It’s fair to say that Dante Exum’s season has worked out much better than he initially feared might be the case.
Dante Exum, Barcelona: 'I think I adjusted well'
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7 Mins read
The Australian guard was cut by Houston Rockets in mid-October and he spent the next few weeks not knowing where or when his next destination would be. The answer came in early December when FC Barcelona had been hit by injuries to backcourt stars Nick Calathes and Cory Higgins and needed an experienced player who could immediately contribute. The name they identified was Dante Exum.
Recalling that time, Exum said: “I was just working out, staying patient and being ready, trying to not stress out too much. My agent was talking to clubs. We were looking at NBA clubs and seeing what the options were but I didn’t want to end up on a team where I wouldn’t have the opportunity to play.
“So we started looking at Europe and Barcelona had a few injuries then so they were looking for a player and it worked out. As soon as the possibility arose I jumped on it. I was excited to get out here and start playing.”
"The fans are just unbelievable... Until you’re actually playing in it, you don’t fully understand it.”
Before committing himself to that move, though, Exum was able to receive advice from a compatriot who had experience playing for the Blaugrana.
“I’ve talked to a few people over the years about playing in Europe, like Brock Motum when we’ve played together for Australia,” he revealed. “But the person I talked to the most was Joe Ingles, because obviously he played in Barcelona, won the EuroLeague, and played with Saras. So he was good to talk to and see his opinions. It was very interesting.”
Once he got Ingles’s blessing and landed in Spain to sign his new contract, Exum was not given the luxury of time to acclimate himself. Due to the team’s injury problems, he was put straight into the firing line and, within a couple of days of arriving, made his EuroLeague debut with a solid 13 minutes in a home win against a rather significant opponent.
“My first game was El Clasico!” he laughed. “I was jet-lagged, I wasn’t sleeping. I was in a hotel, I did not know anybody…I had no clue, I was just thrown into the deep end. It was the whole nine yards!
“But I just wanted to be myself. They knew what kind of player I am, what kind of player they had signed. So I wasn’t going to try to come here and do anything crazy. It’s always hard coming into a new team mid-season – seeing where you fit, where you gel, learning new plays, a new style. Not only getting to know my teammates but everybody around you, the whole club and a different league. So it was definitely an adjustment, but I think I adjusted well.”
Exum very quickly realized that the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague is unlike any other basketball competition he had ever experienced. In fact, he was given prior notice about what to expect from his new coach.
“Saras said this to me when I spoke to him on the phone right before I came over,” he reveals. “He said that my Olympics bronze medal game [which he won with Australia in the 2020 Olympics], every night in the EuroLeague is going to be like that! And it’s been the most truthful statement I’ve ever heard! You travel to all these cities, everyone’s excited, the fans are excited, and every game there’s immense pressure, immense crowd. I love the crowd, I love hearing the chants and everything.
“Obviously, being in the NBA you travel from state to state. But then I came over here and my first trip was to Red Star and then we went to Panathinaikos. And I’m sitting on the bench trying to talk to one of my teammates and they can’t hear me because the crowd is just going crazy. And this is a Tuesday game during the regular season! So it was just amazing to experience different cultures, how they play basketball, and the fans are just unbelievable. In a way, I expected it because you can watch videos and see it online. But until you’re actually playing in it, you don’t fully understand it.”
Exum’s initial contract with Barca only lasted until the end of February, but he made such a strong impact during those initial weeks that it became obvious the club would want to keep him beyond that date. And so it transpired with the all-action Australian agreeing to extend his contract until the end of the season.
He was delighted to stay, saying: “Signing until February, I knew all the players would be back, but they asked me if I wanted to stay so I was like ‘Yep, let’s keep going!’ With the potential of the team and where we’re going, I wanted to be a part of it. And it was nice that they wanted me to stay here.”
"With the potential of the team and where we’re going, I wanted to be a part of it."
That decision was definitely well received by Barca fans, who quickly appreciated Exum’s dynamic playing style and adopted him as one of their own.
“The fans have shown me the most amount of love,” he smiled. “They chant my name during games and it’s an unbelievable feeling. Obviously there are ups and downs in a season, but fans want to see that you’re trying and that you care. I’ve been through a lot of injuries so I’ve sat on the sidelines a lot, and one thing I always try to pride myself on is trying 100%, showing the passion and that I want to win.”
In particular, Exum’s ability to unleash spectacular individual plays – such as his dunk of the season contender during Game 1 of the playoffs series against FC Bayern Munich – is always likely to make him a big fan favorite. And he admitted that he enjoys executing those plays just as much as the fans enjoy watching them, saying: “It’s an amazing feeling. I can’t even explain it! When you make a big play and the crowd is going wild, you just want to pump up the crowd, throw your hands up, do everything to interact with the crowd. And they love that, they love it when the players get into it.
“Obviously I also have a job to do, and have to stay as focussed as possible and try to move onto the next play. But I think those plays help the team as well. When you make a big play, everybody gets motivated.”
Now that he is heading to the Final Four, Exum admitted that becoming EuroLeague champion would rival anything he has achieved in his career – especially after learning what it would mean to his teammates after they finished as runners-up last season.
“This would be up there, right there with the bronze medal,” he said. “Obviously that meant a lot for Australian basketball, their first-ever Olympics medal. But coming over here, I’ve learned a lot, I’ve watched a lot of past EuroLeague games and I understand what European basketball means. I love the uniqueness of the Final Four – just two more games and then you’re the champion. Some people say, ‘Oh, just two games, that’s so much easier [than a series],’ but no! Every game is decided with one or two possessions, and you need to make sure that over two games, that’s you.
“I have talked to a lot of the guys about last year and I see in their eyes how much they want it, how much it means to them. So it’s definitely something I want to be a part of.”