And-Ones: Dowtin, Osman, Second Apron, Summer League
Former NBA guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. has signed with Italy’s Napoli Basket, the team announced in a press release. Dowtin appeared in 87 NBA games, mostly recently a 41-game stint with Philadelphia during the 2024/25 season. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel’s top league last season, averaging 9.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in the Winner League and 8.1 points and 2.4 assists over 19 EuroLeague games.
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Former NBA forward Cedi Osman has officially signed a three-year deal with Greece’s PAOK, according to Eurohoops.net. Osman agreed to join his new team after Panathinaikos accepted a buyout offer. The 31-year-old averaged 13.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 27.4 minutes per game across 33 outings last season, his second with Panathinaikos. His shooting line was a solid .469/.377/.826.
- There’s been plenty of discussion how the second apron restrictions have impacted the league’s decision-makers. Teams are so focused on avoiding those restrictions that everyone in the league now projects to be below that threshold for the upcoming season, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets. The last team to get under the second apron was the Thunder, who accomplished that by trading Luguentz Dort to Atlanta over the weekend.
- Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson and Darryn Peterson were some of the lottery picks who delivered during the Vegas Summer League, Ben Golliver of ESPN writes. It didn’t go as smoothly for ex-Michigan star Aday Mara, who struggled during his appearances. Golliver looks back at all the individual standouts and duds during this month’s games.
International Notes: Osman, Edwards, Fernando, Key
Former NBA forward Cedi Osman is joining Greece’s PAOK after Panathinaikos accepted a buyout offer, according to Eurohoops’ Stavros Barbarousis.
It was previously reported that Osman was headed to the Turkish team Anadolu Efes, where he played from 2011-17, but that didn’t come to fruition. The 31-year-old averaged 13.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 27.4 minutes per game across 33 outings last season, his second with Panathinaikos. His shooting line was a solid .469/.377/.826.
Here’s more from the international basketball world:
- Free agent forward Kessler Edwards has signed with Virtus Bologna, according to a team press release. The 2021 second-round pick has made 178 regular season NBA appearances, mostly recently with Dallas in 2024/25, when he played in 40 games (18 starts). He spent last season with Hapoel Tel Aviv, averaging 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 13 EuroLeague contests.
- After failing to land Osman, Efes signed another former NBA player, forward Bruno Fernando, to a two-year deal, the team announced (via Twitter). Fernando, who wore the Real Madrid and Partizan jerseys last season, has played in 220 total NBA games, including 17 with Toronto in 2024/25.
- Fenerbahçe has signed Braxton Key to a two-year contract following his stint with Valencia Basket, Sportando relays. Last season, he helped Valencia reach the EuroLeague Final Four and averaged 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per night. Key has appeared in 37 NBA games, most recently a three-game stint with Golden State in 2024/25.
And-Ones: Kuzma, Osman, Bonga, Mills, G League
Kyle Kuzma isn’t happy with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Bucks forward took to social media (Twitter link) to blast the agreement as bad for players and fans, suggesting that the tax aprons are functioning as a de facto “hard cap.”
“The new CBA was sold as parity, but the first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on player value, team continuity, and player movement,” Kuzma wrote in part. “Teams are no longer making purely basketball decisions. They’re making fear-based apron decisions. That means good players get squeezed, homegrown cores get broken up, fan-favorite teams lose their identity, and the overall product loses some of the nostalgia and continuity that made people fall in love with the NBA in the first place.”
Kuzma added that the next CBA is a “do or die moment for us” and that the players need better representation.
“We need transparency, accountability, and a serious re-evaluation of who is representing us and how they are representing us.” he concluded. “This is not anti-parity. This is pro player, fan, and product. The league is strongest when players are valued properly, great teams can stay together, and the people representing us are operating at the same level as the people sitting across the table.”
Here’s more from around the international basketball world:
- Cedi Osman is returning to Turkey, according to Sportando. The former NBA forward is joining Anadolu Efes after a stint with Greece’s Panathinaikos. According to journalist Serkan Morova, Osman has reached an agreement with the Turkish club, where he previously played between 2011- 17. Osman averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 27.2 minutes per game in 58 EuroLeague games last season, his second with Panathinaikos.
- Real Madrid has reportedly reached a three-year agreement with former NBA wing Isaac Bonga, Sportando relays via Encestando. The former second-round pick is coming off a career-best season with Partizan Belgrade and received lucrative offers from multiple EuroLeague teams. Bonga, a four-year NBA veteran who last played for Toronto in 2021/22, was looking for a return to the NBA but apparently will stay in the EuroLeague. Real Madrid will pay Bonga’s exit clause from Partizan.
- Patty Mills is joining the French EuroLeague club ASVEL Villeurbanne, according to Eurohoops.net. Mills will be reuniting with former Spurs teammate Tony Parker. Parker, who already served as both the president and the majority owner of ASVEL, is taking over as the new head coach. Mills last played in the NBA in 2024/25, appearing in 29 games with Utah and the Clippers. The Australian guard ended last season with Tenerife in Spain’s top domestic league, averaging 18.6 points on .469/.440/.842 shooting in 11 games (22.1 minutes per game).
- The NBA G League held its international draft on Thursday. The Texas Legends had the first pick and selected Jorge Diaz-Graham of Spain. Full results can be found here.
And-Ones: Eurocamp Mentors, Doncic, Osman, Condon, Cotton
This year’s Adidas Eurocamp, which serves as a platform for international basketball prospects to gain prominence among decision-makers around the globe, will be well-represented by NBA players who will serve as special guests and mentors in Franz Wagner (Magic), Bogdan Bogdanovic (Clippers), and VJ Edgecombe (Sixers), Johnny Askounis writes for Eurohoops.
Those are not the only NBA representatives who will be present. Bucks assistants Dave Joerger and Rex Kalamian will help run things, as will Sixers coaches Rico Hines and Bryan Gates and Phil Handy from the Mavericks, among others.
As far as participants in the camp go, the biggest names are Oscar Wembanyama, the 6’8″, 19-year-old brother of Victor Wembanyama, along with Australian guard/wing Dash Daniels, French forward Meissa Faye, Italian guard David Torresani, and Swann Penda, brother of Magic draft pick Noah Penda.
The games, which take place from June 5 to 7, will be streamed on Adidas’ YouTube channel.
We have more from around the world of international hoops:
- Lakers star Luka Doncic was approached by former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson this season and asked if he wanted to help try to move a professional basketball team to Rome, Tani Ganguli writes for The New York Times. It was an easy decision for Doncic to say yes. The pair is now heading up an investment group that is attempting to bring Vanoli Cremona from northern Italy to the capital city as part of the NBA’s continued efforts to get its NBA Europe league off the ground. “Since I came to the N.B.A., my dream was always to own a team in Europe, especially because Europe gave me so much,” Doncic said. “… I am the player I am because of Euroleague.”
- Panathinaikos is headed to the Greek League Finals due in large part to the contributions of ex-NBA player Cedi Osman, who had 29 points with five made threes in the final game of the semi-finals sweep over PAOK BC. Former Knicks point guard Jerian Grant had 15 points, while Nigel Hayes-Davis, who played 27 games for the Suns this season, added 14. On the other side of the box score, Patrick Beverley had 14 points and 11 assists for PAOK. Osman scored 14 points in the third quarter, turning the momentum of the game, per the Eurohoops team. Panathinaikos will face Olympiacos in the Finals.
- The Australian national team selection for the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers is taking shape, with Alex Condon, who recently withdrew from the NBA draft to return to Florida, Cavaliers rookie Tyrese Proctor, and former NBA guard Bryce Cotton among the bigger names, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Cotton, who played two years in the NBA between 2014 and 2016, has been an NBL staple for nearly a decade. He has led the league in scoring nine times, has won six MVPs, and three championships, for which he received two NBL Grand Final MVP awards.
International Notes: Walker, Nunn, Osman, Graham, FIBA Rankings
Lonnie Walker IV, who signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv in August, credits former NBA teammate Kendrick Nunn with easing the transition to the EuroLeague, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Walker, who finished last season with the Sixers after starting it with Zalgiris Kaunas, talked about the influence of Nunn, whom he played alongside with the Lakers during the 2022/23 season.
“It all really started because of Kendrick Nunn. He’s one of the pioneers of this all, as far as Americans feeling or seeing more comfortably coming over here. He’s shown that it’s possible,” Walker said.
Walker’s success in the EuroLeague paved his way to return to the NBA with Philadelphia in February. Now that he’s back overseas, he hopes to set an example along with Nunn that will make it easier for more players in the prime of their careers to consider Europe.
“When you have a player like that, it’s kind of just a domino effect,” Walker said. “I came next up in line. Now you have more and more players, as far as Americans coming in now. So, I just try to be my best as far as answering questions the best I can, and making them understand the difference between the NBA and the EuroLeague.”
There’s more international news to pass along:
- Cedi Osman suffered an ankle injury during EuroBasket, but the former NBA forward is expected to be ready when Panathinaikos starts its EuroLeague season, according to BasketNews. Osman got hurt during a quarterfinal matchup with Poland, but he continued to play as Turkey captured the silver medal. “I believe Osman will be ready for the EuroLeague opener,” coach Ergin Ataman said. “He’s currently in Athens for treatment. I hope he can join team practices two to three days before the game.”
- Crvena Zvezda coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos is excited about the offseason addition of ex-NBA guard Devonte’ Graham, according to a separate story from BasketNews. Graham joined the Serbian team in August after spending last season in the G League. “This is his first season in Europe, first practice in European basketball, he will need time,” Sfairopoulos said. “But he already showcased his quality, he will be one of our main players and I think he will play like in his best years in NBA, just like we expect it.”
- The Germans’ victory at EuroBasket has moved them into the second spot in FIBA’s World Rankings. The United States is still No. 1 after capturing the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, with Serbia, France and Canada rounding out the top five.
EuroBasket Notes: Schröder, Nowitzki, Wagner, Spanoulis, Awards
Dennis Schröder credited Dirk Nowitzki with inspiring the current crop of players who have turned Germany into an international basketball power, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. After capturing MVP honors while leading his team to the gold medal at EuroBasket, Schröder paid tribute to the Mavericks legend, who was a German basketball icon in addition to his 21-year NBA career.
“Dirk, what he’s been doing for the German national team and what he’s done in the NBA and in the national team made us come to the national team and represent our country,” Schröder said.
Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in European history and earned a long list of honors in international competitions. Schröder is also building an impressive resume, adding the EuroBasket gold to the championship he won at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a bronze medal in the 2022 EuroBasket, but he doesn’t want to be compared to Nowitzki.
“At the end of the day, my name is Dennis Schröder, and I’m just Dennis Schröder, and that’s my legacy,” he said. “Whatever I can bring to the table to make sure my teammates are good and we compete at the highest level and win gold medals. That’s what I’m going to do. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
There’s more from EuroBasket:
- German teammate Franz Wagner dedicated the championship to his brother, Moritz Wagner, who was unable to play due to an ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered with Orlando last season, per Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. Franz said his brother is “super happy” about the gold medal, and he wore Moritz’s jersey during the victory celebration as a way to include him. “Obviously, he had a tough injury, and he’s trying to get back as fast as possible,” Franz said. “Couldn’t be here, but I think everybody on the team knows that he’s part of the group. It’s part of what we’re building.”
- Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis was happy to leave with the bronze, which represents the nation’s first international medal in 16 years, according to Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops. “This medal belongs to all Greeks,” Spanoulis said. “We wanted to bring basketball to the top again. This generation deserved it. Thank you very much, and I hope this medal returns basketball to the golden era.”
- We covered Schröder’s MVP and the naming of the First Five on Sunday, but several other awards were also handed out. FIBA’s EuroBasket website lists Poland’s Jordan Loyd, Turkey’s Cedi Osman, Israel’s Deni Avdija, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as second-team honorees. In addition, Germany’s Isaac Bonga was named Best Defensive Player, Finland’s Miikka Muurinen received the Rising Star award and Turkey’s Ergin Ataman was recognized as Best Coach. Full standings for all 24 tournament teams have also been released.
Germany Defeats Turkey For EuroBasket Gold; Schröder Named MVP
A back-and-forth battle between a pair of 8-0 teams went down to the wire in Sunday’s EuroBasket championship game, with Kings point guard Dennis Schröder helping to secure a gold medal for Germany by scoring the final six points and turning an 83-82 deficit into an 88-83 victory over Turkey.
Schöder (16 points, 12 assists), former NBA wing Isaac Bonga (20 points, 4-of-4 three-pointers), and Magic forward Franz Wagner (18 points, eight rebounds) were the standout performers for Germany, which has won two of the past three major international basketball competitions.
Although the Germans didn’t make the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer, the country is now the defending FIBA World Cup (2023) and EuroBasket (2025) champion and has posted a 21-2 record in those three tournaments, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Germany outlasted a Turkish national team that was led by Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28 points), former NBA forward Cedi Osman (23 points, 6-of-9 on three-pointers), former NBA guard Shane Larkin (13 points, nine assists, six rebounds), and Sixers big man Adem Bona (12 points, 5-of-5 shooting).
While they weren’t able to claim their first EuroBasket championship, Turkey matched their best-ever result by taking silver. The Turkish team lost to Yugoslavia in the 2001 final, which was the only other time the country made the championship game.
Schröder was named the EuroBasket Most Valuable Player after leading the Germans to their first title in the event since 1993. He scored at least 16 points in all nine games, averaging 20.3 points and 7.2 assists per contest.
The 2025 EuroBasket All-Star Five was made up entirely of NBA players, with Lakers guard Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) joining Schröder, Wagner, and Sengun (Twitter link).
Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team beat Finland in the third-place game earlier on Sunday.
Turkey Ousts Greece, Will Vie For EuroBasket Gold
Turkey jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter of Friday’s EuroBasket semifinal vs. Greece and never looked back, expanding that lead in each quarter en route to a 94-68 blowout win.
The victory secures Turkey’s spot in the EuroBasket championship game on Sunday. It will be the first time since the country hosted the tournament in 2001 that it has competed in the gold medal game — Turkey lost to Yugoslavia 24 years ago and has never won a EuroBasket title.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun had another big game on Friday, racking up 15 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists as Turkey outscored Greece by 24 points during his 33 minutes of action. However, the team’s leading scorers were forward/center Ercan Osmani, who had 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Cedi Osman, who scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was a team-best +32.
Osmani was also the primary defender against Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had his worst game of the tournament with just 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Bucks forward, who had scored at least 25 points in each of his five previous EuroBasket games, had 12 rebounds and five assists, but committed five turnovers and was a -30 in 30 minutes.
Turkey and Germany will square off for EuroBasket gold on Sunday with their matching undefeated (8-0) records on the line. The Germans have three active NBA players and two former NBAers on their roster, including Franz Wagner of the Magic and Dennis Schröder of the Kings; Turkey’s roster features two current NBA players – Sengun and Sixers big man Adem Bona – and five ex-NBA players.
Greece, meanwhile, will go up against Lauri Markkanen and the Finnish national team in Sunday’s third-place game.
EuroBasket Notes: Osman, Wagner, Doncic, Loyd
Former NBA forward Cedi Osman has been a key part of Turkey’s run to the EuroBasket semifinals, ranking second on the team in points per game (14.9) and third in minutes (26.8) and plus/minus (+14.0) while converting 51.2% of his three-pointers (5.9 attempts per contest).
However, Osman sustained an ankle injury in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Poland. While he returned to that game, he was seen limping off the team bus on Thursday (Twitter video link) and was unable to practice (story via BasketNews).
Head coach Ergin Ataman told Turkish media the 30-year-old will likely be a game-time decision for Friday’s matchup against Greece, as Semih Tuna of Eurohoops relays.
“Their biggest concern was a stress fracture. That’s what it looked like. Thankfully, he avoided a stress fracture,” explained Ataman, “He has bone swelling in that area, preventing him from putting any weight on his foot. He wanted to return to the court in this condition. He will play under any circumstances, but we do not know how effective he can be.
“... We will make a decision based on possible progress,” Ataman continued. “Cedi definitely wants to play, but his injury is serious. He has some time until Friday night, so I hope he can make progress. If the game were (Wednesday or Thursday), he surely would not be able to play.”
Here are a few more notes related to EuroBasket 2025:
- Germany used a second-half comeback to defeat Slovenia and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals. After the game, German national team and Magic star Franz Wagner said he didn’t notice a difference playing against the slimmed-down Doncic, who set a quarterfinal record by scoring 39 points (he also had 10 rebounds and seven assists). “He’s like that all the time, so I see no difference really,” Wagner said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “Extremely good player. If he got a little bit better, he might have, but it’s tough to tell with him.”
- Doncic was exasperated with the officiating after the loss, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. “Four fouls at the start of the third quarter—never in my life,” Doncic said. “And a technical two minutes in… that shouldn’t happen in a quarterfinal.” While Doncic said he was “100 percent angry,” he was pleased with Slovenia’s performance at the tournament. “We gave our all. This wasn’t the result we wanted, but our run deserves respect.”
- Veteran guard Jordan Loyd, who won a championship while on a two-way deal with Toronto in 2019, had an excellent EuroBasket showing with Poland, averaging a team-high 22.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals on .490/.422/.875 shooting in seven games (32.0 MPG). NBA insider Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that several EuroLeague teams — most prominently Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid — are pursuing Loyd, who has spent the last three seasons with AS Monaco. Aris Barkas of Eurohoops says Loyd is still under contract with Monaco and the club would have to release him to sign with another team. According to Nacho Duque of Spanish outlet Marca, Loyd has a tentative deal in place with Real Madrid, but there are several complicating factors, including that his Spanish league rights are currently held by Valencia, which could theoretically match any contract he signs.
Alperen Sengun Leads Turkey Into EuroBasket Semifinals
Turkey advanced to the EuroBasket semifinals on Tuesday by defeating Poland by a score of 91-77 in the tournament’s first quarterfinal matchup.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who entered the day as Turkey’s top scorer, once again led the way for the team by putting up 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in just under 31 minutes of action. It was the first EuroBasket triple-double for Sengun after he came within one assist of achieving the feat during group play vs. Czechia — he’s the youngest player to ever register a triple-double in a EuroBasket game, per FIBA.
With 151 points, 76 rebounds, and 50 assists through seven games, Sengun is the first player in the last 30 years to compile at least 150 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists in a single EuroBasket tournament, tweets Armando Caporaso of Sportando.
Cedi Osman, (10 points and a team-best +18 on/off mark), Shane Larkin (13 points, five assists), and Furkan Korkmaz (10 points) are among the former NBA players who also played key roles in Tuesday’s victory for the Turkish national team. Osman sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter, but head coach Ergin Ataman said after the game that he hopes the forward will be able to play on Friday, as Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com relays.
Veteran guard/forward Mateusz Ponitka and former Raptor Jordan Loyd were Poland’s leading scorers, with 19 points apiece.
The Turkish team is now 7-0 at EuroBasket 2025 and is on track for its best result since 2001 — and maybe ever. Turkey, which hosted the 2001 tournament, won silver that year, but hasn’t finished higher than eighth since then and has only ever made the top four of the European championships one other time (fourth place in 1949).
Turkey will face the winner of today’s Lithuania vs. Greece game in the semifinals on Friday.