Getty Serbian big man and Philadelphia 76ers draftee Filip Petrusev battles for the ball during an Olympic qualifier against Puerto Rico.
In the wake of selecting Serbian big man and former Gonzaga star Filip Petrusev with the 50th pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey made clear his plans for the sharpshooter.
“We think Petrusev is someone who has a real chance to help us down the road,” Morey said, via Rookie Wire. “He’ll likely start overseas and then be someone who can come over later.”
Although Petrusev will do what he must for his new team, however, he revealed during his introductory press conference on Friday that he’s looking to join the Sixers sooner rather than later.
“I always try to set high expectations,” said Petrusev. “Mine would be to just get to the NBA as fast as possible, start learning, start getting the experience as a young guy and just finding my role.”
He doesn’t want to be just another guy, either. Petrusev has big goals where making the NBA jump is concerned.
“I want to be a starter one day,” he declared, confidently. “I want to be on a team that’s competing for championships. I want to be able to contribute.”
A Bona Fide Star in Europe
With Joel Embiid leading the charge and an elite-level supporting cast, the Sixers obviously have championship aspirations of their own. Unfortunately for Petrusev, rookie second-rounders don’t typically get a great opportunity to be part of that process.
He’ll get his chance to show he’s ready to do so beginning on Monday, though, when he takes the court in Las Vegas as part of Philly’s summer league squad. Moreover, his strong play in the Adriatic League last season lends credence to the notion that Petrusev isn’t your typical second-round pick.
In 32 games across all competitions last season for KK Mega Basket, Petrusev put up 21.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest. Along the way, he knocked down 46.2% of his three-point shots.
Consequently, Mega improved to 14-12 in ABA competition after finishing 6-15 in 2019-20. For his efforts, Petrusev was named the 2021 ABA League MVP as well as the organization’s Top Prospect.
It’s an unfair comparison, of course, but there are reasons beyond his own admiration for the future Hall of Famer that Dirk Nowitzki gets namechecked when talking about Petrusev. Clearly, he has big impact potential, whether his NBA opportunity comes now or a year or two down the line.
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Petrusev Talks About His Draft Experience
While getting drafted was a big deal for Petrusev, actually watching his selection unfold was easier said than done, too.
“It was tough for sure, because after workouts I went back home to be with my family and just watch the draft with them and it was really late,” he said. “Back home it started at like 2 a.m. and the first round goes for like three hours. So, I basically stayed up all night and didn’t go to sleep.”
The difficulty didn’t end there, either. After getting picked up by the Sixers, he had to actually get himself to the U.S. for summer league, which was a chore in and of itself.
“I was stuck in the airport in Turkey because I didn’t have the papers to come over to the States,” he said. “So that was tough as well.”
Nevertheless, he’s excited to be where he is now.
“Philly was definitely one of the teams we thought would be a good fit for me,” he said. “When I heard it was Philly, it was definitely a relaxing moment and I was just happy and excited be a part of such a good organization.”
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