6. Vesely

Jan Vesely (24 April, 1990, Ostrava, Czech Republic) started his career at Príbor and BK Snakes Ostrava in his native Czech Republic until 2007 when he moved to Slovenia to play for Geoplin Slovan. The following year he moved to Belgrade to play for Partizan, helping them reach the Final Four in 2010. 

The centre's performances in Europe led him to being drafted to the NBA in 2011 with the Washington Wizards. In 2014 he moved to the Denver Nuggets before returning to Europe at the end of the season with Fenerbahce. 

In 2018/19 was named MVP after averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and a rating of 17.7 in 25 minutes per game. He was picked to the All EuroLeague Team in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Vesely has also won four Turkish leagues (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022), and three cups (2016, 2019 and 2020).

After eight seasons in Turkey, the center came to Barça in 2022/23 with Saras Jasikevicius as coach. Vesely settled in really quickly and his impact was immediate. His mobility, his defensive strength and his ability to score from different area allowed him to shine both in the league and in the Euroleague. 

In the 2023/24 and 24/25 seasons his point scoring remained consistent with an average of 12.3 points per game in the Euroleague in 23/24 and 9 points per game in 24/25. 

TECHNICAL PROFILE 

Vesely stands out as being an athletic centre despite his 210 cm. The Czech player is also versatile and can also play at power forward.