Markus Howard of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz has been one of the standout performers in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, with the rookie taking to the competition like a duck to water. The 23-year-old has already had multiple memorable performances, yet he never had any doubts about what he can offer on the court.
After a 12-point outing on his debut, Howard immediately caught everyone's attention with 33 points in Round 2 and then 30 points in Round 3. He is currently the eighth-highest scorer in the EuroLeague with an average of 15.9 points per game, while he is comfortably averaging the most three-point makes with 3 per night.
"I'm excited to be able to prove a lot of people wrong, but also prove myself right. I know my abilities, I'm very confident in my abilities and to be able to show that to a lot of people is what I'm excited about," Howard stated during an interview as part of the EuroLeague's Focus On series.
Howard arrived at Baskonia in the offseason of 2022 after two years with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, and he does not see much of a difference between the level of talent in the NBA and the EuroLeague.
"Playing in the NBA for two years, being able to go to another league where the caliber of the players there are just as matched as the NBA is something that I wanted to experience," he explained. "Being able to play against some of the best players in the world in a different setting, that's what intrigued me."
Watch the EuroLeague's Focus On episode with Howard to find out more about what he discovered when first learning about Baskonia, his adjustment to living in Vitoria and his thoughts on playing in the EuroLeague, as well as head coach Joan Penarroya's thoughts on what the guard can offer.