Guerschon Yabusele has definitely made his mark for the Philadelphia 76ers in his second go-round in the NBA after a lengthy absence while playing overseas. In just two games, he’s already solidified a role for himself despite still getting reacclimated to the nooks and crannies of the best basketball league on Earth.
The 28-year-old spent the last five seasons in Europe, where he molded himself into becoming one of the hottest commodities in the Euroleague. The culmination of that was a breakout stint during the 2024 Olympics which eventually turned into a springboard for him to make an NBA comeback.
But having seen the best of both worlds, Yabusele did not shy away from touching on a rather divisive matter.
76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele says Euroleague clubs can compete with NBA teams
Following his first regular season game in the NBA since 2019, Yabusele dished out a bold claim, saying that the teams in the Euroleague can compete in the NBA.
It is too early to say because I have only played one game, but I always say that some of the best EuroLeague teams can compete with some NBA teams, for sure. I am not saying the best teams .
They are two different leagues. Being able to play for Real Madrid for three years and competing in those arenas against other teams and players, I gained a lot of experience. And feeling how it is on the court playing against tough teams helped a lot.
Granted, Yabusele won a championship in the Euroleague and played for Real Madrid, a European powerhouse, for three years, but that talking point about foreign clubs competing with NBA teams has been a divisive one for quite some time now.
Remember the biggest European superstars in the NBA echoing the sentiment about how much easier it is to score in the league than in Europe and how much it perplexed NBA fans? Well, this one takes it up a notch.
While Yabusele qualified his statement by ruling out the top NBA teams, it’s still a bit of a reach to say that those who may not be deemed as title contenders can have a difficult time against the clubs in Europe.
If his sample or basis is the intermittent times when Eurloague teams play guests during preseason, there could be some credence to that, but NBA teams rarely play all their cards during the glorified tune-up games.
Just a food for thought perhaps, but Guerschon Yabusele may want to get on the good side of fans first and instead, be more rowdy as 76ers fans on the comparison front.