Real Madrid guard Dzanan Musa has had an eventful professional career so far. He made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut at the age of 16, he was the 7DAYS EuroCup Rising Star in 2018, the same year he was drafted into the NBA in the first round and spent the following two years there. After returning to Europe, Musa helped Anadolu Efes Istanbul win the 2021 EuroLeague title, he became a Spanish League MVP, and now he is Real Madrid's top scorer. Musa is a superstar and an idol to many in his native Bosnia and Herzegovina. And he's still two weeks away from turning 24 years old.
Musa says his biggest basketball inspiration is the late Kobe Bryant, whom he watched numerous times before having had the chance to play against him a moment he will never forget. But for Musa, basketball represents something really special for him.
"I just love the game," he says. "It's not it's not even about fame, not about money. Even if I wasn't this, a professional basketball player, I would still play basketball in front of my building. So, for me, basketball is only love."
To be where he started out and to reach the level he wanted to reach, Musa has sacrificed a lot since early childhood.
"One thing is on top of the list: I had to leave my home when I was 11," Musa says about going from his hometown of Bihac to the capital of Sarajevo. "Leaving my parents, leaving my brother: that was the toughest moment in my life. But in terms of chasing the dream of basketball, that's something that helped me a lot, just to mature as a person, as a basketball player, to know what I want to become. And today, living my dream, it's something special for me."
It took a lot for him, and his family, to get through that period away from each other, but Musa is very satisfied where he and his basketball game have arrived.
Musa touches on some pretty incredible and memorable moments in his young career, like winning a gold medal for Bosnia and Herzgovina at the U16 European championship. It was his country's first team medal of any kind, and he was the tournament MVP. And he will never forget his EuroLeague debut in 2015, at age 16, starting a game for Cedevita Zagreb against none other than Vassilis Spanoulis and Olympiacos Piraeus.
"We were shaking hands with the other team, and when I started to shake hands with Spanoulis, my hands were shaking," Musa recalls. "It was a very special moment for me. Everything was like a dream come true for me in that moment, playing against one of the greatest players who ever played in Europe, if not the greatest. It helped me a lot to encourage myself to continue and to show myself that I'm going on a right path."
That path might have not been a straight line, but it did take him from playing in the Croatian League in front of few dozen people, then through the EuroLeague and NBA, to where he is today, back in the EuroLeague, wearing a jersey of one of greatest organizations in all of sports, Real Madrid.
"Everybody knows and everybody follows Real Madrid, whether it's football or basketball," he says. "I wouldn't call it a pressure; that's the pressure more about yourself. Because, if you're capable of doing that, in this jersey, you can do it whatever and wherever you want. It's a very special feeling to wear a white jersey every night. And you know, to represent so many people who are your fans."
For helping him get onto the right path and stay there, Musa credits his family, which has made ton of sacrifices, just like he did. His family has been there for him for all the highs and all the lows, through all the ups and downs.
Now, that he has reached the highs, he intends to stay there by staying humble and focus solely on basketball, leaving behind all the potential distractions that every young player inevitably experiences. He admits that brings more nerves and pressure, but Real Madrid guard would not want it any other way.
"Before the game, I feel scared. Especially because everybody's watching. You know what you're capable of, but you're scared. If a basketball player says they are not scared before a basketball game, they are lying," Musa says. "But even when you're scared you've got to take the shot. Even when you're scared, you've got to make a team play. I'm embracing that thing of pressure. Pressure is the most beautiful thing in the world. When you feel pressure, you know you're doing something good. So, I love being under pressure."