced and influential former NBA players who recently transitioned to the EuroLeague.
Their extensive NBA careers, coupled with some noteworthy individual achievements, position them as standout figures in this pack.
Total: 1255 games
Total: 418 games
Total: 1232 games
Total: 1396 games
Total: 205 games
Total: 705 games
Total: 0 games
Total: 809 games
Total: 195 games
Total: 500 games
Total: 564 games
Total: 511 games
Total: 478 games
Total: 1009 games
Total: 394 games
Total: 1214 games
Total: 893 games
Total: 1210 games