Anthony Randolph’s EuroBasket 2017 play for Slovenia shows he’s ready for an NBA comeback

Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic were the big names on a Slovenian national team that defeated Serbia to win the 2017 EuroBasket Final on Sunday, but Anthony Randolph was a key contributor to Slovenia’s Cinderella championship run.

So key, he may have played his way back into the NBA.

Yes, you remember Anthony Randolph. He spent six years in the NBA before making the transition overseas. No, he wasn’t born Slovenian. Slovenia naturalized Randolph after he accepted an invitation to play for their national team.

That doesn’t matter; what matters is his impressive performance on a national stage.

Randolph averaged 11.7 points on 41.7 percent three-point shooting to help Slovenia to its first-ever EuroBasket championship, sealing their final victory with a timely three-point play while both Dragic and Doncic were out with injuries. In his years away from the league, he’s developed into a versatile forward whose game has evolved with the NBA’s.

“Exactly what I told Anthony when we first started was that his versatility is what the NBA game is looking for,” Slovenia coach Igor Kokoskov said to ESPN’s Mike Schmitz. “His versatility makes him such a unique player in international basketball. He definitely belongs in the NBA. I really believe that he’s going to get another shot.”

A lanky, 6’10 athletic power forward out of LSU, Randolph was a nightmare. He couldn’t shoot the three-pointer just yet, but big men weren’t jacking up triples a decade ago, so it was easy to overlook.

The Warriors brought Randolph on board because he had the physical tools to become a superstar in the NBA. He could jump out the gym, had a mean streak about him, and had the frame to develop into a menacing defender.

In his second year in Golden State, Randolph averaged 11.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. At least on the surface, it appeared he was headed for a bright career.

Then in 2010, the Warriors packaged him in a deal to the Knicks for David Lee. Seventeen games later, New York turned around and — you guessed it — sent him to Minnesota in the Carmelo Anthony trade.

Randolph stuck around a little longer, signing a deal with the Denver Nuggets. But his playing time was scarce. He was later traded to the Bulls, who traded him to the Magic, who subsequently waived him.

Just like that, Anthony Randolph’s NBA story was over.

“To keep it real, I got knocked down from my pedestal,” Randolph said, via ESPN, about making the move to Europe. “I had to go back to the basics. It was a different experience. It helped me realize why I really started playing basketball again.”

In 2014, the embattled forward signed with Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban and played well enough to earn All-EuroCup second-team honors and a second contract. The next year, he took them to third place in the EuroLeague Final Four.

Randolph worked on the holes in his game overseas.

For starters, he’s no longer the lanky, near-seven-footer he was years ago. Now, he’s gained 30 pounds of muscle and mass, according to ESPN. He shoots the three at a respectable 35 percent clip, a drastic upgrade for a player who only attempted two three-pointers in his first five seasons in the NBA. And he’s a quality defender across multiple positions.

In an era of positionless basketball relying on versatility from one to five, Randolph is a prototypical frontcourt player. He’s tall and long enough to defend the rim, quick enough to switch on screens, and with his newly added perimeter shot, he’s dangerous enough not to be left unchecked beyond the arc.

As teams look for ways to mimic the Golden State Warriors, Randolph could become a coveted player should he be interested in making a return. Let him tell it, he won’t go back to the NBA just to go back. He wants to have a role where he can make an impact, just like he had with Slovenia’s championship team.

“I don’t want to go sit on the bench, I want to play,” he said. “I love playing basketball.”

Randolph starts a new journey this season with top Euro club Real Madrid. He has an NBA out for 2018. At 28 years old, these are his prime years. Dragic thinks that prime should be spent where his career started.

“I think he should be in the NBA,” Dragic said, via ESPN. “He can play multiple positions -- 3, 4, 5. He gives us a different type of game. In the past, we never had a guy you can throw an alley-oop to, can switch everything, can take the big guys out, shoot the mid-range or a 3.

“He’s a complete player.”