How Tarik Biberovic grew to love the EuroLeague and keep the NBA dream alive / News - Basketnews.com

Tarik Biberovic breaks down the EuroLeague playoff matchups and his breakout season with Fenerbahce, and names his all-time favorite game. He also lays down his plans regarding the NBA and addresses his future with the Turkish NT.

Credit: Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

While growing up, Tarik Biberovic's dreams had absolutely nothing to do with the EuroLeague. In fact, the Turkish player didn't watch any EuroLeague games until he turned 13.

Free throws this season

80%13,5Points made:13,5Accuracy:80,0%Place in standings:9Record max:22Record min:2Most made FTs:Johnathan MotleyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"I only watched NBA," he recalls in a discussion with BasketNews.

"When I was 13, I watched some Partizan games because I liked Bogdan Bogdanovic back then. When they lost to Cedevita in the ABA League semi-finals, that's when I started following basketball."

But again, it wasn't the EuroLeague Biberovic was interested in, but only NBA games.

At the age of 15, he went to OKK Spars Sarajevo in his native country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"They had a truly great coach like Marko Trbic, who developed the character and the players' persona," Biberovic recounts.

"He told me, 'As a young player, you have to watch at least one EuroLeague game.' I was like, 'I've never watched one in my life.' I wasn't interested in it basketball-wise. I thought it was boring."

But then, Biberovic started watching it with his friends. By the time he joined his current team, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, in 2018, he had already become obsessed with the top league in the continent.

"It was the first time I found it interesting, and I used to watch 3-4 games in a day," he continues.

During the COVID period, when the EuroLeague put on several classic games on their YouTube channel, he sat through all the championship games. The Final Four that Fener won in 2017 remains his favorite game to this game, even though, as he admits, "it wasn't so competitive."

"The most exciting one was CSKA-Olympiacos in 2012 with [Giorgos] Printezis' floater. I'll take those two. The other ones were a bit predictable and one-sided," he explains his preference.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul / Schedule

AS Monaco Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul91-95 AS Monaco Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulFri17:00 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul AS Monaco05-0117:45

Now, at 23 and as a full-time basketball player, Biberovic watches EuroLeague games on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, he's found a specific time slot for himself to be able to enjoy the show.

"The best thing is when you play on a Thursday and on Friday, you can watch the games before you go for coffee or lunch. I like to watch, comment, and joke with my friends," he says. "It's one of the best things, you know?"

In his double capacity as a EuroLeague player and fan, Biberovic is an avid supporter of the league's imminent expansion. That's slated to happen sooner rather than later, but Biberovic would like to experience it first-hand.

"I wouldn't mind having more teams in the league," he says.

"Right now, 20 would be ok. I think that slowly we should move towards the NBA. I don't know if people like that, but we'll be playing more games and fans will also like that. Some players are already against it, for sure. But that's one of the things I would like to see," he adds.

Of course, that will only happen if the 56th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft isn't picked up by the team that selected him, the Memphis Grizzlies. For the NBA franchise, Biberovic is a draft-and-stash candidate who may need more than one extra year overseas. However, since he's worked his way into more playing time and developed trust with the coaching staff headed by Sarunas Jasikevicius, he's been able to raise his stock.

As Fenerbahce prepare for the playoff series against AS Monaco, Biberovic can definitely call himself one of his team's main pillars. The Zenica-born forward is averaging 7.2 points and 2.0 rebounds on an incredible 56.9% 3-point shooting percentage and 88.2% from the free-throw line.

His average playing time has increased from 10.3 last year to 15.9 minutes per contest in the 2023-24 season. In the Turkish league, his efficiency is even more apparent, as he puts up 10.4 points. 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Biberovic says he has an ongoing contract with Fenerbahce, but there's an NBA option every year.

"We had a lot of talks and my agent is talking with them every day. We had a meeting a month ago for them to catch up with how I'm doing. They're really positive and happy about me," he stresses.

Just because of scheduling conflicts, Biberovic can seldom watch some games of the team that selected him.

"Their games are on early in the morning, and we have practice. So, I have to sleep. The Grizzlies are not in a good position," he comments.

However, the overall feedback from Memphis' side has been nothing but positive. Depending on whether they'll get the lottery pick or not, the Grizzlies will decide if there will be an extra roster spot for Biberovic next year.

Credit Chris Gardner/Getty Images

"In the NBA, it all depends on draft picks. But there's nothing firm, and no decision has been made yet," the player clarifies.

"There's nothing clear from both sides. I'm here with Fener and we'll see what's the best thing in the summer."

Biberovic says he's still to make a definite decision, but the chances of him playing in the nextSummer League are minimal.

"I don't think so," he replies.

"We haven't talked about that. It will be easier to make a decision once the season's finished. It's not a big thing. I'm going to talk to them before the Summer League starts. I'll have a month to think about it."

Regardless of when he'll move overseas, the Turkish international forward thinks hecould make a good NBA player.

"I believe my style of play is suitable for the NBA," he maintains.

"They need players like me -- with size, that can play on both ends, catch and shoot. If I go over there, I think I can be successful."

In his interview with BasketNews, Tarik Biberovic also broke down the factors that have helped him upgrade his game and the most important takeaways from the coaches he's had in Turkey. The 23-year-old NBA prospect also referred to his present and future with the Turkish NT and weighed in on the Wade Baldwin-Kendrick Nunn saga that makes PAO-Maccabi series even more compelling.

What are the reasons for your breakout season?For sure it's my best season since I came here. To be honest, I don't know how a breakout season is defined. But even if I make 1-2 mistakes, they can help me mentally to be more confident and grow as a player day by day.

You turned pro at the age of 15, which means that this is your sixth season with Fenerbahce and you might be feeling like a veteran player already. Is it so?Even though I've seen some of the best coaches and players in the EuroLeague, it's about how much you play and achieve. It's not counted in years.

Ι came here in 2018, but all those years it was like going from the University to my Masters degree. I was in a lesson all the time, gathering information as much as I could.

But as long as you don't play, none of that matters. You have to be on the court to show it. I always had the feeling that things would turn out that way. I just needed to get consistent minutes and chances. Things with Sarunas [Jasikevicius] are going well right now.

Is there a player you can call your mentor?In my first seasons with Fener, we had some of the best players in the EuroLeague, mainly in terms of personality. We had Gigi Datome, Nicolo Melli, Jan Vesely who was my big brother for four years.

Nando De Colo was a great example of how leadership must be. Even if he doesn't interact with you so much, the way he approaches you and the game make him a leader.

Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

How about the coaches you've had? There's a lot of Serbian influence there, from Zeljko Obradovic to Igor Kokoskov and from Sasha Djordjevic to Dimitris Itoudis. Which one has shaped your basketball identity the most?Saras is the first one to not speak Serbian or Bosnian, but he makes himself clear in the things he wants. He's cursing in our language, so he understands everything. Tactically and in terms of how he approaches the game, he's the best coach right now in Europe.

We have a lot of talent and scorers on the team, but he somehow manages for everyone to have the same touches and shares of the ball. He has the authority to put everything in order. I hope that we can reach our peak really soon -- in the playoffs actually.

I don't have to talk much about Zeljko. Everyone knows who he is, what he's done and how he approaches the game. I learned a lot from him.

Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

I believe Igor [Kokoskov] will be a great coach for European basketball in 5-10 years from now. He'll change a lot of things.

Even if you don't want to accept the way they play in the NBA, it's about having more possessions and playing faster. He was trying to bring that when he was in Fener. We had a 10-game winning streak where everything was based on analytics and the speed of the game.

Sasha was like a real Serbian coach. It was based on toughness, aggressiveness and who's the hungriest on the court. I learned a lot from him, and he's a good mentor.

[Dimitris] Itoudis is a coach who gives you all the freedom in the world and trusts his players. That makes him special in his own way.

Have you noticed any differences in Fenerbahce's performances between home and away games?The results are different, of course. But for us players, the fans' help is very important. They're the 6th player and make you understand the importance of each game. Those things make you play better, for sure. We need to get a road win and show that we can play the same way.

Do you think there are shades of both Bojan and Bogdan Bogdanovic in your game?Yes, that's true because we're all shooting-oriented players. Bogdan is more 2-3, and Bojan is more of a 3-4. I'm just in the middle. It's a good comparison.

You had a pretty impressive Turkish NT debut in February's FIBA Windows for the 2025 EuroBasket. You even scored the game-winner against Iceland.

How did you experience the waiting process, since you changed your international allegiance in 2018. What did it take you so long to play with Turkey?I was a naturalized Turkish player. Shane Larkin and Scottie Wilbekin had covered my position.

I'm younger and right now, it's normal that they be chosen over me. But in the summer, they lost their Turkish nationality. So, I stepped up and everything turned out to be great. I got my chance and did all my best in those two games.

Was there any chance you could play with Bosnia?I don't think so. I went to Turkey at 16-17 and I played in the youth competitions. As soon as I did that and took the passport, I stood no chances of playing for Bosnia FIBA-wise.

Coach Ergin Ataman said that perhaps he'd be open to adding a naturalized player from the NBA. Do you think that your place with the NT can be endangered?That doesn't concern me. It's up to the federation and to him as a coach to decide who they want. We'll see what happens. Talking about possibilities in two years from now doesn't make sense.

What will decide Fenerbahce's series against Monaco?This is the most important part of the season. Monaco are relying mostly on individual quality. We need to prepare to defend one-on-one and stay solid until the last second. Mike James, Elie Okobo and Jordan Floyd are really good one-on-one players.

Is there anything Fenerbahce should learn from the two regular-season games?Of course. In the last game, we made a lot of turnovers and gave away easy buckets. We need to make some adjustments. The game against Olympiacos was good for us ahead of the playoffs.

Who's going to make the Final Four? Real Madrid are having an amazing season and will be even more motivated in the playoffs.

Olympiacos lost to Barcelona twice in the regular season. But Barca aren't so good right now as they were at the beginning of the season.

Olympiacos are catching up, as we've seen. It's going to be a nice series. Both teams can play good basketball -- moving the ball from side to side and not forcing any shots until the last second.

Our series is going to be good since we're both extremely talented teams on offense. So, defense is going to decide which one will advance.

Panathinaikos-Maccabi is going to be an electric series. You have one of the best backcourt in the EuroLeague in Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin. I think it's nice for players to have competition between each other, like the one Kendrick Nunn and Wade Baldwin are having now. It gets fans more involved and the energy's bigger as long as a rivalry is there.

How do you envision the season's ending?I don't believe in jinxing, and I'm not a superstitious guy. We have a Final Four atmosphere on the team.

All the things we're working for are important. I believe that we'll make the Final Four, where everything can happen. But I have the feeling that we'll be there. Hopefully, we'll get it all done.

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