By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Ricky Rubio and Jabari Parker missed the chance to be part of the Basketball Champions League Final Four, which is hosted in their arena in Badalona, but the NBA will be more than present in the event that gets the spotlight this weekend.
The Managing Director of Europe & the Middle East for the NBA, Giorgos Aivazoglou, will be in the stands as Europe is gearing up for the NBA joint project with FIBA.
And also on the court, some very familiar names in the global basketball fandom will be present.
Starting from the backcourt duo of Patty Mills and Marcelo Huertas in Gran Canaria, to the 43rd pick of the 2021 NBA draft, Greg Brown, who is a key player for AEK Athens, there are a lot of big names on the court fighting for the Basketball Champions League trophy.
Of course, former NBA champion with the Spurs, Patty Mills, can be considered the marquee name of the event, where everything can happen in knockout games.
Still, Huertas, a former Laker and for years the top player of the Brazilian national team, is not far behind in international appeal.
AEK not only has Brown, who played a total of 70 NBA games between 2021 and 2024, but also former Timbewolf and EuroLeague champion with Fenerbahce James Nunnally and former Knick Mindaugas Kuzminskas.
The back-to-back BCL champions Unicaja Malaga also includes a familiar former NBA player in their ranks in Chris Duarte, the 13th pick of the 2021 NBA draft, who is turning heads in his first year in Europe.
French former Memphis player Killian Tillie is also a member of Unicaja
And as for Rytas Vilnius, they have in their roster international basketball royalty. Augustas Marciulionis, the son of legendary Sarunas Marciulionis, competes for the underdogs of the Final Four, who are making a splash in the BCL this season and have big dreams for the future.
It’s one more proof that in today’s world, everything is interconnected on every level, and simply put: If you like good basketball, tune in, and you will not be disappointed.