When the Philadelphia 76ers selected Serbian shooter Vasilije Micic in the 2014 NBA Draft, they knew it would be a while before he came over to the NBA. With the EuroLeague season canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic, Micic is now left with having to make a decision on his basketball future. Does he stay in the EuroLeague or come over to the NBA?
Micic is a guy who brings what the Sixers need. That is a guy who can shoot the 3-ball–he’s a career 36.9% shooter from deep–and he can put the ball on the floor and create for others as shown by his 5.8 assists per game average.
Micic has the respect of his peers over in Serbia as The Athletic’s Rich Hofmann was able to talk to his peers to understand his game better. Shane Larkin, who is Micic’s teammate on Anadolu Efes, told Hofmann:
“Some guys go into practice like it’s practice and some guys go into practice like it’s a game, and Vasa is one of those guys who takes practice as it’s a game,” Larkin said. “And he’s extremely competitive — hates to lose at practice, hates to lose at anything. So I have a bunch of stories that I can tell about Vasa, getting angry, storming off, kicking balls. Not thrown out of practice, but just like, getting angry because of his competitive spirit.”
Kyle Hines, who is a guard for CSKA Moscow, echoed what Larkin had to say about Micic’s intensity as he also told Hofmann:
“You love his competitiveness and love how he goes after it and how he plays the game every day. He definitely doesn’t back down,” Hines said. “I’ve seen him go to battles with someone like Sergio Rodríguez, who was with the Sixers for a season. They have a kind of like internal little thing going on because every time they play against each other, he’s all into Sergio.”
Whatever Micic does decide to do, it would be in Philadelphia’s best interest to bring him over. He has good size at 6-foot-5 and he can create for himself and others. That is a kill that this Sixers team desperately needs at the moment. [lawrence-related id=32267,31579,31571]