Shabazz Napier leaving Zenit amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine / News - Basketnews.com

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Shabazz Napier is leaving Zenit Saint Petersburg amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ESPN's Andrew Wojnarowski reports.

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The 30-year-old American-Puerto Rican point guard had been recovering from an ankle injury suffered early in the season and neared a return to the EuroLeague team, but the attack has prompted his departure back to the States.

Zenit had listed him as available to finally debut in Europe’s premier club continental competition.

He was expected to take the court against FC Barcelona but the EuroLeague Round 27 game initially scheduled to be held yesterday, Friday, was suspended following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Explaining how he landed in Saint Petersburg, Napier told BasketNews last October that "the NBA season and the overseas free agency didn't line up correctly. The NBA free agency was after overseas. I had teams that I talked to, but we didn't get into conversations in terms of being with them in a long call."

During preseason, Napier had made his way to the VTB United League SuperCup. He scored 33 points against UNICS Kazan in his debut but got injured in the following contest vs. CSKA Moscow.

A two-time NCAA champion with UConn, Napier was selected with the 24th overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.

He went on to play in 354 NBA games, including nine Playoff tilts, moving between the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Brooklyn Nets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Washington Wizards.

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