By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Although he was in talks with Koper Primorksa as well as Trieste, the 35-year-old Slovenian center Mirza Begic decided it was time to retire after 17 years of professional basketball.
“I don’t want to go abroad anymore. Wherever I was alone, I felt very cramped. As a result, I couldn’t play at the desired level. Besides, in these circumstances, club contracts aren’t so tempting to risk a year or two without a family,” Begic said, per SiolNET.
Looking back at his long career, the Slovenian big can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed: “Oh, what an ‘Indian’ I was when I started to play basketball more seriously. Remembering myself, I am surprised that I succeeded at all. That is why I am all the more grateful to everyone who stood by my side.”
Begic played across the globe and won a total of 12 trophies in Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Baltic League and the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. He was the blocked shots leader in the 2011 EuroLeague as well as in the 2011 EuroBasket. Among all that, he would choose playing for Real Madrid the peak of his career.
“I would describe Real as the highlight of my career, especially 2013, when we played in the Euroleague final in London but lost to Olympiacos.”