After ten full years in the NBA, Dario Šarić is back in the EuroLeague.
And he has found it considerably different from the competition he left behind.
Šarić did not play much in the NBA over the past few years, so he returned to Anadolu Efes hungry for basketball, hungry for a role and hungry for meaningful competition.
He previously spent two seasons with Efes. Since his departure, the club have become two-time European champions, which means expectations are now always at the highest level.
The 32-year-old from Šibenik feels those expectations, too – and has no problem with them.
The sample size is small, but through his first three EuroLeague games, Šarić is averaging 13.3 points, 6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
So what has changed?
We asked Šarić in the hallway of Belgrade Arena after the game against Crvena Zvezda.
Players returning from the NBA will usually take a little longer to think when asked that question – or give you an answer that is not particularly specific.
Šarić answered as if he had been thinking about it all along.
“Back then, there was more half-court basketball than there is today,” Šarić told SK Week. “Today, it’s already a little more similar to the NBA. Teams are increasingly going for combo guards at the one and two, guys who are strong one-on-one and in the pick-and-roll, who are more scoring-minded than they are creators.
“In my time, there were more true point guards. They were more old-school point guards. Today, they’re mostly combo players. Every team probably has two or three players like that, and that’s the style of the league and European basketball today.”
A Missed Opportunity in Belgrade
Efes played two very good games to start their EuroLeague season – a narrow loss to Barcelona followed by a win over Real Madrid.
Against Crvena Zvezda, however, plenty went wrong.
There was Mike James’ injury, one that could potentially change the course of Efes’ season, but there were also plenty of missed opportunities and open shots that would not fall.
“At one point, they were missing free throws and kind of giving us a chance to go and win the game, but we weren’t good enough down the stretch,” Šarić said. “It was similar against Barcelona. We didn’t manage to turn the game our way in those key moments.”
Perhaps Efes will now go looking for another one of those combo guards Šarić was talking about.
Or perhaps it is time for Matthew Strazel to take on an even bigger role. Based on everything he has shown over the past few years, he looks ready.
Either way, Šarić’s role as a secondary creator has just become even more important for Efes.