Alex Len reveals why his first EuroBasket experience makes him so happy / News - Basketnews.com

Ukraine's big man Alex Len talked about his team's perfect EuroBasket record, the upcoming game vs. Greece, and the first chat he had with the new Kings' coach, Mike Brown, in Milan.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Alex Len's debut EuroBasket appearance has been far from impressive. The Sacramento Kings big man is averaging 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in Ukraine's first three games in the tournament's group stage, hosted in Milan.

But that's a trivial detail for the 29-year-old center, as basketball has proven to be the best remedy for the war-tormented country. Ukraine has won all three of their Group C contests, with their last victim being hosts Italy (84-73).

A dominant last quarter decided the outcome for Ainars Bagatskis' squad, which will follow Greece to the tournament's TOP 16 in Berlin. Going through to the next round can be a success in its own right, but Len and his teammates might have something more in store.

"We stopped turning the ball over, played solid on defense," Len told BasketNews in the mixed zone. "Svi (Mykhaliuk), Sanon, Bliznyuk made huge plays. We also did a huge job rebounding the ball."

"It was a big boost of confidence going forward. We know we're already in the next round, but it's a quick tournament, and there's Greece tomorrow. We got to move on."

Their next opponent is also standing at 3-0, and Len is up to speed with Giannis Antetokounmpo's status. The Greek Freak sat out the game against Great Britain with minor knee soreness, according to coach Dimitris Itoudis, but is expected to be back for the game that will decide who gets first place in the group.

"There's going to be Giannis," Len says. "He's the key to their whole team. If we can contain him, there are fewer things to worry about."

For Ukraine to be a first-place contender, they had to beat Estonia. The game turned into a showdown that went down to the wire.

"Against Estonia, we were down the whole time. But we came back and won it," Len describes last Saturday's match.

"Today, the whole game was full of ups and downs. I feel like the team is improving, 100%. We just have to cut down on some turnovers, but we did a great job defensively," he contends.

Historically, the EuroBasket has been the competition where the Ukrainian national team has experienced the most success. In 2013, they made an impressive run in Slovenia by reaching the quarter-finals and finishing in sixth place, their highest-ever in a FIBA competition.

Len says EuroBasket reminds him of when he was a young boy, participating in C-Tier tournaments around different countries.

"It's good to be back with the guys I grew up with. It's fun, I'm enjoying it," he exclaims.

The yellow-blues failed to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 but made it to the 2022 EuroBasket by beating defending champions Slovenia in the process. But now, Ukraine can rely on two current NBA players in a major tournament, as both Svi Mykhailiuk and Alex Len have committed to their national team.

Credit FIBA

The last time it happened was in 2018 when they helped their team down Spain in a Basketball World Cup European Qualifier at home.

"We lost two important games in the World Cup qualifiers, but we fought through and got better as the season went on," Len said.

"In the first game we played against Italy (in the Qualifiers), we were up by 15 in the first half. We knew we could beat them, but we had to close the game better. Today, we knew we had to change some things defensively and didn't let them shoot 3-pointers," he explained.

What matters for Alex Len and his side is the big picture. And based on their recent track, Ukraine is hard as nails.

"Right now, we're in pretty good shape," Len admits. "We don't think about being first in our group. We've played three games in four days."

Last Friday, when Ukraine played Great Britain in their EuroBasket premiere, Kings coach Mike Brown attended the game and had a quick chat with the 5th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Len finished his ninth NBA season with Sacramento averaging 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds. On the other hand, Brown has recently taken over the Kings' reins.

"I talked to him for about ten minutes, and then he went to watch Lithuania in Cologne. It was the first time we met."

"He just came up to me and said, 'Good luck in the tournament, I'm off to Germany."

After making it three wins in a row, Len and Ukraine are off on another mission as well.

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.