“Basketball is unbearable there” – EuroLeague coach Šarūnas Jasikevičius takes shot at NBA's regular season
The NBA is considered the world's best basketball league by many, and the EuroLeague isn't far behind. However, one European coach was asked his opinion of the NBA, and he didn't hold back as he even shared suggestions to make the league better.
Šarūnas Jasikevičius recently shared his hot take on the NBA season, which could stir up some controversy:
"The NBA is a type of basketball where only the owners should be happy, because the value of the franchises is skyrocketing and money comes from all over the world, especially from China and India. But I'm a basketball person, and for me, basketball is unbearable there. The playoffs are something else, but you can't watch the regular season.
"You can't go with the mentality they have. They don't practice. It's a completely different world. It seems they do little to improve. It's a business in its purest form. There are 22 franchises that always have problems getting into the playoffs and are constantly improvising. And there are eight who do know what they are doing, who follow a plan and an idea together with the players and coaches.
"The environment is very important for any player. Taking all the power away from the coach, who's the person who thinks about the team the most, doesn't make sense. They're giving power to 18- or 19-year-olds. With Lebron James, you have to take off your hat. He has been able to manage all this and get good results wherever he has gone. But how many cases like this are we talking about?
"They change coaches and general managers just for the boy to be comfortable, but the first thing is to teach this boy what the path is, how to be a normal person, what the values are, and all this. You cannot give him the key to the city right away at 18, and when you sometimes see this in the NBA, it's very hard to take."
You might also be interested in reading this: Luka Doncic on watching and enjoying EuroLeague games: "Mostly Real Madrid and Red Star"
Who is Šarūnas Jasikevičius of the EuroLeague?
Šarūnas Jasikevičius is Lithuanian and a former professional basketball player, once playing for the Indiana Pacers. He's the coach for FC Barcelona and has shown great promise as the brains from the bench.
The 2021-22 season was his first full season of coaching for FC Barcelona after coaching BC Žalgiris in the past five seasons since the 2015-16 season. His words about the NBA may be harsh, but comparing it to the EuroLeague, they hold some truth.
Also read: Watch: Novak Djokovic slips money in child’s pocket at EuroLeague game