Alex Len Rumors

Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown is visiting Cologne in Germany to watch the EuroBasket where big man Domantas Sabonis is competing with the Lithuanian national team. And he’s loving the show. “I enjoy it,” Brown told Eurohoops. Before Cologne, he atteneded Group A games in Milan to support Kings‘ Ukrainian center Alex Len. “It’s a fun game to watch, the coaches are creative the plays are really good. It’s an extremely physical game. It amazes me how physical the game is and how everyone just keeps playing.”

For Alex Len, Avangard is where he had his first in-game dunk. But it was not just Avangard— the gym in Kyiv where the national team trained since 2013 was also bombed. A year ago, Len got a hand tattoo of the official coat of arms of Ukraine, a trident meant to symbolize Ukrainian warriors of the past protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine today. He was on All-Star break last February when the escalation began. He tried to convince his family to evacuate early, selling it as a family vacation to Turkey, but they wanted to remain. “The day of the [February] 24th, I probably had maybe 200 plus messages,” he says.

4 months ago – via SLAM

Ukraine, Uncategorized

That night, before tip-off of a home game in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center against the Denver Nuggets, the two teams stood at center court with arms locked for a moment of silence and solidarity for Ukraine. Above them the screen was black with the words “ні війні No War” in bold white font. Much like his countrymen in Ukraine, Len’s mind was not on basketball. He remained with the Kings. Dressed for games. Used practice and workouts as opportunities to clear his head, but emotional weight and bad news back home kept coming.

4 months ago – via SLAM

Ukraine, Uncategorized

As the only two Ukrainians in the NBA, Len and Svi Mykhailiuk of the Toronto Raptors focused on mutual aid with the Hope For Ukraine Fund. The Kings made a donation, and Len said he’s had support from his teammates, coaches and other players around the League. He was surprised to receive calls from Bosnian NBA player Jusuf Nurkic and Italian pro Danilo Gallinari asking to help. The Hope For Ukraine Fund is helping to give support for refugees, medical and humanitarian aid, and in the long term, rebuilding sports infrastructure. “Everybody back home is saying humanitarian help is good, but it’s more needed for the army,” Len says.

4 months ago – via SLAM

Ukraine, Uncategorized

Sacramento: Alex Len (non-COVID illness) has been upgraded to questionable. Jeremy Lamb (left hamstring soreness) has been downgraded to questionable. Josh Jackson (non-COVID illness) has been upgraded to questionable.

Injuries, Uncategorized