“We are happy to announce the joining of Dāvj Bertān – a player with an impressive NBA background – to the team,” the unit says on the “X” website. “He will be the final addition to our historic first season.”
The Dubai team was established this year and will play its first season in the Adriatic (ABA) league. In the first match on September 22, “Dubai” will host Belgrade “Crvena zvezda” from Serbia.
As previously reported by NBA analyst Luca D’Alessandro, Bertan’s contract with “Dubai” includes a clause regarding his possible return to the NBA.
The 31-year-old Bertans started last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but at the beginning of February he was traded to another NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, who refused the Latvian’s services in the summer, when Bertans became a free agent.
Last season, the Latvian played in 43 games, averaging 6.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Bertans, who has been playing in the NBA for eight years, made 38 percent of his three-point shots last season.
Last summer, Bertans was traded from Dallas “Mavericks” to “Thunder”, in whose ranks he started his eighth season in the strongest league on the planet. He has also represented the Washington “Wizards” and San Antonio “Spurs” in the NBA.
In 475 NBA matches, the Latvian averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18 minutes per game. He has made long shots with 39.6% accuracy.
In the summer of 2011, Bertan was selected by the Indiana “Pacers” team with number 42 in the NBA draft, but immediately after that he was traded to the “Spurs”. At that time, he became only the second Latvian basketball player to be drafted into the NBA.
During his career, Bertans has returned to the field twice after rupturing the cruciate ligaments in his knee, and on both occasions he was treated by Spurs specialists.
2024-09-11 12:52:14