While a slew of former Gonzaga basketball stars prepare for the 2024-25 NBA season, another group of Zags will compete in leagues around the world against the toughest competition the rest of the world has to offer.
Here’s a look at where nine former Bulldogs are continuing their playing careers in seven different countries in some of the top leagues in Europe and Asia:
This list is updated:
JOEL AYAYI
Signed with French club JL Bourg Basket in May.
Joel Ayayi’s basketball career continues in his native France, more precisely in Bourg-en-Bresse, where after a year with Nanterre 92 in the Pro A League, he will play for JL Bourg Basket in the LNB Elite League.
“After six years in the U.S., it was a culture change for me,” Ayayi said on Gonzaga Nation in July. “But I got to see my family, play with my little brother and watch some of my sister’s (Valeriane) games. It was a lot of fun.”
Ayayi’s most recent NBA appearance was in the 2023 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he appeared in three games for the Memphis Grizzlies. He previously spent much of the 2022-23 season with the Osceola (then Lakeland) Magic, the Orlando Magic’s affiliate team in the G League.
RAZOR BOLTON
Signed with Serbian club MMK Spartak Subotica in May.
Bolton had as good a rookie season as one could hope for, finishing the 2023-24 season with the Antwerp Giants as an MVP finalist of the BNXT League, considered the highest form of basketball competition in Belgium. The 24-year-old averaged 17.7 points per game as the Giants went 21-7 overall and finished second in the Elite Gold Division.
Now Bolton takes his talent to Serbia, where he will play for MMK Spartak Subotica, champions of the second division of the NLB ABA last season. With promotion to the first division, Bolton and his team will face tougher competition than he was used to in Belgium.
“I went into my freshman year not really knowing what was going on. I was new to Europe, new to this place, new to the city. I just went into it with an open mind,” Bolton said on Gonzaga Nation in July. “I think I’m going into Serbia the same way. I accept everything that comes with it. The ups, the downs, the good games, the tough games, the tough practices, the summer workouts. I just go into it with an open mind and try to stay positive and always stay true to myself.”
AUSTIN DAY
In July he extended his contract with the Taiwanese club New Taipei Kings.
Austin Daye, who was selected 15th in the first round of the 2009 draft by the Detroit Pistons, has had a remarkable series of successes in recent years as a professional player in leagues in Bahrain, Israel, Italy, Taiwan and Turkey.
In a four-year stretch from 2018 to 2022, the 6’9″ forward won a FIBA Europe Cup, a Lega Basket Serie A championship and an Italian Cup with Umana Reyer Venezia, which signed Daye to two multi-year contracts during that period. Following his time with Victoria Libertas Pesaro, Daye is looking to get back on track with the New Taipei Kings, who recently joined the newly formed Taiwan Professional Basketball League after winning the P. League+ championship last season.
Daye, who joined the club in March, extended his contract late last month after averaging 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in 24 appearances last season.
ELIAS HARRIS
Signed a two-year contract with German club FC Bayern Munich in July.
Elias Harris, who scored double-digit goals for the Zags in the early 2010s, has enjoyed professional success in his native Germany and will continue to play for top club FC Bayern Munich after signing a two-year contract with the team last month.
The 2.03 meter tall forward helped Munich win the Basketball Bundesliga championship for the third time in four years last season. Harris averaged 7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in the German league. Munich’s success did not translate to the EuroLeague – the team finished the season 13-21 and 15th in the league table – but they felt comfortable bringing Harris back for a two-year contract extension.
In addition to the West German native, guard Andreas Obst is also taking part, one of the key players of the German national team in the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games.
KEVIN PANGOS
Signed with Italian club Napoli Basket on August 2nd.
Kevin Pangos’ basketball career has taken him all over the globe – Spain (twice), Lithuania, Russia and some international competitions with the Canadian senior national team. Since giving the NBA a shot in 2021, the 6’2″ guard has found a niche in Italy, where he will play for Gevi Napoli Basket in the LBA Serie A after signing a contract with the club earlier this month.
Pangos joins the reigning Italian Cup winners after playing for Valencia Basket in the Spanish Liga Endesa last season. In the 2020/21 season, he was named to the All-EuroLeague first team with Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia).
FILIP PETRUSEV
He is still at Greek club Olympiacos, despite rumors that he might move to Crvena Zvezda.
Filip Petrusev, a key player on Serbia’s bronze medal team in Paris, is heading into the 2024-25 EuroLeague season with a lot of momentum with Olympiacos, which reached the EuroLeague Final Four last season thanks largely to the efforts of 7-foot-1 forward and former Zag Nigel Williams-Goss.
After Olympiacos lost to Real Madrid in the final, it was reported that Serbian club Crvena Zvezda, for whom Petrusev played in 2022/23, were interested in bringing the homegrown talent back for next season. However, this does not seem to be the case at the moment, as Petrusev is preparing for his age-24 season.
KILLIAN TILLIE
Signed with Spanish club Unicaja Malaga on August 9.
After two years of rehab in Spokane, Killian Tillie is ready to continue his professional basketball career in Spain after signing a contract with Unicaja Malaga in the Liga ACB earlier this week.
The 26-year-old Frenchman and former West Coast Conference Tournament MVP returned to basketball last month with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League, where Tillie averaged 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in five games. He hadn’t played organized basketball since March 15, 2022, and after being released by Memphis in October of that year, he moved back to Spokane to train and stay in shape in hopes of getting another chance.
Tillie’s next opportunity comes from Unicaja, which won its first Champions League title last season and qualified for the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, which will be held in Singapore from September 12 to 15.
NIGEL WILLIAMS-GOSS
He begins his second season at Olympiacos.
Nigel Williams-Goss is entering the second year of a two-year contract he signed with Olympiacos in June 2023. If the 6’2″ guard repeats the successes of the first year, he will likely stay with the Greek club at the peak of his career.
In 32 games, Williams-Goss averaged 7.9 points and 3.0 assists and sank nearly 42% of his 3-point shots. The former All-American, who won the 2022-23 EuroLeague championship with Real Madrid, has played in big games throughout his basketball career and will likely be one of the main reasons for Piraeus’ success in the 2024-25 season.
KYLE WILTJER
In June he extended his contract with the Italian club Reyer Venice.
After averaging double-digit points last season, Kyle Wiltjer extended his contract with BKT EuroCup League side Reyer Venice in June. The 6-foot-10 post averaged 12.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as Venice went 19-11 and advanced to the semifinals of the LBA playoffs. Wiltjer has always been known as a dangerous shooter since his days with Kentucky and Gonzaga, and this is certainly his strongest skill as he enters his 32nd season.
Case in point: In Wiltjer’s only season in the Chinese Basketball Association, he averaged 16.4 points per game with the Zhejiang Lions during the 2022-23 season. The year before, he reached the top of the Basketball Champions League with Lenovo Tenerife. The NBA may not be calling anytime soon, but Wiltjer seems content to score baskets wherever he can.
