The No. 27 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Bogdan Bogdanovic spent three more seasons playing in Europe before making the move stateside in 2017. The veteran swingman has been in the NBA since then, but told reporters at the EuroLeague Final Four this week that he could see himself playing overseas again before his career is over.
“I had that goal when I was leaving (for the NBA), but I’ll see how my health is later in my career,” Bogdanovic said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “I want to come back, of course, but I have to stay healthy. … I miss it because I’m closer to my friends and family (in Europe). That’s what I miss most. Competition as well, but friends and family first, honestly.”
Bogdanovic, who finished the 2024/25 season with the Clippers following a midseason trade from Atlanta to Los Angeles, added that he’s looking forward to representing Serbia in EuroBasket 2025 and is “optimistic” that Nuggets star Nikola Jokic will participate in the tournament.
“I feel like we have a good opportunity (to win the gold). We can’t hide,” Bogdanovic said, according to Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. “That’s it. We’re going for gold. All those years we’re building something. It’s progress. A process. Hopefully, we’ll stay healthy and we show up healthy and ready to go.”
Here are a few more items of interest from around the international basketball world:
- The EuroLeague is expected to expand from 18 to 20 teams beginning next season, according to reports from Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews and Alessandro Maggi of Sportando (Twitter link). Hapoel Tel Aviv, Dubai BC, and Valencia are the favorites to join the league next season, with ALBA Berlin exiting, according to Urbonas. In addition to working on expansion, EuroLeague officials are expected to meet with the NBA and FIBA next week about the NBA’s own European league.
- What exactly is the Asian University Basketball League? Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com takes a closer look at the college basketball organization launching this summer in Asia and speaks to AUBL CEO Jay Li about his goal of finding and developing the next NBA star from the continent. “We are not just an Asian basketball league,” Li said. “We could be the centerpiece of youth talent development for the entire world when it comes to developing Asia’s next Yao Ming, Asia’s next Jeremy Lin.”
- Dame Sarr, a 6’8″ wing from Italy, has committed to Duke for the 2025/26 season, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Sarr, who has spent the past two seasons playing for Barcelona in Spain, had a big game at last month’s Nike Hoop Summit, establishing himself as a potential 2026 first-round pick to watch. “My ultimate goal is to play in the NBA,” Sarr told ESPN. “There’s no better place to prepare you for that than Duke. For me to be as NBA-ready as possible, and become the best version of myself, I needed to have both experiences — playing for a pro team like Barcelona, and playing in a different type of professional environment like Duke against other players my age. Opportunity, minutes, repetition — this route is the best next step for me at this time.”