Former Washington Wizards lottery pick Jan Vesely has retired from basketball, bringing the curtain down on a professional career that lasted nearly two decades, and that ultimately turned into one of the most successful European careers of his generation.
To those who know only of his time with the Wizards, that may come as a surprise. But it is true. Despite a spluttering NBA career that never got going even with his lofty draft billing, Vesely found himself and his game once he went back to Europe, and was one of the best for a decade.
Difficult Wizards Days
Vesely was selected by the Wizards with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft after coming through with Serbian giant Partizan Belgrade, where his athleticism and energy saw him viewed as one of Europe’s top young prospects. At the time, as would be expected of any top six pick, he was thought of as being a future cornerstone piece for a Wizards franchise that was beginning to build around John Wall, with hopes that the pair would form an exciting young partnership. Hope, at least, if not necessarily expectation.
Things, though, did not work out that way. Across three NBA seasons with Washington and later the Denver Nuggets – to whom he was traded as a part of the February 2014 deal for Andre Miller – Vesely appeared in 162 regular season NBA games, making 33 starts and averaging 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game. He never established himself offensively, was moved around and foul-prone defensively, and by the summer of 2014, his NBA career had come to an end. Far from being a cornerstone, he never even made it to the end of his rookie scale contract.
Rather than fading from the professional game, however, Vesely returned to Europe and rebuilt his career almost immediately. Turns out, he really can defend the paint after all.
Vesely’s European Resurgence
After joining Turkish team Fenerbahce, Vesely became one of the continent’s premier big men. He helped the Turkish club win the 2017 EuroLeague title, collected multiple Turkish League championships and was named the EuroLeague MVP in 2019 after averaging 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting better than 65% from the field.
Vesely later moved to Barcelona, where he continued to play at a high level well into his thirties. Even during his final season, he remained an important contributor, averaging 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 38 EuroLeague appearances while shooting 54.3% from the floor. Crucially, Vesely’s best work came on defense, and was never easily captured in basic statistics – capable of guarding both perimeter forwards and low-post players with good lateral quickness for a 6’11 big man, getting stronger in the post over his career, able to hedge or switch out onto smaller guards on the perimeter and jump the passing lanes while also active in his help-side defense in the paint and cutting down on the fouls, Vesely became a very impactful defender. When he was with the Wizards, he was not that.
By the time he stepped away from the game, Vesely ranked among the most accomplished players in EuroLeague history. He finished sixth on the competition’s all-time scoring list, third in rebounds and steals, and ninth in blocked shots, achievements that reflected both his longevity and consistency at Europe’s highest level. Vesely was also a long-time fixture for the Czech Republic – he represented his country at multiple EuroBasket tournaments, helped the Czechs reach the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and later appeared at the Tokyo Olympics after the nation qualified for the Games for the first time in its history.
While his NBA career was a disappointment given his draft position, few lottery picks who struggled in the NBA have gone on to enjoy such sustained success elsewhere. Vesely became a EuroLeague champion, an MVP, a multiple-time All-EuroLeague selection and one of the most important frontcourt players of his era in European basketball. Ultimately, he proved to be really good. Just not for the Wizards.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Former “Future of the Wizards” Retires From Basketball appeared first on HEAVY.