Nikola Mirotic was said to be in line for at least one contract offer in the three-year, $45MM range if he had remained in the NBA last summer, but he opted instead to return to the country where he began his professional career, signing with Barcelona. While he may not be earning quite as lucrative a salary in Spain, the veteran forward is enjoying a successful season so far.
The EuroLeague announced this week that Mirotic has been named the league’s MVP for the month of February, the equivalent of the NBA’s Player of the Month award. It’s the second time this season that Mirotic has earned the honor — he knocked down a pair of game-winning shots in February and averaged 21.0 PPG for the month. His Barcelona squad is now 20-6, good for third in the EuroLeague standings.
Here are more notes from around the international basketball world:
- Former NBA forward Joel Bolomboy has signed a two-year contract extension with Russia’s CSKA Moscow, the club announced this week in a press release. Bolomboy, a former Weber State standout who appeared in 18 NBA games between 2016-18 for Utah and Milwaukee, is now under contract with the EuroLeague club through the 2021/22 season.
- Veteran guard Toney Douglas, who played 394 regular season NBA games from 2010-17, has signed with Italian team Pallacanestro Varese for the remainder of the season, the club announced in a press release (hat tip to Sportando). Douglas has also played in Turkey and Spain since last suiting up for an NBA team.
- After testing the draft waters a year ago, French prospect Abdoulaye N’Doye wasn’t sure he’d be drafted and decided to try to improve his stock leading up to his final year of eligibility. So far, N’Doye’s plan to bet on himself has been a success, according to Jeff Greer of The Athletic, who explores how the young guard’s impressive season for Cholet Basket has improved his standing on big boards for 2020.
Cool!
Actually, Mirotić’s home country is Crna Gora, or Montenegro. He is only naturalized Spaniard.
Good catch, fixed that, thanks.
Oh, it was easy for me to catch – I also have that funny “ić” in my surname. But your willingness to react to readers’ comments is commendable and highly appreciated. Thank you for all the work you are doing – as a NBA fan, I find your site very useful and time saving.
I find Mirotic’s situation odd. Has there ever been another case of a successful NBA player in his prime choosing to play in Europe instead?
On top of my mind, Danilović did the same over 20 years ago. Also Navarro. They were scoring in double figures and could have easily secured new NBA contracts, but both decided to return to Europe after their short stints in NBA.