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Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2022 NBA draft, Karlo Matkovic is set to cross the Atlantic Ocean and pursue a career in the league based in North America midway through the 2023-24 season. On Friday, Cedevita Olimpija announced that the 22-year-old Croatian big will be heading to the NBA in February. He is likely to directly join the Pelicans, but the exact path remains unclear. Per the press release: “Karlo Matković, a 208-centimeter-tall center, is leaving for the North American NBA League. Matković, who was one of Cedevita Olimpija’s best players in both competitions, was selected 52nd in a row in the NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2022.
“They were other influences for me to really accept it. I know how good of a league it is, everything doesn’t have to be the NBA. EuroLeague is one of the best basketball leagues in the world, I’m happy to be here”, he went on to add regarding his decision to cross the Atlantic Ocean, said Kemba Walker.
Nevertheless, seeing Zubac putting on a show on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean does not inspire Ante Zizic to look out for the NBA return as the closest potential career goal. "I was playing in the NBA for three years, I gained my shot. I want to focus on this moment and get better every day. I am still 25, and you never know what's going to happen. But right now, I am only focused on Efes," he concluded.
Seeing Ivica Zubac putting on a show on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean does not inspire Ante Zizic to look out for the NBA return as the closest potential career goal. "I was playing in the NBA for three years, I gained my shot. I want to focus on this moment and get better every day. I am still 25, and you never know what's going to happen. But right now, I am only focused on Efes," he concluded.
Ignas Brazdeikis to play in Lithuania
Kaunas-born small forward Ignas Brazdeikis is heading to his hometown Zalgiris. Brazdeikis, 23, was an NBA draft pick in 2017, selected 47th overall by the Sacramento Kings. Five years later, his options lead him back across the Atlantic Ocean and to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Attracting the interest of EuroLeague participants, he reached an agreement with the Kaunas outfit, as reported by Rokas Pakenas of Lithuanian outlet 15min.
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Across the Atlantic Ocean, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appeared to reference Irving during a session of parliament over the star’s purported backing of COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories. “I have been a basketball fan for many years, and I follow the NBA basketball league a lot,” Sanchez told the parliament. “Nowadays, there is a problem in the NBA itself. There are several players who have spoken out against vaccinations. “There is an NBA star who says he does not want to vaccinate because there is a conspiracy to vaccinate blacks and connect them with a computer that has a Satanic plan. This is verbatim.” To be clear, it’s not exactly verbatim and Irving has not said that.
The French Basketball Federation announced Tuesday that Axel Toupane will travel across the Atlantic Ocean accepting an invitation by the Golden State Warriors to take part in the training camp scheduled to begin on December 1 instead of remaining with the national team and playing in the approaching FIBA international window featuring the next batch of EuroBasket qualifiers. “Since the end of the last season my goal is to return to the NBA,” said Toupane, a former player of the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Orleans Pelicans, “I know that if I am in shape and with my experience, I have a real chance. I know the players better, I know my game better, I am overall better suited than three years ago.”
No longer separated by the league’s governing rules as if it were as big as the Atlantic Ocean, on the late-May day they finally officially reconvened smiles were permanently frozen on their faces. “It was great. Even just the first time I was in the gym and he walked in, it was a surreal moment,” Hernandez said. “He just yelled out, ‘My guy!’ He was just so amped up. He started clapping. We gave each other a big hug and it just felt right.”
But the precise setting for Durant’s meetings with his coveters has remained undisclosed until now. It all happened at 189 Further Lane, a five-bedroom, 7,400-square-foot estate one block from the Atlantic Ocean. If a Warriors fan who truly appreciates the significance of what happened on this property would like to own it as the ultimate souvenir, it’s on the market for just under $15 million. Further Lane is not just any road in the Hamptons. Behind hedges dense and tall, its homes have long sheltered a mix of posh and artsy. Jerry Seinfeld, Jann Wenner and Larry Gagosian have or have had homes down the street that way. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s childhood summer retreat, Lasata, is up the road the other way. “As soon as Rich started walking towards the house, he was elbowing me,” Gallanti said, referring to Durant’s manager, Rich Kleiman. “He was like, ‘This is the house.’” Durant paid $100,000 for the 10-day rental.
It seems that Malcolm Delaney will take his talents from Europe to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The All-Euroleague guard turned down Barcelona and will not show any interest to any other European teams. According to Eurohoops’ sources, Delaney said “no” to the Catalans’ offer of $5 million net income for two years. Since he wants to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA, he is going to focus his attention on finding the contract he desires with a team from the best league in the world.
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A Miami Heat dancer who watched her iPhone fall into the Atlantic Ocean never thought she would see it again, much less that her phone would be returned to her in the mouth of a dolphin. And that is exactly what happened. The dancer, who goes by the stage name Teressa Cee, traveled with her teammates to the Bahamas earlier this month for a photoshoot.
A trio of the biggest future stars for the Philadelphia 76ers - Michael-Carter Williams, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid - flew across the Atlantic Ocean to come to the Croatia-Puerto Rico game at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup to support a fourth future cornerstone of the organisation - Croatia's Dario Saric. "We came out here to support Dario. He's a great player. It's my first time seeing him and I'm very impressed and excited about the future and having him be a part of what we’re building in Philadelphia," said Noel, the first of two first round picks for the Sixers in the 2013 NBA Draft, but who sat out last season due to a knee surgery.
General Manager Billy King had no intention of bringing the 6-foot-9 native of the Republic of Georgia across the Atlantic Ocean right away, but Shengelia’s agent, Guy Zucker, convinced him otherwise. As the Nets’ Orlando Summer League team continued their four-day training camp on Saturday morning, Zucker continued to look good for asking and King continued to look good for listening.
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