By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Denver Nuggets were interested in the services of Sasha Vezenkov, early in the career of the now 29-year-old forward of Olympiacos.
In 2017, Vezenkov was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the 57th overall pick of the annual NBA draft. Six years later with his NBA rights moving from the Nets to the Cleveland Cavaliers and from there to the Sacramento Kings, he signed a three-year, 20 million dollars contract with the latter organization. Following 44 games played in a limited role, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors and waived during the offseason.
His NBA story could have been different though.
Talking in a podcast of Greece’s Stoiximan GBL, Man to Man, he revealed a call from Nikola Jokic, early in a three-year spell with FC Barcelona and one year before being drafted by the Nets.
“I wasn’t playing well. My agent told me to enter the NBA draft, but I was thinking not playing in Europe would exclude me from playing there,” he recalled.
“Jokic called me back in 2016, way before he became a three-time MVP. Back then, he wasn’t a superstar. He told me the Nuggets wanted me. They were signing European players. But I hesitated. I was an insecure 20-year-old. After playing in Europe, they lost interest,” he said, “I don’t think about it a lot, but I often wonder what could have been.”
Following an uneventful campaign in the NBA, the former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP resurfaced in Europe’s premier club continental competition and reunited with Olympiacos last July. The first spell with the Reds lasted from 2018 to 2023.