By Achilleas Mavrodontis / info@eurohoops.net
The number of players making a transition from NBA to Euroleague has been increasing in recent years and Dwayne Bacon has been one of those guys.
The former Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic guard took the opportunity to play in Europe and he’s since gotten to appreciate the different style of play, that’s sometimes tougher than in the NBA.
“It’s tough over here. At the end of the day, it’s very very tough over here. And I learned that from coming over, it’s tough. You just have to come over here and be ready to play through contact that they let you play with here more than they do in the NBA. It’s a lot more aggressive than the NBA and you have to be ready for everything,” Bacon told Eurohoops.
He also talked about Monaco and his role on the team which helped him shine brighter. He is ready to put it all on display in Game 4 as well.
“As soon as I left the NBA and decided to play for Monaco and the Euroleague, everyone told me ‘this is a hard league, sometimes it’s harder to score here than in the NBA’. It’s a great league, honestly. I feel like I made the most out of this opportunity this year. We are in a win-or-go-home game and I’m ready to compete at the highest level in order to stay,” he said and explained why he’s been feeling so comfortable this year.
“I just came over here looking to play, getting the opportunity. When Monaco called me, I got a perfect opportunity to display my talent. I felt like anything’s possible if you got the chance to display your talent. I finally got the chance to be myself, play my game and it hasn’t felt like that since college. And it’s been great over here, I can’t complain about it. My first year, Monaco’s first year, we made the playoffs, we are in a dogfight in this series and I’m just enjoying the process.”
Take a look at the full Eurohoops interview with Dwayne Bacon who also talked about the choice between NBA and Euroleague, facing Olympiacos and Kostas Papanikolaou, and more.