By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The recent COVID-19 outbreak in the NBA left teams with a lot of vacancies on their rosters and led to the short-term signing of players who were previously far from a top option by franchises. One of them is former two-time NBA champion Mario Chalmers.
Chalmers found his way back in the NBA by signing a 10-day hardship deal with the Miami Heat. The same team he won the championship title with in 2012 and 2013.
“The best part of it is just being back,” Chalmers said to The Undefeated. “Going through what I went through. Having an Achilles injury and going overseas playing for a couple of years and just seeing a different kind of basketball. I’m just happy to be back where I started and back where I belong.”
That overseas experience and the “different kind of basketball” that Chalmers is talking about included trips to Italy and Greece. He began his European journey with Italian powerhouse Virtus Bologna and had success with the team winning the 2019 Basketball Champions League. He then went to play for Greek sides AEK Athens and Aris Thessaloniki.
“I was humbled to go overseas,” Chalmers admitted. “That was a whole different ballgame. A whole different space. I was tired of going overseas. Not getting my money. Not getting paid on time.”