Beşiktaş JK 42
11-for-11: BallinEurope’s Most 11 popular stories from 2011
So 2011 may have been few people’s favorite year personally, European basketball fans have certainly got to be taking solace in the fact that the past 12 months featured a seriously great run of Continental-flavored hoops. To wit, in 2011, we enjoyed: • an exciting round of Euroleague playoffs which included FC Barcelona’s surprising tournament-round […]
The Eurocentric 2011-12 NBA Eastern Conference preview (plus Official Fearless Predictions™)
While basketball lovers are getting something of a Christmas gift this season in the December 25 NBA opening day – BiE says “something of” there because this belated debut is kinda like your parents saying, “Well, we’ll just give you your birthday gift at Christmas.” When your birthday’s in October – BallinEurope would like to […]
Sans D-Will, Beşiktaş wins at Armia anyway, clinches Eurochallenge Group B first place
Deron who? Okay, so BallinEurope wouldn’t go that far; after all, we’re talking about a player of retired-jersey status here. Regardless, Beşiktaş Milangaz began the post-Deron Williams Era with a 77-75 win at Armia in FIBA Eurochallenge play, thanks to a David Hawkins jumper in the waning seconds… Official FIBA writeup follows.
Sonny Weems caps Žalgiris Kaunas win in memorable fashion
Think Žalgiris Kaunas fans are happy Sonny Weems has no out-clause? The Greens were able to stay alive in Euroleague play last night, rising their record to 2-5 in besting Unicaja Malaga in Lithuania, 67-65, thanks in no small part to some clutch play from their American import. Weems accounted for the final points of […]
Parting shots, part one: Okur throws dagger; Splitter near double-double; D-Will’s jersey retired (no, really)
A few players returning to the NBA made expected final appearances with their European clubs last night as the mass departure to the ‘States begins. BallinEurope runs down a handful of individual performances from Adriatic League, Eurocup, and FIBA Eurochallenge games. • Big shot of the night, NBA-related or no, was certainly Mehmet Okur’s three-point […]
Thanks for the memories: Top performances by locked-out NBA players in Europe
BallinEurope bids adieu to the all-too-brief wackiness that was the ENBA: A period of time shorter than Allen Iverson’s career with Beşiktaş, though for a sweet, brief while it seemed like forever … ah, the feeling of a too-fast love affair dragged down by unfeeling reality, leaving only fond memories and bitter tears to … […]
Report: For Besiktas, it’s Brook Lopez (and not K. Love, Deng, Odom, Nene, Gortat…)
Could Beşiktaş finally have found the elusive big man the Eagles’ management has pretty much been seeking since signing Deron Williams? Turkey-based Kartal Basket reports this afternoon that a deal has been struck between the TBL team and locked-out New Jersey Net Brook Lopez and will be officially announced within the next two days. A […]
D-Willed to victory: Deron Williams goes for incredible 50 points vs. BG Göttingen [Updated]
Now *this* is what Beşiktaş Milangaz fans have been waiting for: In the Eagles’ third FIBA Eurochallenge game of the 2011-12 season, expensive NBA lockout signing Deron Williams emphatically displayed his NBA skills against BG Göttingen last night, going for a career high (and BiE believes all-time Eurochallenge) 50 points in his side’s 105-94 victory; […]
ESPN: Spurned by Kevin Love and Luol Deng, Besiktas courting Lamar Odom
Okay, here’s your rumor du jour to get things started on this Wednesday morning: According to sources quoted at ESPN.com, Deron Williams’ Beşiktaş Milangaz is actively pursuing the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom to join the Eurochallenge side while the NBA player lockout continues.
Not exactly “no basketball anymore”: Notes on 34 pan-European games
“No basketball anymore”? Are you serious? The next two days will see some 34 games played out in the top three European basketball competitions: Euroleague, EuroCup and FIBA Eurochallenge. Below, BallinEurope presents some links, highlight clips and like on some of the competing teams starring Igor Rakocevic, Tiago Splitter, D.J. Strawberry and that Williams guy, […]
Highlights: Deron Williams in “all-star mode,” goes for 31 points in Eurochallenge win; Besiktas now 7-0
France-based Basket Europe has a brief writeup (and video highlights — but so does BallinEurope; see below the break) on locked out New Jersey Net Deron Williams’ latest success here on the Continent, describing D-Will as “en mode All Star.” Beşiktaş Milangaz cruised past Armia in game two of FIBA Eurochallenge play as Williams was […]
NBA Nuclear Winter settling in; Twitter bursts with news of player exodus
You know who benefits from the NBA player lockout? Twitter, that’s who. The website has become an endless source of interest as each event/non-event transpires in the NBA lockout soap opera. Minute to minute, commentators, players, pundits and rumormongers pithily weigh in and/or report on the immediate future of professional basketball in America… …and Europe! […]