Slovenia has the size of Extremadura and just over two million inhabitants, but the quarry of his basketball is inexhaustible. After the Dragic, Doncic, Cancar… the new pearl of Slovenian basketball is called Jan Vide and he has finished as the best junior in the Euroleague, an award that Luka Doncic also received in his day, when Madrid juniors were crowned champions in Madrid.
Also a base like Doncic, he was born in Ljubljana on January 15, 2005. He started playing soccer but his father, who had been a basketball player, had a basket at home and little by little, and also watching games on television with him, he got the bug. At school, he began to try and, as he saw that he liked him, at the age of nine he ‘signed’ for Helios Suns. There he played alongside another former white youth player, Urban Klavzar, a year older than Vide and, things in life, his neighbor.
He arrived at Madrid in 2019, but the first contacts began before. Madrid, after seeing him live for a few days in a mini-concentration, told him that they did not have him for the following season, but they were interested in having him play with them in a tournament, iIncluding the Minicopa that Madrid won that year. In these tests he left a good taste in his mouth and began to learn Spanish to make the leap to Madrid in 2019, where it is now in its fourth season. His adaptation in the Spanish capital was easy thanks to the fact that two other compatriots were there (apart from Klavzar, also Dan Dusk).
Vide combines the junior team with the EBA team. In this last category, The Madrid point guard is averaging 18.8 points and 3.7 assists this season (plus 2.7 assists) for a PIR of 19.9. Runner-up in Spain just a couple of weeks ago with Real Madrid, he led his team in the Next Generation in the Euroleague, averaging 23.5 points between the mini-Clásico and the final (with a 66.7% success rate on three-pointers). The championship was closed with 21.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4 assists for a PIR of 21.2.
Vide has been international with Slovenia in training categories. In 2021, he was in the European Challengers cadets (that year, due to the pandemic, FIBA decided to do without the usual championships) and last summer, in the U-17 World Cup in Málaga, where he was the top scorer in the championship with an average of 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Although in Madrid he plays with the 17, at Helios and with his team he does it with number 7. Why Luka Doncic? No, the reason is Cristiano Ronaldo. “I have always worn that number because of him. I am a very soccer fan ”, he recounted in an interview with eurohoopswhere he also confessed that Without Doncic, I wouldn’t be playing for Real Madrid, although it is not reflected in that of the Mavs. “My game may be more like Dragic’s.”
This season is his last year in the white youth academy, but he wants to continue training in European basketball, although he dreams of playing in the NBA one day. The point guard he pays most attention to is Kyrie Irving although, for him, the greatest example in terms of work ethic and mentality has always been Kobe Bryant. He also greatly admires Milos Teodosic. “His passes and assists are incredible.” And, of course, Luka Doncic. European basketball continues to produce talent.
