Before Guerschon Yabusele got another chance to play in the NBA and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, he remained active internationally.
During that stretch, he spent considerable time with Real Madrid, a Spanish team that plays domestically in the Liga ACB and internationally in the EuroLeague. Across 27 EuroLeague games played with the team in the 2023-24 season, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
In light of the French big man playing his first regular-season NBA game in quite a long time earlier this week, he made a bold claim regarding how the EuroLeague stacks up with the NBA.
“It is too early to say because I have only played one game, but I always say that some of the best EuroLeague teams can compete with some NBA teams, for sure,” Yabusele said. “I am not saying the best teams [in the NBA].”
If his early play is any indication, Yabusele could be a significant contributor for the 76ers this season. After appearing in his second game on Friday, he is now averaging 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
One can see the logic behind Yabusele’s hot take when taking a look at how many losses some NBA teams racked up a season ago as well as the talent level on some EuroLeague squads such as Real Madrid. A whopping five teams won less fewer than 25 games during the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season, and the Detroit Pistons were the worst team in the league.
Detroit won just 14 games all season and lost 28 games in a row early on in the campaign, which stands as the NBA’s longest losing streak ever in a single season.
For as subpar as the 2023-24 Pistons were, the Washington Wizards were nearly just as unsuccessful. Washington won just one more game than the Pistons did at 15 and came out on top in just seven of its 41 home games.
Real Madrid also had plenty of former NBA players on its roster last season, including Facundo Campazzo, Mario Hezonja, Vincent Poirier and Sergio Rodriguez.
Perhaps Yabusele has found a home in the NBA with the 76ers, and it will be interesting to find out whether he will be a consistent member of Nick Nurse’s rotation moving forward.
