Former Rockets center Boban Marjanovic leaves NBA, returns to Euroleague play

Posted by Admin September 17, 2024 Basketball

After nine NBA seasons and two with the Rockets, veteran center Boban Marjanović is signing with a Turkish squad and returning to Euroleague competition.

Turkey’s Fenerbahçe Beko has reached an agreement to sign former Houston Rockets center Boban Marjanović, Eurohoops reported on Tuesday. After nine NBA seasons, the Serbian giant is poised to return to European basketball and Euroleague play.

Over his NBA career, the 7-foot-4 big man averaged 5.5 points (57.8% FG) and 3.6 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game. Now 36 years old, Marjanovic continues to have soft touch near the basket and can be a force offensively, though his massive size often made him a defensive liability in modern NBA coverage schemes.

Marjanovic was primarily Houston’s third- or fourth-string center over his two seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24) with the Rockets, and he was extremely admired and respected for his leadership in the locker room.

But with veteran big man Steven Adams returning from injury and pushing Jock Landale to third on the depth chart, it no longer made sense for the Rockets to roster yet another center-only player.

Marjanovic finished with 13 points (75% FG) and 8 rebounds in Houston’s season-closing victory at Los Angeles last April, and he was a fan favorite among fans of the Clippers due to his intentional miss of two free throws (which triggered a free-chicken promotion) after the game had largely been decided.

Now, as things stand, that could be his final career outing in the NBA.

More: Boban takes over late in Rockets’ milestone win at Clippers, gives fans free chicken