We are often fascinated by NBA players who come to play in the EuroLeague. Think for example of when Nikola Mirotic, before Covid, signed that crazy contract with Barcelona. It was pandemonium among EuroLeague fans because it is difficult for an NBA rotation basketball player to decide to give up his career overseas to return to Europe.
This, however, made us think and fantasize. What if some NBA phenoms decided to leave the U.S. to play the EuroLeague, just for the allure of competing in the Old Content? Then again, Kevin Durant himself has said that he would like to finish his career at Barça, it’s not like we made it up. Here, what we can do is turn that dream into reality — more or less.
Kevin Durant – Barcelona
KD in Catalunya is the most obvious because precisely it is his wish. In May he came to Europe to watch his friend Mike James, a Monaco player,’s EuroLega playoff game against Olympiacos. Durant was naturally enraptured by the spectacle of the Peace and Friendship Stadium, commonly called Piraeus. Moreover, in 2019 it was he himself who said he would have liked to play with Barcelona toward the end of his career. Will that ever happen? Why not? The Brooklyn Nets phenom certainly doesn’t need the money, and it would still be a way to boost his popularity in Europe, which has been dimmed by the bulky presence of King James, whom we tell you about now, because he will clearly join him, again in Spain.
LeBron James – Real Madrid
Messi vs. Ronaldo. Barcelona versus Real Madrid. Why not replay the same duel in basketball? The companies are the same, the popularity almost. We can say that everything is ready for a Clasico in which Durant and LeBron will compete. Then again, where else could King James settle if not in the team of the Kings of Spain, Real Madrid? LBJ could bring his royal crown to the State of Kings and the most basketballically advanced state in Europe, especially in terms of facilities. King James, the King of Spain.
Russell Westbrook – Olimpia Milano
With all the money King (here, another King) Giorgio Armani is spending, doesn’t he want to bring an NBA MVP to Milan? The first ever to close out a regular season with a triple-double average, including two years in a row? Okay, okay, now you all hate him because he was detrimental in Los Angeles, you’re right. But, guys, Westbrook’s physical overpower would give European defenses a run for their money, be honest. Ah, what does that have to do with Milan? Well, you know what Fashion Week is right? Have you ever seen Westbrook before a game how he tans? Do we need to tell you anything else or have you connected on your own? With his crazy outfits, Armani might even hire him as a designer, of course without a pay raise eh.
Joel Embiid – Panathinaikos
The next two are similar but different. Both Embiid and Draymond Green are two who put in the “garra”. However, one plays cleanly, the other plays super super dirty. That’s why they couldn’t play together but would be fantastic rivals. The Philadelphia 76ers center would exult in playing at OAKA with almost 20,000 Greeks there to support him. He would become the idol of the crowds, something legendary that fathers would tell their children about, sort of like the mythological figures of Ancient Greece. Joel Embiid would become the new Zeus. An unbeatable deity — and unmatchable!
Draymond Green – Partizan Belgrade
The #23 of the Golden State Warriors has made trash talking a trademark that has led him to win 4 rings (the last one a few days ago) with the Californians and to be named 2017 Defensive Player of the Year. Where else could he play in Europe but Serbia, at Zelimir Obradovic’s Partizan Belgrade? The former Fenerbahce, Panathinaikos and Treviso coach’s competitive strength, combined with Draymond’s, would return a hot cocktail. Which would then turn into an impregnable Štark Arena, a veritable fortress that opposing teams would fear, even more than they fear now.
