Stockholm (AP) – After signing a contract with the Russian top club CSKA Moscow, the Swedish ex-NBA professional Jonas Jerebko has been excluded from his country’s national basketball team until further notice. This was announced by the Swedish basketball association SBBF.
SBBF General Secretary Fredrik Joulamo spoke to the 35-year-old on Wednesday about his decision to play in Russia. Joulamo pointed out how this is in direct contradiction to the values of Swedish basketball and its attitude towards Russia in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “After this dialogue, we unfortunately had to realize that there are no requirements for Jonas Jerebko to represent a Swedish national basketball team,” the association said.
Jerebko is considered Sweden’s best basketball player. During his career, he played for several years in the North American professional league NBA, most recently with the Golden State Warriors around superstar Stephen Curry. In 2019 he moved to BK Chimki in Russia, most recently he had been without a club for a year. On Wednesday, CSKA announced that the power forward would receive a contract in Moscow until the end of the season. It is an honor to join such a historic club as CSKA, Jerebko was quoted as saying in a club statement.
