It was one of the least expected deals of this weekend, Ben McLemore – 30-year-old fullback with 556 NBA games – officially signed up with AEK Athens, the second club in the Greek capital.
At a time when all the EuroLeague teams have not yet finalized their recruitment, Ben McLemore, a reference sniper passed through Sacramento, Memphis, Houston, Los Angeles and Portland, has chosen to sign at AEK Athens, club engaged in the Basketball Champions League (BCL). For friends far away from Europe, the BCL is a great European competition, owned by FIBA and the leagues involved in it. However, his prestige is not that of the EuroLeague, the usual playground for NBAers looking for a rebound: Jabari Parker is announced for Barcelona, Franck Jackson has signed for ASVEL, Kemba Walker is working on his game in Monaco… It would have been more logical for Ben McLemore to grab a spot in one of the 18 teams involved in the EuroLeague. It would even have been perfect if ASVEL had managed to attract the services of the one whose last NBA match dates back to April 10, 2022, under the colors of Portland. For his final season with the Blazers, Ben McLemore was 10.2 points on 40% shooting, including 36% from 3-pointers, in 64 regular games – including 6 started as a starter. Stats quite similar to those of Dwayne Bacon, whose leap to Europe took place around 10 units on average. A significant bar that always provokes the same reactions: “Oh, but couldn’t he have found an NBA team? ». Yes, it’s just that a European behemoth has just made a big deal.
And the past season then, where did Ben McLemore spend it?
In China, in Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin, where he only played nine games for meager averages (and only twelve minutes per evening). A fairly anecdotal experience for the Klutch Sports player, who is now counting on the Athens project to revive himself. At the foot of the Acropolis, he will evolve with Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Jordan McRae – among others – for whom the NBA is also a known ground, but not conquered. In short, may the 7th choice of the 2013 Draft take off where no one announced it. But beware of Cholet in BCL anyway. They are strong, Cholet.
AEK BC Athens signed a deal with Ben McLemore pic.twitter.com/LZV9Fy23UE
— Luca D’Alessandro (@DAlessandro_LU) August 6, 2023
2023-08-07 07:38:00
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