A US guest appearance by <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/04/basketball-the-players-from-ratiopharm-ulm-have-to-make-themselves-longer/" title="Basketball: The players from Ratiopharm Ulm have to make themselves longer”>Thomas Klepeisz with his basketball club Ulm went well for Austria’s national team. He scored nine points and handed out four assists against the NBA stars the Portland TrailBlazers. His “signature move” also attracted attention.
Thomas Klepeisz has had one more basketball experience since Wednesday (local time): The guard from Güssing played a guest appearance at the Portland TrailBlazers with his German club Ulm. The game ended 111:100 for the NBA team from the US state of Oregon. Klepeisz recorded nine points, four assists and one rebound and one steal each for the German champions of 2023. “We sold ourselves very, very dearly,” he said in his summary to the APA.
“I don’t know who the oldest NBA rookie was, but maybe I can recommend myself,” the 33-year-old from Burgenland joked before the “special” game. In any case, he could be satisfied with his 50 percent hit rate from distance – three of six three-point attempts found their target in the Moda Center. Despite Achilles tendon problems, Klepeisz was in action for 15:35 minutes.
18 hours arrival
The Ulm captain emphasized that the encounter with Portland was a “great experience”. The team brought “joy to the floor” and “had fun”. In his summary, Klepeisz also referred to the strain of an 18-hour journey after a European Cup appearance in Istanbul on Monday. “But the adrenaline made up for the tiredness.”
Klepeisz also reported that he succeeded in his “signature move” with a “one-legged” three-pointer in the NBA arena on the Willamette River. After the final siren, he was asked about it by TrailBlazers players. The opposing center Deandre Ayton even described the movement as “crazy”.
Premiere
The Ulm team, with Güssinger in their ranks, was the first German club ever to be invited to compete in an NBA arena. Everyday life in the Bundesliga awaits the Baskets Oldenburg again on Saturday. (APA)
