By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
New York Knicks forward Guerschon Yabusele opened up on the reasons he didn’t continue with the Philadelphia 76ers after a solid season in his NBA return.
“Leaving Phily wasn’t a major key,” Yabusele said in an interview with SKWEEK. “I was thinking to myself, “Oh my God, I could go back. I didn’t really have any issues over there [like] I wanna leave. I was like, OK if they want to re-sign me and then give me something good, then I will come back for sure. And if they want me to leave, I will leave. I didn’t have any hard feelings or hard time. But they almost didn’t make an offer. They did but it was really low, to be really transparent.”
Yabusele thought that the Sixers undervalued him by making him an offer that didn’t reflect his performances. He 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 7.1 minutes over 2024-25.
“I felt like, “Oh my God you guys, it seems like you don’t really want me to stay’,” Yabusele added. “It was a situation but no hard feelings. I’m always be thankful to them. They gave me my second chance. Everything goes from them. I’ll always be thankful to be able to be part of their franchise, to be there and play the season.”
The New York Knicks did make Yabusele an offer that satisfied him and the French player will continue his career in the Big Apple.
“The Knicks was a great decision,” Yabusele commented. “I feel like their team matches my DNA to fight, to play hard. To be kind of like underdogs and go out and fight every night. What I like about the team is also what they did last season. It’s a couple of teams that we played against and I was looking at them like ‘Oh my God, this team plays good together.’ They are a good team. I can tell it’s a good group of guys. No bad guys, no problems. And I thought it’s a good opportunity to play there. And it’s New York. A big history and franchise.”
“I can really be helpful in their system,” Yabusele also said.
Yabusele returned to the NBA last season after spending three seasons with Real Madrid. He became a EuroLeague champion with the Spanish powerhouse in 2023.