{"id":843845,"date":"2026-09-11T07:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T07:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/843845\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T07:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T07:12:10","slug":"daquan-jeffries-from-nba-and-g-league-to-besiktas-we-look-forward-to-shocking-a-lot-of-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/843845\/","title":{"rendered":"DaQuan Jeffries: From NBA and G League to Be\u015fikta\u015f, \u201cWe look forward to shocking a lot of teams\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Efe Sezen \/ info@eurohoops.net<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

DaQuan Jeffries knows something about being an underdog.<\/p>\n

He went undrafted in 2019 and spent the following years fighting for opportunities in the NBA, moving between the league and the G League while trying to establish himself.<\/p>\n

Last season brought another breakthrough.<\/p>\n

Jeffries earned All-G League First Team honors and another NBA opportunity with the Sacramento Kings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And then, rather than continuing down the same path, he decided it was time for something completely different.<\/p>\n

Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just at a different time in my career,\u201d Jeffries told Eurohoops. \u201cI wanted to come over here to play very competitive basketball, meaningful basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I felt like Istanbul was the perfect place for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was another unusual part of his decision.<\/p>\n

Many Americans arrive in Europe by first establishing themselves at a lower level of competition.<\/p>\n

Jeffries is skipping that stage entirely.<\/p>\n

His first European season will also be his first EuroLeague season.<\/p>\n

And he does not pretend that the idea was completely comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely intimidating, for sure,\u201d he admitted. \u201cLike you said, it\u2019s my first time being in the EuroLeague.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fresh start for Jeffries \u2014 and Be\u015fikta\u015f<\/p>\n

Jeffries did not arrive in Istanbul as a long-time follower of European basketball.<\/p>\n

In fact, before Be\u015fikta\u015f<\/a> entered the picture, he knew relatively little about either the club or the environment he was about to enter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know much,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What he did know, however, made the opportunity more interesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know this is basically a fresh start for them in the EuroLeague, and that\u2019s one of the main reasons why I chose to play for the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that sense, the timing made sense for both sides.<\/p>\n

Be\u015fikta\u015f<\/a> was beginning something new.<\/p>\n

So was Jeffries.<\/p>\n

And once the interest became real, his response was immediate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called my agent immediately and said I was interested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I started doing my own research, seeing who they had on the team, and went from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no long list of calls to Americans who had already made the move overseas.<\/p>\n

In fact, there were no calls at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I actually didn\u2019t,\u201d Jeffries said when asked whether he had spoken with American players with European experience before making his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know too many people in the EuroLeague at the time, so I just kind of played it by ear with my agent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting exactly what Du\u0161an Alimpijevi\u0107 promised<\/p>\n

What Jeffries did have before arriving was a conversation with Du\u0161an Alimpijevi\u0107.<\/p>\n

The Be\u015fikta\u015f coach\u2019s teams have developed a reputation for playing \u2014 and practicing \u2014 with considerable intensity and physicality.<\/p>\n

So far, Jeffries has found exactly what he was told to expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not at all,\u201d he said when asked whether anything about Alimpijevi\u0107\u2019s practices had surprised him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking with him before I came here, it was everything that he talked about.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe felt like I fit the description of how he wanted us to play, and I\u2019ve enjoyed it so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there has been one noticeable difference, it is the physicality.<\/p>\n

But that is hardly a problem for Jeffries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it was more physical,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s a part of the game that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comparing notes with Jaylen Nowell<\/p>\n

Jeffries is not making the transition alone.<\/p>\n

His teammate Jaylen Nowell is also experiencing European basketball for the first time after spending his professional career in the American basketball system.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the two have been comparing notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do all the time,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just compare the physicality, the speed of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we talk a lot about comparing the NBA to the EuroLeague.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are still differences Jeffries knows he has not experienced yet.<\/p>\n

Practices and preseason can offer an introduction.<\/p>\n

The real education will begin when the games count.<\/p>\n

For now, though, physicality and speed have already given him a first taste of the adjustment ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to shocking a lot of teams\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also something deeper connecting Jeffries to his new team.<\/p>\n

His own career has rarely followed the easiest route.<\/p>\n

He was not drafted.<\/p>\n

He had to earn his NBA opportunities.<\/p>\n

He spent years moving between the NBA and G League before eventually earning All-G League First Team honors.<\/p>\n

Now he is joining a Be\u015fikta\u015f team that enters the EuroLeague with its own point to prove.<\/p>\n

Jeffries sees the parallel.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an underdog,\u201d he said when asked what he personally connects with about Be\u015fikta\u015f\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing the first start in the EuroLeague, not many teams would expect us to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Jeffries, that is not something to fear.<\/p>\n

It is something to embrace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to coming out and shocking a lot of teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kawhi is still his guy<\/p>\n

Long before Jeffries became a professional basketball player himself, there was one NBA player he particularly admired.<\/p>\n

Kawhi Leonard.<\/p>\n

Jeffries even wore No. 2 in college because of him.<\/p>\n

Years later, after Jeffries himself experienced the NBA and saw that level of basketball from the inside, his opinion has not changed.<\/p>\n

Is Kawhi still his guy?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n

Then he went considerably further.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, greatest player of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yes, he is still winning the dunk contest<\/p>\n

There is another part of Jeffries\u2019 college r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that deserves revisiting.<\/p>\n

He was a dunk contest champion.<\/p>\n

So if Be\u015fikta\u015f organized a team dunk contest tomorrow, would the 29-year-old Jeffries still back himself to win it?<\/p>\n

There was no hesitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m winning it for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more difficult question was who would finish second.<\/p>\n

Jeffries needed a moment for that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s tough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say Wenyen Gabriel, probably.\u201d<\/p>\n

From going undrafted to fighting for NBA opportunities, from an All-G League First Team season to leaving the United States altogether, Jeffries\u2019 career has been built around taking the next opportunity when it arrives.<\/p>\n

Now that opportunity has brought him to Istanbul and directly into the EuroLeague.<\/p>\n

He knows there will be an adjustment.<\/p>\n

He knows the physicality is different.<\/p>\n

He knows he is entering a basketball world he is still learning.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most familiar part of his new situation is the one Be\u015fikta\u015f shares with him.<\/p>\n

Being underestimated.<\/p>\n

And if Jeffries has his way, that will not last very long.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to coming out and shocking a lot of teams.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Efe Sezen \/ info@eurohoops.net\u00a0 DaQuan Jeffries knows something about being an underdog. He went undrafted in 2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-843845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}