Moses Wright Will Play for Macedonia, LeBron Left the Lakers, and the Cadets Conceded 102 Points at Home

Moses Wright will play for Macedonia: Olimpia Milano relented ahead of 30 August

The Macedonian national team gets what it has lacked for years - a real centre. The American Moses Wright will be available in the August FIBA window, after his club Olimpia Milano officially allowed him to play for Macedonia. The story had been dragging since June, when reports of Macedonian citizenship first appeared; now it is confirmed. Last season Wright was among the most important players at Žalgiris, averaging 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds with a 17.1 efficiency index in the EuroLeague, in a little over 23 minutes a game. The Lithuanians finished fifth in the regular season. On 30 August we face Austria, in the second phase of the European Championship pre-qualifiers. Whether a naturalised centre is a solution or just a patch will become clear when the first hard game comes around and someone has to hold the paint for forty minutes.

Macedonia's cadets finished with a 102-62 loss to Bulgaria - and one basket that travelled the world

The Division B European Championship was held in Skopje, and the Macedonian cadet team finished 14th, losing 102-62 to Bulgaria in the game for 13th place. A forty-point gap in a regional derby, at home, in front of their own crowd. The most-watched moment of the match was not one of our baskets - a Bulgarian player scored with his back to the hoop, and the official FIBA EuroBasket account posted the clip saying it was starting to hallucinate. Head coach Dejan Stojanovski was direct afterwards: this is the reality of Macedonian cadet basketball and there is a great deal of hard work ahead of all of them. It is rare for a coach to say something like that instead of talking about inexperience and a bad day. The question is whether anyone above him is listening - generations are lost quietly, not through a single result.

LeBron left the Lakers, Dončić is left alone at the front

Eight seasons in Los Angeles ended with a signature for the Philadelphia 76ers. According to ESPN, a source close to LeBron James, asked whether the change of ownership could have kept him at the Lakers, answered: „Maybe. But it is hard to answer... basketball was the most important part, so maybe not.” Communication with the new owners - Josh Kushner and Bob Iger - could have been better, the same source says. The club has meanwhile been sold at a 12.5 billion dollar valuation, the most expensive transaction in the history of American sport. And within all of it, the biggest change is a quiet one: Luka Dončić, who arrived in February 2025, is now the sole face of the franchise. From a Balkan angle that is a story in itself - the Slovenian inherits the club with the most pressure in the league, with nobody in front of him to absorb the blow.

Dončić won the legal battle in California - but the case moves to Slovenia

Judge Melissa C. Lyons on Friday formally dismissed the support claim that former fiancée Anamaria Goltes filed against Dončić in Los Angeles. The dismissal is without prejudice - meaning proceedings can be brought again if the conditions are met. Dončić's team, led by lawyer Laura Wasser, argued that California never had jurisdiction: neither he, nor Goltes, nor their two daughters live there, and proceedings were already under way in Slovenia. The case began on 9 March, a day before Dončić publicly confirmed the broken engagement. On 3 August Goltes requested a withdrawal, saying she wanted matters settled by agreement. According to TMZ, the dispute then moved to Slovenia with a claim for 50 million dollars - a figure that is one side's assertion, not a court ruling. Dončić missed the summer with the national team in May precisely because of the custody fight.

Partizan signed Ethan Thompson - an eighth addition, straight from the NBA

The black-and-whites keep buying guards. Partizan officially signed Ethan Thompson to a two-year contract - a 27-year-old guard who last season played 32 games for the Indiana Pacers under Rick Carlisle, averaging 7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Born in California, college at Oregon State, then the G League and Puerto Rico before his NBA chance. He plays for the Puerto Rico national team and featured at the 2023 World Cup; in qualifiers he recently scored 14 points against Canada and 17 against the Bahamas. This is Partizan's eighth signing this summer - a club that builds a new team every summer and every summer explains why. For a Macedonian audience that is a neighbouring league we watch more than our own, which in itself says something about the state of things at home.