By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite being eligible to play for the Spain senior national team covering the naturalized player slot, Nikola Mirotic ruled out a return.
“I don’t think so, because I haven’t played with them for many years. I have focused on giving my all to the club. Also, I deal with many personal things in the summers, including my family and businesses. And I am at that age, especially after the injury and everything, to not see myself returning to the national team,” the FC Barcelona power forward commented to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo on potentially suiting up for Spain in the future.
Mirotic, 31, playing for La Roja captured the bronze medal in the 2016 Olympic Games and a gold medal in the 2015 EuroBasket averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest over 17 appearances between the two international competitions. He also played for the U20 team in the 2010 and 2011 European Championships making the All-Tournament Team on both occasions and also being named MVP in 2011.
The president of the Spanish Basketball Federation, retired player Jorge Garbajosa actually approached Mirotic prior to the 2022 EuroBasket. Naturalized guard Lorenzo Brown eventually made the roster of the team coached by Sergio Scariolo helping on the way to winning gold in Berlin.
“I spoke with Jorge Garbajosa before they went with Lorenzo Brown. He asked me if I was coming back or not. He wanted to confirm that I was not going to return and that’s why they pursued another player,” noted Mirotic, “It was a great success. Look at the outcome, they won the EuroBasket showing once more that they are the best team and the preparation was incredible. There is much merit. I can only thank them for what they have done for me, for the opportunity to play twice with the senior team, a EuroBasket gold medal and an Olympic bronze medal.”
Since being cleared to return to action from injury, the player of the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, and Milwaukee Bucks has tallied 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks per contest over nine appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Powering Barca in seven fixtures of Spain’s Liga Endesa, he tallied 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per ACB game.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL