The new season is upon us and Milos Teodosic returns to his official blog on Eurohoops with one more big and historic decoration: the silver medal in the Olympic Games!
In his last post he sent the message that this chance in Rio is the greatest challenge of his generation and the mission was accomplished in the best possible way!
Milos, who once again showed his basketball credentials, had an amazing tournament and is now getting ready for the new season with CSKA Moscow, takes stock of Rio and opens the door to the NBA.
“I feel hungrier than ever for basketball and titles”
At this time of the year, all the players are counting down, waiting for the official games to get underway! I am not an exception to this… We’re already working and the objectives are clear. We want to repeat last season and win every title. Especially the Back to Back in the Euroleague in its new form is a major challenge for us.
We have a great roster and the only thing we need is to stay healthy. We are expecting the several injured players that we have to return and it’s going to be a very long season. I have faith in the organization, my coach and his associates, and my teammates. We want to present great basketball throughout the season and be prepared to defend our reign in the spring. That’s when everything will be decided!
There’s nothing more important for a successful championship team than to retain its base. Not only has CSKA managed that 100%, they’ve even been reinforced. I won’t hide that I feel a somewhat tired physically from the consecutive commitments. Mentally, though, I feel great and I’m hungrier than ever for good basketball and more titles with my team…
National team of Serbia: longevity and a gold medal!
The journey and the experience in Rio was something amazing for all of us. We accomplished our goal, but there is a very long tradition behind the jersey that we wear and in sports, longevity is what counts most of all. The new challenge is to keep Serbia up there, among the best teams in the world and after winning the 2nd place in two tournaments in which every team in the world takes part, what is missing and what we dream of is a gold medal. Which will make us complete as a team and rank us even higher in our nation’s basketball history. We have a lot more to offer as a generation and we are going to prove it!
Yes to the NBA, if I continue to enjoy basketball
In the past I felt that playing in the NBA was not something really close to me. Now, I think about it. I want to travel to the States, play in the NBA and compete against the best players in the world. Maybe now I am more ready mentally and also on the court. I know what I can do it, I believe in myself and I have no doubts or second thoughts.
I am in the best phase of my career, I play for the Euroleague champs and I enjoy the most important thing for me since I was a kid, playing on open courts. I enjoy basketball. I will not risk losing that because this is the only thing that I really need.
I need a team with a plan and high goals
I want to feel that an NBA team knows my game, has a plan for me and can use me in a unit with real chemistry while having high goals and being competitive. I want to win, to be motivated and to feel that the coaches and the organization trust me. It’s important when you play to have high goals. That’s what I’ve been doing since I was a kid, I was chasing championship titles.
I want to go to the NBA and I know that I can establish myself there and really contribute. I will not sign anywhere just to be able to say that I played in the NBA. I need the whole package that will excite me. So it depends on what offers I get as a free agent and the way the teams approach and talk to me.
Ιf I end up in the NBA, I just want to be able to be myself. The spaces on the court are bigger compared to Europe, traps on defense and hedge outs to guards are rare, while there are many great shooters and big men who can finish the pick and roll. I think that those are keys for my game, I could adjust easily and produce high-quality basketball. I don’t care about my numbers, that’s not the point. The point is to play the basketball that I can and really influence the game of my team, help it be more effective.
Still, I have one more season with CSKA Moscow, we are the defending champs, we want to repeat and win every competition we take part in like we did last year…
Be well, Milos