Longtime NBA center Boban Marjanovic, who began the 2024/25 season with Fenerbahce in Turkey, is taking his talents to China after being released by his EuroLeague club, according to a report from Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops). That report states that Marjanovic is joining the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Marjanovic, who averaged just 8.7 minutes per game over the course of 331 regular season NBA appearances across nine seasons, also played a limited role with Fenerbahce, logging 10.0 MPG in six EuroLeague outings and 12.3 MPG in seven Turkish League contests. Fenerbahce decided against exercising its rest-of-season option on the 7’4″ center, making him a free agent.
Marjanovic has no shortage of international basketball experience, having played in Serbia, Russia, and Lithuania before making the move to the NBA in 2015. However, this will be the first time that he has played for a team in China.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the international basketball world:
- Turkish wing Furkan Korkmaz, who spent seven NBA seasons in Philadelphia, has returned to his native country, signing with Bahcesehir, according to an announcement from the club (Twitter link). Korkmaz began this season with AS Monaco, but recent reporting indicated that he planned to transfer ahead of the EuroLeague’s deadline. In addition to competing domestically in Turkey, Bahcesehir currently has a 10-2 record in EuroCup play.
- Former NBA forward/center Luka Samanic has officially signed with Baskonia, as expected, the Spanish team announced today in a press release. It has been an eventful few months for Samanic, who initially signed with Fenerbahce after finishing the 2023/24 season with the Jazz, but didn’t play for the Turkish team, instead returning to his home country of Croatia and playing with KK Cibona this fall. Now he’s back in the EuroLeague.
- Speaking to Grant Asfeth of RG.org about his decision to retire from the French national team, veteran Clippers forward Nicolas Batum explained that he felt the program was in good hands with all the young talent coming up behind him, led by rising star Victor Wembanyama. “I could retire peacefully from the national team. I don’t have to play every summer because there’s a new generation coming up,” Batum said. “Good guys are coming in the next draft. I feel like I’ve done my job for the country. I tried to inspire the young guys. They tell me they watched me when they were younger, and I like that. My son is eight, and he’s a fan of this generation now. It’s great for the country.”
- Aris Barkas of Eurohoops explores what the NBA’s rumored foray into European basketball might look like, reporting that Paris Basketball is among the clubs the NBA is targeting for its new league, while EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid has also been in contact with the NBA.
The most entertaining NBA ads contain Boban…
It’s a shame he isn’t riding a bench somewhere in the league…
A good morale end of bench guy…
The NBA is trying to get rid of veterans unless you are a SUPERSTARRR
Just a sign of the times…
Oh wait these old workers aren’t getting replaced by AI…
Hang on… What was that Disney stuff on Xmas day? Lol
Seems Euro Ls would be a good place to find bench help. NBA should be monitoring it more closely. Teams don’t have to give up assets to sign them.
He gave em chicken…He’s a man of the people!
I do kinda like the idea of a more formalized NBA/European league. If the G-League was a proper pro league instead of a half-a**ed attempt at replicating the MLB minor league system, it would be far better.
Who do you think would go to those games? Not everyone is a hoops head like you or me.
I live about 5 miles from where the Maine Celtics play and the games are pretty much packed every night. If they didn’t have NBA Affiliation maybe 100 people would show up.
It’s Europe. Sports affiliation is crazy different there. I have relatives in Stuttgart, Germany. They support their local pro baseball team (baseball not being a prominent European sport at all), and the games are pretty packed each time. It’s not just entertainment to many Europeans, it’s a way of life.
What I mean with the G-League is that it shouldn’t be half-a**ed. It should be a full-out attempt to mimic MiLB. Multiple levels. Promotion/demotion based on performances within the leagues. Formal prospect tracking for up-and-comers. Instead of the G-League Ignite and its failed system and lack of coaching for a *single team*, make it a true developmental league. The College game is very different from the NBA, and sometimes the learning curve is just too steep. Similar to College baseball. Only very few players make the jump straight to the Majors, and it’s mostly relief pitchers in baseball. Giving a more spread-out developmental curve when it’s needed would lower the bust rate of prospects substantially, imo.