By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Joining Milan among other players like Nenad Dimitrijevic, Armoni Brooks, Fabien Causeur, and others, Josh Nebo is ready to play with the third different EuroLeague team of his career.
After Zalgiris Kaunas and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 27-year-old American center with Slovenian citizenship will play under the rim for Ettore Messina’s team. Prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, he reflected on what brought him all the way to Milan in an interview with the club.
Covid-19, for example, was a turning point in his trajectory. “It denied me the opportunity to do workouts for NBA teams. The summer leagues were canceled, and I wasn’t able to participate, see where I was at, or get feedback. I was left in the dark, I didn’t know how they saw me. I knew I wouldn’t be drafted, and I really needed the workouts, get more exposure. But I couldn’t”, he recalled.
That’s where his overseas journey started. “Hapoel Eilat offered me a guaranteed contract. I thought if I played well, I could come back later. But my first year in Europe worked out really well. Coming to Europe I think was the best decision I ever made in my career. Much better than wandering around the NBA aimlessly”, Josh Nebo said.
In the Israeli team, he found a former Milan playmaker. “Joe Ragland was the best thing that could have happened to me. On the court, he obviously made everything easier for me, but even off the court he taught me a lot, he made me understand what to focus on. I believe he was also decisive in my eventual growth: he was my mentor and a sort of coach. We watched films together, he critiqued my game, and he guided me in my development. I appreciated him a lot”, he spoke about the 34-year-old veteran.
Josh Nebo, who led last year’s EuroLeague in rebounds (7.1) and offensive rebounds (3.1) per game, spoke about his specialty. “I don’t know if there’s a secret to rebounding. It’s not that I don’t want to reveal my secrets. The key is to play hard, have a motor that always runs, play with the desire to get your hands on the ball, and understand that this is my job on the team. I want to be the best at doing my job. I’m proud to try to be the best at what I do. It’s fun for me to get after rebounds and try to get them all”, he shared.
The former Zalgiris Kaunas and Maccabi Tel Aviv center also revealed why he joined the Italian side. “I decided to come here because this is a great club, with great ambitions, and want to return to the top of the competition also in the EuroLeague, perhaps returning to the Final Four. The club and I share the same goals and also the same values: to win, to get to the Final Four, and to compete at the highest level. Olimpia has the goals and ambitions that I also demand from my team”, he said.
PHOTO CREDIT: Olimpia Milano