NBA
Jan Vesely Returning to the NBA?
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Dallas Mavericks have expressed interest in bringing Jan Vesely back to the NBA, league sources told Basketball Insiders.
Vesely drew pre-draft comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko and played at small forward and power forward after being drafted sixth overall by the Washington Wizards in 2011. He last played in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets in 2014.
Vesely then signed with Fenerbahce, where he rediscovered his confidence while playing center.
Fenerbahce advanced to the 2015 EuroLeague Final Four for the first time in team history. Fenerbahce ultimately lost to Real Madrid in the semifinals, where Vesely had 20 points and six rebounds in the game.
Vesely was an All-EuroLeague First Team member in 2016, including EuroLeague MVP for the month of January. Vesely averaged 12 points, 6.8 rebounds and one block per game in EuroLeague competition.
A few weeks ago, Vesely and Fenerbahce won the EuroLeague championship under coach Zeljko Obradovic, a nine-time EuroLeague champion and one of the most famous coaches overseas. Vesely had a 20.3 PER and shot a career-high 62 percent from the field while averaging 10.1 points per game in 63 combined EuroLeague and BSL games.
Only took 4 seconds after tip-off for @EkpeUdoh and @JanVesely24 to connect for alley-oop dunk!#FNBOLY #7DAYSMagicMoment #F4GLORY pic.twitter.com/JmdXfTRb62
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) May 21, 2017
The 27-year-old is entering the prime of his basketball career as currently one of the highest paid players overseas but has a buyout clause in his contract, which would allow him to return to the NBA next season.
With the NBA transitioning to more of a small-ball approach than ever before, Vesely can earn a second chance in the league and play center. Returning to the NBA as a more mature player with renewed confidence could help Vesely find a sustainable niche in the league this time around.
