Na 12 jaar is Malevy Leons opvolger van Francisco Elson in NBA

Een bijzonder moment voor Malevy Leons. Ergens vandaag of gister moet zijn agent gebeld hebben en gezegd dat de Oklahoma City Thunder Alex Reese gingen wegsturen en dat de 25-jarige Leons uit IJmuiden een NBA-contract zou gaan krijgen.

In feite is het een één op één vervanging. Reese is een forward/center van 2.06m. Even lang en even oud als Leons.

De Thunder zijn niet zomaar een team, er zijn serieuze volgers in Amerika bijvoorbeeld bij ESPN die de ploeg kampioen zien worden. Op dit moment zijn de Thunder na titelverdediger Celtics bij FOX Sports de grootste favoriet om kampioen te worden.

Evengoed geldt dat zo’n team ook net zo makkelijk afscheid neemt van de Nederlander als dat ze nu hebben gedaan van Reese.

Vrijdag kan Leons zijn debuut maken als de Thunder op bezoek gaan bij de Portland Trail Blazers.

Leons begon bij Apollo Amsterdam. In 2019 ging hij naar Amerika waar hij twee seizoenen speelde voor Mineral Area College. De afgelopen drie seizoenen kwam hij uit voor Bradley University.

Leons draaide de hele voorbereiding mee met de Thunder. In een oefenwedstrijd tegen de New Zealand Breakers had hij 14 punten, zes rebounds, twee assists en twee steals.

Leons wordt de zevende Nederlander in de NBA. Francisco Elson werd met de San Antonio Spurs zelfs kampioen van de NBA. Rik Smits was bij de Indiana Pacers een ‘grote meneer’.

Naam	Positie	Lengte	Geboortedatum	Teams	NBA seizoenen	Wedstrijden gespeeld	Gem. minuten	Gem punten	Gem. rebounds	Gem. assists
Francisco Elson	C-F	2.10	Feb 28, 1976	DEN, MIL, PHL, SAN, SEA, UTH	2003-2012	472	15.27	3.66	3.47	0.55
Dan Gadzuric	FC	2.07	Feb 2, 1978	GOS, MIL, NJN, NYK	2002-2012	527	14.79	4.68	4.41	0.37
Rik Smits	C	2.24	Aug 23, 1966	IND	1988-2000	867	26.64	14.85	6.09	1.4
Geert Hammink	C	2.10	Jul 12, 1969	GOS, ORL	1994-1996	8	3.38	1.75	0.88	0.25
Swen Nater	C	2.07	Jan 14, 1950	LAL, MIL, SDC, BUF	1976-1984	489	28.36	12.15	10.83	1.95
Hank Beenders	GF	1.98	Jun 2, 1916	BOS, PHI, PRO	1946-1949	111	36.8	8.42	0	0.48

Deze spelers werden wel gedraft, maar speelden nooit in de NBA:

• Ron van der Schaaf (1987)
• Serge Zwikker (1997)
• Remon van de Hare (2003)
• Henk Norel (2009)

 

Germanhoops sprak afgelopen zomer met Malevy Leons.

Thanks Malevy for talking to germanhoops.com. You already had pro experience in Holland and now will continue the pro route. Do you feel like you have an edge over American guys simply because they are now preparing for the first time?

Yes I definitely have an advantage by already having experience at the pro level and how it is different from college but at the end it is still basketball so it shouldn’t have that huge of an impact

You played at BC Apollo Amsterdam and Patrick Faijdherbe. What memories do you have of that time? What kind of a player were you then and what kind of a player are you now?

It was a great time. I learned a lot from coach Patrick and the veterans on the team. I remember not knowing a lot and learning something new every practice. I still play the same way as I played back then I just got way better at everything

You are finished with school and now are preparing to become a professional. There is a lot of work. What are you looking forward to most?

Looking forward to just worry about basketball and not worry about school as much anymore

You signed with One Motive Sports and with founder Drew Kelso. Could one almost say like the name family could be his middle name?

Yes One Motive Sports has a family feeling and feels like you working towards a common goal together

Drew Kelso has a great track record of placing players around the world and the NBA. What grabbed your attention most about how he handles young men coming from school?

The way his players talk with much love about him in interviews shows that he really cares about them and they appreciate what he has done and is doing for them. Also when speaking to him you can hear his passion for what he does.

Do you see yourself also preparing for the NBA Summer League and NBA workouts or do you see yourself already now going the European route?

Yes my goal is to play in the summer league and do NBA workouts this upcoming summer

You had a great JUCO and NCAA career. Not all Europeans go this route. How beneficial was it coming to American and getting an education and play basketball? I´m sure you have no regrets?

Yes no regrets at all I think it was a great experience and it has always been important to my parents that I would get my degree and this was the best way to do it.

You had a stellar JUCO career and had to pay your dues and then had a solid NCAA career. How big is your chip on your shoulder? Do you feel you may be a little off the radar?

I feel like I’m starting from scratch again. Everyone who is going pro right now did the same things I did in college. Now I get the chance again to compete and rise to the top of the cream.

Let´s talk about your game. You’re a 206cm forward. If you had to compare your game to an NBA player who would best fit the description?

I try to model my game after Keegan Murray or Trey Murphy.

Is it fair to say that your a modern day forward? What is your biggest strength on the court?

I think my biggest strength is my motor I’m able to give high effort at all times and impact the game in many different ways

You have had an up and down three pointer but hit 38% at Bradley (NCAA) once. Where do you see the development of your three right now?

Right now I’m working on getting used to the NBA three point line and I always thought of my three point shot as one of my strongest attributes.

You were a solid and consistent defender at Bradley (NCAA). What kind of a defender are you now and what kind of a defender do you still want to become?

Right now I think I’m a versatile defender and I think I can keep developing at this and continuously become smarter on this side of the floor

On what areas of your game are you working on most at the moment?

my three point shot

You had an incredible JUCO career at Mineral Area College (JUCO) averaging 13.1ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.9apg, 1.7spg, 2.1bpg, FGP: 61.3%, 3PT: 30.0%, FT: 87.7% and 18.7ppg, 9.5rpg, 3.1apg, 1.1spg, 2.0bpg, FGP: 56.4%, 3PT: 29.3%, FT: 72.3%. Every guy that I have interviewed that played JUCO have reported that JUCO was tough, but a great experience that they wouldn´t have missed for anything. How was it for you?

Exactly the same I had a great time at Juco. I landed in a great situation at mineral area with great coaches, teammates and people in the area who took care of me.

You were JUCO player of the year and won a title. How do you remember the title run?

It was a great run and I will always remember that year

How vital was head coach Luke Strege for your early development? How did he help you best in the 2 years?

He taught me how to be a winner on and of the floor and made sure it was easy to adapt to America

You played at Bradley (NCAA) from 2021-2024 and improved your scoring each season. How did you grow as a player there?

Every year me and the coaches worked hard to become better as a team but also develop as an individual which allowed me to take a step in the right direction every year.

You reached 2 NCAA tournaments and in your senior year played very well scoring 14 points against Loyola and 16 points in a loss against Cincinnati. What memories will you always have from that run?

I was happy I was allowed to play more games with team

You had many very memorable games but where do you rank the 73-71 win over UAB where you had 24 points and 14 rebounds?

That was a good game the start the season but my favorite game was when we won a conference title at home the year before

How did head coach Brian Wardle groom and prepare you best for a professional career

He showed me how to work and be a professional and how you have to be elite every day

Who won a 1-1 in practice, you or Darius Hannah?

We definitely got the best of each other a couple of times

Who was the toughest player that you faced in your career at some point that reached the NBA?

We played Sabonis with the Dutch national team was impressive to see him

Please list your personal NBA Mount Rushmore?

Lebron james

Michael jordan

kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kobe Bryant

Who is your GOAT?

Lebron

Did you ever see the squel to the classic Coming to America? Shouldn´t they have left it alone?

Yeah Coming to America is a great movie and the sequel was fine I don’t think it hurts anybody that they made another one. I can’t say I loved it but it had its moments

Thanks Malevy for the chat.