Boban Marjanovic is a breath of fresh air. In a league that can be awash in self-importance and seriousness, Marjanovic was the embodiment of joy, a guy always smiling and understanding just how blessed he was to be paid well to play basketball every day. Fans loved him, teammates loved him, social media loved him and a few advertisers loved him.
All that love is headed to Turkey this season. Marjanovic has agreed to terms with Turkish powerhouse and Euroleague team Fenerbahçe for this season, a story broken by reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com and confirmed by EuroHoops and by Marc Stein, among others.
Marjanovic’s agreement does have a December opt-out window where, if an NBA team did call, the Serbian center could return to the NBA. It’s also unlikely to happen.
Marjanovic, 36, played nine NBA seasons, starting with the Spurs but including stops with the Pistons, Clippers, 76ers, Mavericks, and the past two seasons with the Rockets. He established himself as a situational player and a solid third center in the NBA who could bring some bulk and rim protection to the court when called upon, averaging 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds a game in the limited minutes he did play (he did start 25 games but never averaged more than 11.7 minutes a game in any season).
Marjanovic heads to a stacked Fenerbahçe squad where he will likely play behind former NBA center Khem Birch.
What we all hope to see after his playing days is more Boban the actor. He had a role in “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” (where Keanu Reeves famously kills him) and a great moment in Adam Sandler’s “Hustle” plus a spot in Hulu’s “Self Reliance.” We need more of the big man on the big screen.
