By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
In what has become almost a certainty, young European players who aren’t finding opportunities overseas after trying their best to live the NBA dream, come back to Europe earlier than expected.
That’s the case now with Theo Maledon as well. The young French guard is a new ASVEL player, where he already spent three years between its youth system and the senior side; in the 2019-20 season, he made his debut in the EuroLeague by averaging 7.4 points and 3.1 assists in 22 games.
At the 2020 NBA Draft, he was selected with the 34th overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he stayed until 2022 by also playing in the G-League. The same happened in the following two seasons in Charlotte and Phoenix, moving from the NBA to the lower side.
Overall, during his four-year tenure in the league, he collected 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per encounter in America. With the French national team, he also participated at EuroBasket 2022 and made some appearances in the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers.
The 23-year-old guard is only the latest of signings made by Pierre Poupet’s team, which has already announced the arrival of Melvin Ajinca, Tarik Black, Admiral Schofield, and Neal Sako.
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
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