While NBA basketball won’t return for a while longer, high-level men’s hoops was played in the offseason. Continental tournaments featuring some of the best players in the world raged on, with Eurobasket being the most star-filled event.
Franz Wagner and tournament MVP Dennis Schroder led Germany to the title against Alperen Sengun’s Turkey, but several players had fantastic performances. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic looked like the supertars they are, while Lauri Markannen and Deni Avdija
reaffirmed that they can thrive in major roles.
Let’s break down what happened in Europe while first taking a look at the sole international tournament that featured a current Spur.
David-Jones Garcia’s Dominican Republic lost to the champion, Brazil at AmeriCup
David Jones-Garcia was having a fantastic AmeriCup tournament representing the Dominican Republic in their first two games. The Spurs’ two-way player averaged 21 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in wins against Colombia and Argentina, looking as dominant as he did in Summer League.
Unfortunately, he was part of a brawl at the end of the matchup with Argentina that got him suspended for two games, against Nicaragua to end group play and against Brazil in the quarterfinals. The Dominican Republic managed to beat the host nation but couldn’t take down Brazil, which would go on to win the title by beating Argentina in the finals.
Brazil was one of the most stacked teams in the tournament, as shown by their huge comeback in the semis against a Team USA that featured a few NBA players, so they could have beaten the Dominican Republic even with Jones-Garcia playing. Still, it would have been fun to watch DJG face tougher competition and see if he could remain dominant. It’s unfortunate how his tournament ended, but hopefully participating in it was a learning experience for the young scorer.
Sandro Mamukelashvili and Cedi Osman were huge for their national teams in EuroBasket
A few former Spurs suited up for EuroBasket, a group that included Davis Bertans and Juancho Hernangomez. But the two standouts who wore Silver and Black in the past were Cedi Osman and Sandro Mamukelashvili, who played huge parts in their team’s success.
Georgia finished eighth in the tournament, getting the upset against a young France team in the round of 16 en route to their best placement ever. The roster featured the Magic’s Goga Bitadze and international superstar Tornike Shengelia, who, along with Mamu, formed a formidable frontcourt.
Of the three, Mamukelashvili arguably had the better tournament, finishing second in the team in scoring at 15.3 a game to Bitadze’s 15.8, while also leading them in rebounding and steals and trailing only their point guard, Kamar Baldwin, in assists. Mamu was also huge against Finland in the quarterfinals, finishing with a 22-4-4 stat line and playing over 39 minutes. The team’s performance was so impressive that the president of Georgia gave them almost a million Euros as a reward, and Mamukelashvili was a big reason why they got as far as they did. Now he needs to show he can get it done at the NBA level, and should have the opportunity with the Raptors.
Meanwhile, Osman, who was with the Spurs in the 2023/24 season before returning to Europe, played a huge part in Turkey’s run to the finals. The veteran forward averaged 16 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists. The team’s biggest star was undoubtedly Alperen Sengun, but Osman and Shane Larkin provided leadership and production to complement the play of the big man.
Cedi was scorching hot from the outside, connecting on 29 of his 55 total attempts from beyond the arc, for an absurd 52.7 three-point shooting percentage, boosting Turkey’s perimeter scoring and spacing. His team beat rival Greece, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, in the semis before losing to Germany in the finals, and Osman was stellar in both games. Great performance by a consummate professional who helped the Spurs earlier in their rebuild.
The absence of two Spurs players loomed large in EuroBasket
Some former Spurs took part in EuroBasket, but no current ones. Victor Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan expressed a desire to participate, but Wemby was ruled out before training camp started, while Sochan suffered an unfortunate injury close to the tournament that forced him to sit out despite training with his national team. Their absences were definitely felt.
France had a disappointing tournament. Their squad, which featured several current and former NBA players, couldn’t get past the round of 18, as Georgia took them down. Guershon Yabusele was an absolute beast for them, but Bilal Coulibaly and Zaccharie Risacher didn’t have the type of performance the team needed, and Alex Sarr only suited up for two games before having to bow out due to injury.
It goes without saying, but having Wembanyama around would have made a huge difference for a team that, with him in tow, has the talent to beat anyone. It was probably the right call for Wemby to skip the tournament, but it definitely hurt France.
Sochan’s case is more unfortunate. He was ready to play but couldn’t because of an injury, and he missed out on a strong run by the Polish national team, which finished sixth after losing to Turkey in the quarterfinals. It’s unlikely Sochan would have pushed his squad past Turkey, since Sengun dominated a matchup that wasn’t all that close after the second quarter, but he missed out on a great experience and opportunity to grow.
Poland faced Luka Doncic’s Slovenia, Deni Avdija’s Israel, and France, with its core of NBA forwards. Sochan would have played a big role and gotten a chance to face some of the best players in the world right before entering his fourth season in the league. A big performance would have also potentially helped him secure an extension. Sochan hasn’t had much luck in his career. Hopefully, that will change soon.
