Two former Laker forwards, Sterling Brown and Isaac Bonga, are heading to Serbia to play for Partizan Belgrade.
Eurohoops.net Belgrade was one of the first to announce the news. Belgrade has finalized its roster for the upcoming season, and it includes many former NBA players, including Bonga and Brown.
Bonga was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA draft with the 39th overall pick. He signed a rookie contract with the Lakers and was assigned to the NBA G League team, the South Bay Lakers. He eventually made his NBA debut in early December 2018. In 22 games in the purple and gold, he recorded 0.9 points per game, 0.7 assists, 1.1 rebounds and 0.4 steals while shooting 15.2 percent from the field and averaging 5.5 minutes per game.
His time with the Lakers was forgotten and Los Angeles eventually parted ways with the 24-year-old when he was traded to the Washington Wizards in the 2019 offseason as part of a three-team trade. He played for the Wizards and Toronto Raptors after his time with the Lakers. He last played in the NBA in 2022.
The German represented his country at this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris. His best game came against Brazil, where he shot 6 of 8 and made 3 of 4 from three-point range in 21 minutes to claim an 86-73 victory.
Brown joined the Lakers in early January 2023 after signing a ten-day contract. He played only four games with the team and averaged 2.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and zero points while playing just 6.0 minutes per game. After his brief stint with the Lakers, he joined the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.
After the 2023 season, he headed abroad to sign with Basketball Bundesliga and Euroleague club Alba Berlin.
Brown has played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. After one season in Germany, he will move to Serbia. In his first Euroleague season, Brown averaged 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Brown is expected to sign a two-year contract with a team led by one of Europe’s most decorated coaches, Zeljko Obradovic.
The Philadelphia 76ers selected the 29-year-old in the second round of the 2017 NBA draft with the 46th overall pick. He played all four years at SMU.
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