Oklahoma City Thunder 76
Final game in Spain for Fernandez, Ibaka, Splitter: Tiago goes for 19, but Real Madrid routs Valencia, 81-64
Big-name NBA refugees Rudy Fernandez, Serge Ibaka and Tiago Splitter will soon be heading back to the ‘States, thus making yesterday’s Real Madrid-Valencia Basket game the last appearance for each in Spain in 2011-12. Fernandez and Ibaka left Los Blancos in quite good position, leading the way to the 81-64 win against the short-handed Valencia […]
Serge Ibaka brilliant vs. Spirou, at Zaragoza; says “I wish I could stay, but…” (Highlights!)
The BallinEurope reverse jinx works again … two days after BiE posted (via Tu Basket) that perhaps folks in Real Madrid land weren’t too happy with Serge Ibaka’s performance for Los Blancos, the no-longer locked out Oklahoma City Thunderer became the block machine again against Spirou Charleroi on Thursday with five swats added to 12 […]
D-Willed to victory: Deron Williams goes for incredible 50 points vs. BG Göttingen [Updated]
Now *this* is what Beşiktaş Milangaz fans have been waiting for: In the Eagles’ third FIBA Eurochallenge game of the 2011-12 season, expensive NBA lockout signing Deron Williams emphatically displayed his NBA skills against BG Göttingen last night, going for a career high (and BiE believes all-time Eurochallenge) 50 points in his side’s 105-94 victory; […]
Serge Ibaka disappointing; Real Madrid to get another chance at LaMarcus Aldridge in January?
When Real Madrid signed locked-out Oklahoma City Thunder blocksmith Serge Ibaka, he figured to be the missing piece to a puzzle the Spanish side’s been seeking for a few seasons now: A swatting specialist with speed, defensive skills and the proverbial tremendous upside. Today, Spain-based Tu Basket reveals that, prior to Ibaka signing with Real, […]
Kevin Durant to sign with BBC Bayreuth, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Valencia … or all three?
Yet another strange twist in the NBA Nuclear Winter! BallinEurope was tipped off by European Prospects’ Christophe about a Germany-based Die Welt story which has Kevin Durant signing with … BBC Bayreuth. Indeed, club spokesman Michael Birkhan is quoted as saying that “We expect a decision [from Durant] on Wednesday.” (BiE’s assuming that means next […]
Report: Valencia wants second chance to offer “on the fence” Kevin Durant, Nike a deal
Yahoo! Sports this morning reported that at least three major clubs – Euroleaguers Maccabi Tel Aviv, EuroCup side Valencia Basket and, interestingly enough, BBC Bayreuth of Germany – have put forth offers for Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant to play in Europe while the NBA player lockout continues. And according to Spain-based basketball website […]
Watching the Las Vegas Superstar Challenge online
In the wake of the NBA lockout, those players from the big league not hawking their wares in Europe or elsewhere overseas are looking to schedule alternative games. Though a big-name international tour appears to be stalling at present, this weekend will see quite an exhibition in the four-team “Las Vegas Superstar Challenge” headed up […]
Serge Ibaka “wants to play at least a month or two” in Spain
Already the rare naturalized player on Team Spain, Serge Ibaka would reportedly like to extend his commitment to his adopted home country. Hoops Hype today is posting quotes from an unnamed source vis-à-vis the possibility of the Oklahoma City Thunderer joining an ACB team while the NBA lockout drags on. “He wants to play at […]
Greatest of all-time: Yugoslavia or Spain?
An interesting exchange of tweets went down last Friday (yes, minus points for untimeliness, but on another job BallinEurope thought deep into the matter all weekend) between HoopsHype/ESPN Deportes writer Jorge Sierra and Team Australia/Milwaukee Bucks big man Andrew Bogut. Things started innocuously enough, with Sierra plugging a Spanish-language piece he’d written for Deportes: “An […]
Beşiktaş Cola Turka eschewing Kobe for Kevin Durant?
Turkey-based news outlets are this morning reporting that Beşiktaş Cola Turka, a.k.a. Deron Williams’ new and Allen Iverson’s former team, is setting its sights on Kevin Durant as Kobe Bryant has not yet responded to overtures from the big-thinking TBL club. Turkish news outlet Milliyet stated that Durant’s agent Aaron Goodwin met with Beşiktaş president […]
Ibaka: “It would be nice” to play in Spain during NBA lockout
Add Serge Ibaka to the list of NBA players willing to suit up for a European team in 2010-11 in the wake of the lockout situation. Ibaka played for Manresa of the Spanish national league for the 2008-09 season, and the official ACB website has posted excerpts from an interview the Oklahoma City Thunderer gave […]
Dastardly Dirk versus The Big Z: Who deserves a ring more?
The two have played a combined 1,837 regular-season NBA games, scoring over 33,750 points while nabbing more than 14,500 rebounds over 24½ full seasons. Each has rewritten the franchise record books of the team for which he spent the overwhelming majority of his career. Each has been underrated for much, if not all, of his […]