Kendrick Nunn continues to get his bearings for his first experience in Europe. NBA finalist from his rookie year in the “bubble” in 2020, the former Heat leader never found the same impact afterwards, mainly because of injuries, and at 28, he chose to go into exile on the Old Continent at the age of 28.
On the restart at Panathinaikos, the guard delivered his best Euroleague match on Friday with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 22 minutes in Pana’s victory (90-76) against Marco Belinelli’s Virtus Bologna ( 20 points). Alongside Jerian Grant, Luca Vildoza, Kostas Antetokounmpo but also Mathias Lessort, Kendrick Nunn is slowly getting used to the adjustments of European basketball. He also shared his feelings about this first experience, far from home, on and off the field.
“It’s definitely an adjustment, for my sleep, for my routine. It’s difficult, but I adapt. Every day it gets better”, did he declare. “I try to sleep at night. The times are very different. I live day to day and train with my team. When it comes to the game, I try to adapt to my teammates, understand the style of play. It’s a lot more physical and more crowded on the pitch. I feel like I’m playing in the playoffs every game.”
Still a lot to show
Kendrick Nunn also admitted that he had to adjust to the level of outside shooting, while he has yet to convert an attempt from behind the arc in the Euroleague (0/10). More generally, the more time passes, the more he hopes to be at the level.
“I can’t yet master this part of my game. But it will come little by little, that’s for sure,” he continued. “It’s definitely a different experience than in the United States. I started in an away match. I try to assimilate things fairly quickly. I started very slowly with few minutes. Being here and playing longer has allowed me to be a lot more comfortable with my game, and my confidence is only growing. There are still aspects of my game that I haven’t nailed down yet.”
He also returned to the unique atmosphere of Panathinaikos, a thousand miles from the atmosphere of the NBA during the same period. In this respect too, each match played with Pana resembles a playoff match!
“The fans were very loud today. It’s probably the best venue I’ve played in so far. It’s an incredible atmosphere.”
