ASVEL coach from 2018 to 2020, Zvezdan Mitrovic had the opportunity to really launch Théo Maledon (1.93 m, 20 years old) at the professional level. In 2018-2019, when the Norman leader was only 17 years old, he surprised everyone by being already operational to play an important role in a high-level team, in Jeep ELITE and EuroCup. The following season, slowed down by physical glitches, he was in withdrawal, before finally leaving for the NBA. There, he follows the same path: a first year full of promise, a second in decline, with less playing time.
Free of any engagement since his departure from AS Monaco in mid-December, the Montenegrin technician spoke about his former player, during an interview given to the Greek media Cosmote Sports, part of which was transcribed by EuroHoops.
“For me, Maledon was a future (Dimitris) Diamantidis. I saw him as a Diamantidis-style player. Tall, smart, strong, serious as a human being. But, unfortunately, Europe is losing players who don’t ‘showed maybe 50% of their talent. Okay, everyone wants to go, the NBA is the best, the best in basketball. And everyone loves it, and it’s perfect, but not for me. I prefer to watch EuroLeague more, but that concerns me. 90% of the world looks at the NBA. It’s a problem, but we have to face it, find a way. “
