Naz Mitrou-Long shares Milan learnings, Olympiacos dreams, Zalgiris regrets / News - Basketnews.com

Naz Mitrou-Long explains why he thinks he's become a better player after his one-year stint in Milan. The Canadian-born guard also explores his short Zalgiris stint and shares the background of a historic showdown he had long been waiting for.

Credit: Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images Credit Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images

Naz Mitrou-Long and Elijah Mitrou-Long found some time for a quick chat last November 27, when Peristeri Athens visited the Peace and Friendship Stadium to play hosts Olympiacos Piraeusfor the Greek league.

Free throws this season

76%12,6Points made:12,6Accuracy:75,5%Place in standings:13Record max:33Record min:3Most made FTs:Nikola MilutinovTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

The two brothers had faced off in college when Elijah was with St. Mary's and Naz with Iowa State (2015-17). Hence, it wasn't unusual for them to share the court -- even though Naz, who had just arrived in Greece at the time, had been left out of Olympiacos' 12-man squad as his passport hadn't been issued yet.

Flash forward to February 16. Naz, 30, has recorded his first appearances with the Reds as an integral part of the team's core of domestic players. Elijah, 27, on the other hand, had been playing under the Greek nationality since October 10, 2023. Peristeri is his third job in the country his mother Georgia Mitrou was born, after PAOK, Apollon Patras, and Aris.

On the occasion of the Greek Cup Final 8, held in Crete, and Olympiacos' quarter-final fixture against Peristeri, the two of them battled it out in a knockout contest. Naz helped the Greek champs cruise to a 87-68 win by tallying 12 points, 2 rebounds and as many assists. Elijah contributed to his team's efforts with 7 points and 4 assists, but the outing turned out to be pretty much one-sided, save for the first quarter.

A few seconds after the final buzzer, the brothers stood half-court, next to each other, as they exchanged jerseys and posed for some commemorative photos. You could tell both shared the same excitement for having been able to experience something they had craved for a long time.

Naz, for one, had always envisioned the moment he would be able to play against his younger brother.

"It's a lifetime's worth. I always knew Elijah was going to be great and match up his potential," he told BasketNews in Heraklion.

Naz Mitrou-Long

Team:Olympiacos PiraeusPosition:PGAge:30Height:193 cmWeight:95 kgBirth place:CanadaProfileNewsStatistics

"He's such a great player. But to do it here, on the same court, as Greek citizens, it's amazing," he added.

For the former NBA guard, squaring off against his brother is one of the perks of being a Greek citizen.

"Absolutely," he confirmed.

"It's a dream come true. My mother put in so much work to make it happen. I know she's very upset she can't be here right now. But she'll be in Greece for our game next March," he revealed.

Naz said the two brothers didn't engage in much pre-game talk before the game.

"We just told each other, 'Go out there and compete 110%, bring the best out of one another, and may the best man win'," he stressed.

However, Olympiacos' guard was far less fired up following the exchange he had with his mother.

"I texted her before the game and asked her who she was going for," he recounted.

"I'm pretty sure she wanted Elijah to win. She said I'm her first love and he's her last. I don't know what that means," Naz smiled.

"That was the feedback and I was upset."

Naz checked in for less than 14 minutes, while Elijah's time clocked in at 20 minutes. Thus, both relished the chance to enjoy each other's plays from the sidelines as much as they did on the court. Naz confessed that he was reacting to Elijah's actions "internally."

"I was watching him every step of the way. He's working on his game, getting better every day. When I'm guarding him, I don't want him to score. I know it's the exact same feeling with him as well, but I can't really put it into words."

So far, Naz has been struggling to crack Olympiacos' EuroLeague rotation. He rarely plays more than 10 minutes, as Thomas Walkup and Nigel Williams-Goss are coach Giorgos Bartzokas' main backcourt options.

By comparison, he fares much better in the Greek league, where he's playing almost 17 minutes per game and averaging 6.5 points per outing. Elijah has grown perfectly accustomed to Greek basketball reality and has enabled Peristeri's play-caller, Vassilis Spanoulis, to consider him an integral part of the squad. His 9.8 points per domestic game are combined with an extraordinary 42.5% from behind the 3-point arc

"We talked about Greece. Olympiacos is a big organization, not only for Greece but in European basketball, so he knew everything," Elijah Mitrou-Long told gazzetta.gr last November.

Naz describes his Olympiacos experience as "great."

"I believe we have one of the best teams in Europe and a chance to win it all, both the EuroLeague and the Greek league," he declared. "I'm happy to be on a championship-caliber team."

Credit Sonia Canada/Getty Images

Currently in his third season in Europe, Naz has gotten a good taste of the difference between being a leader of an underdog team like Brescia and fighting for the colors of an all-aspiring outfit like Olimpia Milan or Olympiacos. The series of events that brought him to Piraeus was unfortunate, as it was directly related to Nigel Williams-Goss' injury and Naz's underwhelming stint with Zalgiris Kaunas.

Fans in Lithuania never got to see his full potential, as Mitrou-Long averaged only 4.1 points in 10.5 minutes per game in the EuroLeague. He shot only 38% from the field and had almost the same amount of turnovers as assists.

In a feature article published last November, BasketNews' Augustas Suliauskas broke down the reasons why Mitrou-Long and Zalgiris wasn't a good fit, arguing that the player needs a team that plays a quick tempo of basketball and heavily relies on running in the open court.

"While in Kaunas, the Canadian guard never really had one game where everything went his way: good field-goal percentage and not many turnovers. Not a game where he could build up his confidence and allow the coaching staff to trust him more, while it's actually what Mitrou-Long needed the most," Suliauskas noted.

Evaluating his short-term stint with Zalgiris, Naz noted that he was never able to catch his rhythm.

"That being said, I enjoyed my time there and I wish I could have figured it out with the coaching staff and delivered to the fans," he lamented. "Because those fans are really amazing, man!" he exclaimed.

"At the end of the day, they're doing well right now and we're doing well over here."

Mitrou-Long is certain that the first person to blame for the unfortunate pairing is himself.

"Honestly, I put a lot of responsibility on myself. Coach [Kazys] Maksvytis was great for that group. Unfortunately, he's not there anymore. But those guys play great and unselfish basketball. The first person I'm looking at is myself. I needed to make shots and be a better player. I think I have that opportunity here with Olympiacos."

Given the fact that Olympiacos -- and Bartzokas in particular -- don't foster a quick pace that would facilitate Mitrou-Long's skill set, one reserves the right to be skeptical about the outcome of Naz's Greek adventure.

"I believe in my work and in who I am as a player," Mitrou-Long promptly responded.

"I know I love this game almost anything in my life, besides my girlfriend and my family. I always bet on myself and when opportunities come, like when Nigel [Williams-Goss] got hurt, I need to fill in and make sure I'm attentive and locked in."

Prior to joining Zalgiris, Naz had his maiden EuroLeague campaign with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. The season finished on a high note, as the team won the Italian championship title, but the experienced guard went through several ups and downs. He was still able to average 7.4 points, 2.0 boards and 2.0 dimes in his rookie year at the top level.

What's more, transitioning from Brescia to Milan was big. Coach Ettore Messina is known for his strict regimen. Thus, even though Mitrou-Long's season left much to be desired, the overall takeaway from his sole season in the fashion capital was far from negligible.

"Coach Messina taught me a lot," he said.

"Just because of us not reaching the potential that we had has made me a better player and person. It prepared me for the EuroLeague. I think knowing the small window in the margin for error is something that needs to be attended to. I've learned that in Milan and I've been able to carry that with me now."

Moreover, Naz thinks he was able to improve his decision-making on the floor.

"Everybody was trying to find their place within the system and we weren't able to do that now. I know that someway, somehow, they'll figure it out.

If you keep pushing through the hard times, you'll eventually persevere."

For a guy who went undrafted in 2017 and was still capable of landing NBA deals for three years, perseverance might be all it takes to succeed.

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