The Dzanan Musa elevator

The case of Dzanan Musa is the perfect example that sometimes you have to go down to get back up.

The Bosnian forward, 23 years old and 2.05m, arrived at 19 for the Brooklyn Nets from Croatian side Cedevita as one of those youngsters who are in a hurry to succeed in the NBA.

He left home very soon, he was champion and best player in the U-16 European Championship and he was showered with praise and comparisons with Luka Doncic, the greatest genius of his generation.

But two courses in the mecca of basketball showed him that he was not yet well baked (4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists in an average of 10 minutes on the court), and the boy signed in January 2021 for one of the greats in Europe, Efes.

The Turkish team won the Euroleague, Musa only participated in eight games and understood that he had to go down further.

Next station, Breogán de Lugo.

And there yes, the Bosnian found a perfect habitat to be the leader, monopolize the ball and points and relaunch his career.

With the Galician team he was chosen

, most valuable player, of the last ACB, increasing his statistics: leader in minutes on court (32), points (20.1), evaluation (23.1), free throws (6) and fouls received (6.5) per game.

As a prize, the signing of him by Madrid.

Once again the elevator went up again after having gone down several floors.

“For Breogán it was a very pleasant surprise.

He had had bad luck in his career, he went to the NBA very young and had no leading role.

Then to Efes and the same.

He needed to feel important, and we needed a leader.

Everything squared”, recalls José Antonio Díaz, general director of the Lugo club.

Musa signed a one-year contract and fulfilled it despite the fact that his outstanding performances caught the attention of EuroLeague teams that wanted to sign him earlier.

“I wanted to be the best in the league.

There were doubts if he was capricious and selfish, but quite the opposite.

From the beginning, he was involved on and off the court”, recalls Díaz, and points to explain the occasion in which Musa played… with a fractured trachea.

Breogán-Manresa, last April.

Musa is hit in an attack and is left lying on the parquet.

He finds it hard to breathe.

He gets up, protests to the referees and continues playing the rest of the first half.

During the break, the doctors observed that he had a deviated Adam's apple.

They placed it on him and he continued to play the entire second half.

His team wins, Musa adds 18 points and 9 rebounds.

But the pain persists and he goes to the hospital.

He had a broken trachea and underwent emergency surgery.

“The surgeon couldn't explain it to him.

He is very competitive, a winner.

He needs to feel important, like in Breogán and like in Bosnia.

'Ball to me,' he says.

When it is like that, things happen.

In Madrid that will be more complicated, because there are more protagonists, but he is not a complementary player, he is not a worker.

He is not Hanga or Abalde.

He plays well feeling like a leader.

He is more of an attack player than a defense player, although he helps with rebounding because he is a 2.05 forward.

He penetrates well, looks for the rim, has a huge first step and is not selfish if he sees a well-placed teammate.

He has to improve the game without the ball”, Diaz analyzes.

In the Eurobasket, Musa won the individual and collective duel against Doncic: 22 points for the Bosnian and victory against Slovenia, with 16 points for his star.

He rounded off the European championship with 21.4 points, 4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, despite falling in the group stage.

The forward set the same pace in the recent Super Cup, already in white: 21 points and 7 assists against Betis in the semifinals and 19 points in the final against Barça.

“Everyone doubted me.

I had trouble finding the way.

The Breogán helped me regain my confidence.

It is very good to silence those who doubted, ”Musa claims.

On his horizon, the dream of returning to the NBA.

And now he already knows what it is to go down to come back up.

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