The lights are never too bright for Dante Exum, and there’s a reason for that.
“It’s just basketball. I’m a competitor, I just want to win. I’m not nervous at all,” said Dante Exum after another great clutch performance against the San Antonio Spurs last week. Once again, he kept his cool, he never seemed affected by the moment, shooting four out of four from three with a +16 plus/minus.
For Dante Exum, the lights never seem to get too bright. And there’s a reason for that.
When Dante Exum got waived by the Rockets in 2021, he went to play in Europe for the Spanish powerhouse F.C. Barcelona. But his entire focus at that point was just to return to the NBA.
“If I played well it was like, I deserve to be back, and when I played bad it was like, oh I’m not going back,” he said in an interview with CBS’ Jasmin Wimbish that came out last week.
It wasn’t until Exum managed to focus on getting the most out of his time in Europe that he really started to be successful.
“It was like, ‘No, I’m just focusing on winning, focusing on what I’m doing right now,’” Exum told Jake Fischer from Yahoo Sports in an interview. “If the NBA happens, that happens. And I think that helped me just kinda live in the moment.”
After arriving in Belgrade the following year to join the Serbian powerhouse Partizan, he put up the best numbers of his career, averaging 12.4 points, 53.4% from the field and 41.8% from 3-point range. He also showed that he could remain healthy for an entire season, something that meant a lot to him.
It was all about confidence, according to Exum. He had a breakthrough year with Partizan, leading them in scoring and helping them win their first ABA League championship since 2013. This eventually helped secure him a spot on the Dallas Mavericks roster.
And from the beginning in Dallas, coach Jason Kidd praised Exum’s steady hand and the point guard quickly earned Kidd’s trust.
That is not something you do easily. Kidd seems to need to see a consistency from players to really trust them, which is hard for most role players. Not Exum, however, who earned that trust in a matter of months and has yet to break it. And once a player has the trust of Kidd, it may be for life. It’s clear that he values trustworthiness and steadiness over athleticism and youth, an example being how he regularly lets Maxi Kleber close games, despite him not being an offensive threat for periods of time.
Kidd on Exum:
“When you look at his calmness, he doesn’t panic. I thought the pace in the second when he came in to be able to help Luka [Dončić] not have to bring the ball up. He also found Luka, got Luka easy shots, and also gives his teammates easy shots,” he said earlier this month.
Getting Luka Dončić easy shots is not something he is used to, and you can almost see his surprise as the ball is handed to him by Exum here:
When’s the last time Luka had a shot like this? He almost seems shocked to have someone create for him like this
If Exum stays healthy, he is a difference-maker for this team https://t.co/EQEKR82vrO pic.twitter.com/Du5r4iEGmg
— Mette L. Robertson (@M_Robertson100) March 8, 2024
Kidd already plays Exum in clutch often, a trend we will most likely see more of as the playoffs get closer. Before injuries sidelined him in December, Kidd even told reporters that he would start Exum as the third playmaker next to Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. Something we have yet to see, because of Exum’s injuries and his minutes restriction afterward.
Back in Partizan last season, Exum played for perhaps the most respected, and to many – best – coach in the world: Željko Obradović. And that was an experience that made a big impression on him and taught him a lot, he said in an interview with Devin Harris in the podcast “Top Shelf” recently.
“I went to Partizan, where the coach is amazing. There’s nothing better than him, he’s unique, honestly,” Exum said of Obradović, who is the most successful coach in EuroLeague history.
His experience in Partizan seems to have been profound for his development and breakthrough, which eventually led to his return to the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks this season.
“It was very important that I played at the point guard position and improved. There is much more to this in Europe, the coach at Partizan has had incredible plays on offense. I liked every step there. I knew he is one of the most famous coaches there, and better known than the players. We’re walking around the airport, and people wanted to take pictures with him, not us,” Exum said on the podcast according to BasketNews.
But it was more than just great coaching, the culture and support from the fans, through good and bad, made a big impression on him:
“I think just learning from him and being in that environment where 20,000 fans are singing and chanting, and where they want us to play hard and that’s the most important thing, win or lose, it’s just that we leave our heart for the jersey we’re wearing. I love it.”
Here’s an example of the Partizan fan atmosphere from just a week ago:
Welcome to the black-white city!⚫️⚪️#KKPartizan #EuroLeague pic.twitter.com/9fw8BTzfEY
— KK Partizan Mozzart Bet (@PartizanBC) March 22, 2024
The European basketball culture, and especially around the big clubs, is just miles away from what you experience in the US (maybe outside of college basketball). The connection to a team, the loyalty to the club from both players and fans (Luka Dončić still watches all Real Madrid games and says he has a deep connection to the club) and the intense and emotional atmosphere in a place like Belgrade, shows how deep basketball runs in the blood of these fans and how much it means to them.
I wrote about it before, and I may do it again: that cacophony of noise, both home and away, the immense pressure along with the emotions and sometimes aggression when you’re on the road – that really pressure tests a player.
Sometimes players can’t even hear what the person next to them on the court is saying, and those experiences really matter come playoff time.
Euro experience. Nothing will make you panic if you can thrive in this environment
(Partizan is the team Exum played on just last season) pic.twitter.com/FUmf3KkHqp https://t.co/jA7T1decKf
— Mette L. Robertson (@M_Robertson100) March 8, 2024
If you can thrive in this environment, you can thrive anywhere. If you can have your breakout season here, you’re not going to be affected by a clutch shot or two. If you can play under these conditions, in my book, you have earned a rotational spot on a contending team.
Never underestimate how much pressure can affect performance and how much the experience of handling pressure can develop a player.
Trust from a coach (and two superstars) as well as needed playmaking and assists on the Mavericks aside, when everything is on the line, Dante Exum knows what it takes.
Being that steady hand next to Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving is not something people expected of Dante Exum to start the season. But that’s exactly what they’re expecting of him to end it.