Former Kings Center Credits NBA's Selfish Playstyle for Move to Europe
The Sacramento Kings are constantly funneling in international talent, but rarely do they see one of their lottery picks leave the NBA to play in Europe. The 6th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, C Willie Cauley-Stein, left the NBA to play for an Italian professional team, Openjobmetis Varese.
Cauley-Stein had a seven-year NBA career, with his best seasons in Sacramento. The 30-year-old big man was falling out of NBA rotations before heading to Europe, but he credits another reason for his decision (via Sportnado):
"I chose to come to Europe because of the more ‘tactical’ way of playing compared to the 1vs1 basketball that is played today in the NBA, which is conditioned by the players’ desire to produce personal statistics. Here in Europe every game and every ball is important, not like in the NBA where all 82 games are equal."
The former King blames the NBA's selfish playstyle for his move and believes European basketball is more win-oriented. While NBA players can care too much about personal statistics at times, every NBA player has a desire to win.
Cauley-Stein spent his first four years in Sacramento, where he averaged 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, before signing with the Golden State Warriors to start the down spiral of his NBA career.
After leaving the Kings, Cauley-Stein failed to find a home between the Warriors, the Dallas Mavericks, and a 2-game stint with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Cauley-Stein is happy to find a new home in Italy, where he can revive his basketball career under his preferred team-oriented playstyle.
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