The Thunder Hornets and Suns did not succeed, but the Serbian star had no regrets about going to the NBA

Former Champions League Final Four who left the NBA this summer, Vasilije Micic, previously joined the Israeli League team Tel Aviv Maccabi. In a recent interview, he also talked about his decision to join Maccabi in Tel Aviv.

Misic said: I long for a stable game environment. I want to have a complete season plan, but I also need someone who understands my needs. Misic also talked about his in-depth negotiations with the Serbian giant Red Star Belgrade. He said: All this is actually very serious, but my first condition is a long-term contract. At this point, Maccabi gave me enough trust. Speaking about leaving the NBA and returning to the familiar European arena, Micic continued: I know a lot of people think that my performance in the NBA is not as good as I expected, and I can fully understand this. I have no regrets about this. I have learned a lot from it, and I have also made progress and improved in many aspects. Now that I have left the NBA, my focus is on the national team and the next European Championships at this stage.

Misic was born in January 1994. He is 31 years old, 191cm tall and weighs 88kg. He is the backcourt player selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 52nd pick in the second round in the 2014 NBA Draft. Misic was the MVP winner of the two consecutive semi-finals in the 2021 and 2022 Champions League. He was the best backcourt player in the European arena at that time, even no one. Misic played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns in the NBA regular season. He has played 101 times in the NBA regular season, averaging 19.4 minutes per game, averaging 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.1 blocks, and 1.7 turnovers and 1.1 fouls. He has shot 39.5% from the field, 31.5% from three-point shooting percentage and 81.9% from free throws.

Before the trading deadline of last season, the Suns reached an agreement with the Hornets, who sent Misic, Cody Martin, the first-round pick swap rights in 2026, the second-round pick of Houston Rockets in 2024, and the second-round pick of the Suns in 2025, and got Yusuf Nurkic from the Suns. As a result, after joining the Suns, Misic only got 5 play opportunities in total, with averaging only 4.1 minutes per game. During this period, not only did he not score 1 point, but he did not even complete one shot. He only contributed 0.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists, as well as 0.6 turnovers and 0.2 fouls. Although Misic was the number one star in the European arena, his performance in the NBA can be said to be a very disappointing level, and it can be said that it did not meet everyone's expectations at all. I don’t know if his performance will be substantially improved after returning to the European arena.