Dante Exum arrived at FC Barcelona with a strong resume as a member of Australia's bronze-medal winning squad at the 2020 Olympic Games with six seasons in the NBA under his belt.
Exum comes through late for Barca
He joined Barcelona to help fortify the backcourt as it suffered through a rash of injuries, but the 26-year-old took some time to adjust. Aside from the 13 points he scored against UNICS Kazan in Round 17, Exum had totaled just 10 points in his other first six games. He then collected 9 points last week against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. On Tuesday against FC Bayern Munich, Exum showed off just how valuable a player he can be in his team’s 71-66 victory.
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Exum stepped up when Barcelona needed it most, making 3 of 5 shots and 2 of 2 free throws for 9 points - all of them coming in the final 13 minutes. He also finished the game with 5 rebounds and dished out 1 assist for a performance index rating of 14 in just 17 minutes of action. Barcelona was trailing when he entered the game midway through the third quarter and he promptly missed his first shot, but then Exum was fouled, went to the line and made free throws to give his team the lead. He scored on two of Barca's next three possessions and the hosts led 45-41 after three quarters. He assisted on Brandon Davies bucket for the first points of the fourth quarter, too. The Barcelona lead was only 3 entering the final 2 minutes and then Exum came through again with a critical three-pointer to help secure the outcome.