Unless your name is Luka Doncic, it is never obvious and a foregone conclusion for a European player to come and play in the NBA, to impose himself there and to perform there over time.
It is to this harsh reality that Luca Vildoza, a size in the Euroleague with Baskonia before crossing the Atlantic, faced each other last year, when, injured in the right foot, he was cut by the Knicks in October 2021 without having played a single second. Before joining the Bucks just before the 2022 playoffs, without there either benefiting from a concrete opportunity, among the defending champions, at this time of the season.
Returned to the Old Contents at the start of the school year, on the side of Belgrade where he finds very good feelings with the Red Star in Euroleague (14 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 interceptions), the Argentinian rear, MVP of the month of December in the European league, thus returned to this brief stint in the American championship.
” I hadn’t had the opportunity to play for the Knicks, since I had been injured and had taken a year to come back. It was a difficult time. I was excited to play Madison Square Garden » he assures.
” After that, I signed with the Bucks, but it was almost playoff time. So I knew I was hardly gonna play […] I especially remember Game 7 against Boston in the playoffs [au deuxième tour, ndlr]. The room was crowded, the atmosphere was crazy. But it’s always hard to tell myself that I didn’t have a real chance. But hey, I’m here now and I try not to think about it too much. »
From Giannis Antetokounmpo, in particular. ” He gives 100% all the time, even in training. He is a very humble person. One of the first nights with the team, he sat down with me and the other rookies, and he asked questions about our lives, our families, our stories. he added, about the “Greek Freak”. ” It was really fun. He is truly a unique person.”
