By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Mirotic turned heads all around the basketball world when he decided to come back to Europe this season and join Barcelona. After all, he was a starter in the NBA and had a contract offer waiting for him in Utah.
“It’s not about just one thing but a few. First of all, to be honest, I missed European basketball” Mirotic said Sport Klub and tried to explain his decision.
As it turns out, for Mirotic the decision was not that hard: “EuroLeague is increasing its level constantly. There’s a lot of things similar to the NBA, I think there are some things they are copying which is OK. But EuroLeague is EuroLeague for me, team basketball, not the NBA with more of some individual stats. I missed that, to be honest. Unfortunately, I didn’t win EuroLeague so far. I played two, three Final Fours, I was very close, so the desire is there, the dream to take that title.”
Mirotic also noted that despite doing great in the States, he wanted a more responsible role: “All five seasons in the NBA were very good, especially the last two in which I made a step forward but I was missing something. I was a very important player, in the lineup, but every NBA team has a superstar and I was the third or fourth player. And that’s OK but I wanted more, I wanted to be a leader. I’m 28, I’m experienced and I wanted something else.”
Last but not least, he wanted to win more and he wanted to settle down with his family: “I wanted a chance to win more titles. In the NBA, it’s very hard to win that one championship. I came close with Milwaukee, we played in the Eastern Conference Finals… I also wanted stability for my family. I was getting traded in the last two years and although it all went well, in the end, you have someone who decides instead of you. Despite having a contract, you don’t decide anything”.