Former Fenerbahce Beko star Bogdan Bogdanovic: “Fenerbahce was running like clockwork until the injuries”

The 30-year-old basketball player, who reached the highest figures of his career with an average of 17.6 points, made extensive statements in an exclusive interview with SportKlub.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, who talked about many issues from his injury process to his NBA career, also touched on the situation of his former teams Fenerbahçe and Partizan in the EuroLeague: “I was away from the park for a long time due to injuries. So I spent a lot of time watching basketball. Partizan is an extremely high quality team, I think they can beat anyone. They need to adapt, but it takes time. You don’t build a team in just one year. It’s a process. Partizan has big goals and one of them is to reach the playoffs, to finish as high as possible. We’ll see what happens after that.”

“There were many surprises. ALBA Berlin played NBA style in the first few games. I wondered if there would be a team that would make a difference in Europe. Milano surprised me negatively in this losing streak, I didn’t expect that. Then, Fenerbahce dominated the league and played exceptionally. Everything was running like clockwork until Johnathan Motley and Scottie Wilbekin got injured. Likewise, Calathes did not play two or three games due to his injury. There are some nice surprises. Basketball is developing in Europe, there are many quality players. Baskonia is playing NBA style basketball, it’s very interesting to watch.”

Bogdan Bogdanovic’s other statements are as follows: “Everything is going well. I don’t have the physical pain I went through last year, it was hard to endure. To be honest, I didn’t even know how much trouble it was giving me until I got rid of the pain. At first I didn’t have much pain but then it got very high. I couldn’t find the cure, that was the biggest problem. In addition, it was difficult to make the decision to have surgery because it is not clear exactly what my injury was. There was only pain and it was increasing. After a point I just couldn’t deal with it. ”

“I used to have problems whenever I bent my knees. In the playoffs, I could not bend my leg in the last game. First of all, my heart started to burn in Fenerbahçe. Later I had a problem with tendinitis in my knee. Operation was the ultimate solution, I had no choice. I was told that the recovery would not take more than four or five months. The operation was serious, but not that dangerous. There was no need for suturing the tendon or any more serious intervention of this kind. But the bone that was causing the problem under the tendon was removed.”

“I thought of everything when I made the decision to have surgery. Age, career and other things in life… I’ve had meniscus surgery before, but that was a minor issue. It was the first time I encountered a serious injury. I had a lot of advisers, each had his own opinion. I wasn’t sure and then I had to sit down and think for myself. I made a decision, I stood by it, and that was it.”

“I started getting used to it. Now I have to do some exercises that I didn’t have to do before. It will take some time for my leg to get stronger. I think I should be close to 100 percent after All-Star; I’m around 90-95 right now. Even this small difference is self-evident.”

“I feel free. I played with my leg injury for two or three years and I always made up for it with other parts of my body.”

“I’ve expanded my career with this treatment, that’s how I see it. I realized this only after the operation. I look at this as the best thing that ever happened to me. I love basketball so I will try to do it for as long as possible. That is the essence of every athlete – to last as long as possible and be competitive. ”

“We have a very good team, we are trying to get back to where we are. I think we took a step forward by bringing Dejounte and now we need time to adapt. We had a game against Detroit (December 24th) that we all played. We all need to get over minor injuries and be on the field at the same time. The biggest problem of all teams in the NBA is coordination. We just need to play together and be healthy. We all have quality and experience, we know who is doing what, we are familiar with the roles. There isn’t much of a change there.”

“There isn’t much space and time to think in the NBA. Over time, you realize that things may not be as you imagined. Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, you just have to live in the moment and not deal with the bullshit.”

“When I see the news about Jokic, I’m always glad that he’s playing abnormally well. I think he imposed his own style of play that others must accept. He’s a basketball magician. He plays very efficiently and reads everything very fast. One of the ex-NBA players said that the only player for whom coaches couldn’t come up with a defensive strategy was Nikola Jokic. No matter how you look at it, there doesn’t seem to be a solution for it. There is no defender who can solve him, there is no such tactic. It really is.”

“Doncic is also amazing. Its fun to watch. He always pulls something new out from under the hat. It has evolved tremendously from year to year, full of surprises. You think it has reached its pinnacle, then it surprises you with something new. At first they underestimated him or did not know him well enough. Now it doesn’t dominate the game. He’s a scorer but also an outstanding setter.” (Eurohoops)