Sacramento Kings’ Players at the EuroBasket: Who, when and how?
Which players on the Sacramento Kings will be competing in the 2017 EuroBasket tournament?
The biggest event in European basketball, at least when it comes to national teams, is just days away. EuroBasket 2017 is set to start with the group phase of the competition divided into four different countries and cities – Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Helsinki (Finland), Istanbul (Turkey), and Tel Aviv (Israel). A total of 24 teams, divided into four groups are patiently awaiting the tip-off on August 31st.
And what does that have to do with the Kings?
The answer is simple – There are players on the Sacramento Kings who will be playing in this tournament. Two players are expected to be on the Kings’ roster to begin the season while another player, whose NBA rights are being held by the organization, will also be competing as well.
So here it is. The complete Kings’ fan guide to EuroBasket 2017.
THE PLAYERS
Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia), Georgios Papagiannis (Greece), and Arturas Gudaitis (Lithuania) are the names concerning the Kings. All three of them are on top teams which are tipped to have a good chance of achieving something big.
THE ROOKIE
The Greek center that stands at 7’1″, Georgios Papagiannis, already has one NBA season under his belt, but when it comes to senior national teams, he’s a rookie. The 20-year old will be the only NBA presence for his country, Greece, as Giannis Antetokounmpo withdrew due to injury. Actually, Big Papa is one of just three players on the team who are playing abroad. The majority of the roster is filled by local powerhouses Olympiacos and Panathinaikos players.
Papagiannis should receive decent minutes because he is the only other typical seven-footer besides veteran player, Ioannis Bourosis (born in 1983). Expectations are that the coaching staff will split the playing time at the center spot mostly between those two.
Sacramento’s Greek big man has won his fair share of medals as a youngster. Gold from the U16 European championship in 2015 and bronze from the U16 Euros in 2013.
Greece is in Group A in Helsinki together with Finland, Poland, France, Iceland, and Slovenia.
THE EXPERIENCED ONE
Bogdan Bogdanovic will be a complete newbie to the NBA this fall, but when he signed with the Kings earlier in the summer, he had tons of professional experience overseas. Not only in club basketball, but with his national team of Serbia too.
Sacramento’s new guard made his debut for the senior NT side at EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia. Just a year later, he already had his first medal – silver from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, where the Serbians were defeated by Team USA in the final game. A year after that, he was named to Serbia’s squad for EuroBasket 2015. Bogdan remained there for the Olympics in Rio in 2016, winning another silver medal.
The 25-year old rookie is expected to be a key player for coach Aleksandar Djordjevic at EuroBasket 2017 as well.
Serbia will be going for gold, starting off with Group D in Istanbul together with Turkey, Latvia, Belgium, Great Britain and Russia.
THE UNKNOWN ONE
We might never get to see Arturas Gudaitis in a Kings jersey during the regular season, but his NBA rights still belong to Sacramento. That’s why he is on this list. A 6’10’’ big man out of Lithuania, he is also set to make his international debut on the big stage. The 24-year old was cut just days before the start of EuroBasket 2015. This time he was named in the final 12 players for this year’s tourney.
Gudaitis was picked by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 47th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. His rights were acquired by the Kings just a few weeks after his selection. Actually, he got to play three games in the 2016 NBA Summer League. As of now, he is contracted to Lietuvos Rytas in his native country.
Lithuania’s opponents in Group B in Tel Aviv are Israel, Ukraine, Georgia, Italy and Germany