By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
There’s a history between Tyrese Rice and Real Madrid. The two collapsed in Milan during the EuroLeague Final Four 2014 when the former had an unbelievable 26-point night to give Maccabi Tel Aviv the glory.
But the 36-year-old himself wished to have spent time with the Spanish team not only as an opponent – he was their fiercest of rivals in 2016-17, playing for enemies FC Barcelona -, but also as a representative of the most titled’s clubs in EuroLeague history.
During the latest EurohooPOD episode, the former Panathinaikos guard shared a desire he always had as a player back in the day of his overseas professional career when asked about a team he would have liked to play for. “Probably [Real] Madrid”, he first admitted.
Then, he went on to analyze the reasons behind this desire. “For whatever season I always wanted to play at Madrid. Honestly, I always felt it would be a pretty good fit. I thought I would be able to show things in my game that probably people didn’t know about me”, he later added.
“A lot of people, as I got around 2015-16, being a main guy on teams, probably got the feeling I was ball-dominant”, he explained by referring to what his role was on a lot of teams across Europe, including Khimki and AEK, for example.
“In reality, I would love to be out there with six or seven guys that can take over the game. That would make it easier for me. We only saw one example of Madrid with one guy that went out there and did whatever he wanted night in and night out, talking about Luka [Doncic]”, Tyrese Rice finally said.
Averaging 11.2 points and 4.2 assists throughout his four-season EuroLeague career, he also shined in both EuroCup and Basketball Champions League, being named MVP in both competitions with Khimki and Brose Bamberg.
During his conversation in the latest EurohooPOD episode, he also touched on the secret that pushed Maccabi Tel Aviv towards winning the 2014 EuroLeague championship, while also addressing some problems USA Basketball is going through.
Listen to the newest EurohooPOD episode w/ Tyrese Rice on Spotify:
Listen to the newest EurohooPOD episode w/ Tyrese Rice on Apple Podcasts:
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images