Poland's EuroBasket star Mateusz Ponitka revealed that he received a contract offer from the Denver Nuggets while playing in Poland in 2016.
Poland's EuroBasket star Mateusz Ponitka revealed that he received an NBA contract in the past.
Mateusz Ponitka
Mateusz Ponitka
Position: SF
Age: 32
Height: 197 cm
Weight: 93 kg
Birth place: Ostrow, Poland
In an interview with Zurnalista.pl, Ponitka said that back in 2016, when he was playing for Zielona Gora in Poland, he received a contract offer from the Denver Nuggets, but eventually decided to stay in Poland.
"When I was in Zielona Gora – sometime after the EuroCup quarterfinal against Gran Canaria – Denver Nuggets called me, and I had a contract on the table," Ponitka revealed.
"I wasn’t self-aware or brave enough to fight for my dream. I felt responsibility for the team and didn’t want to leave it right before the Playoffs."
Credit FIBA
"However, if they had told me: ‘Mateusz, go, and we’ll cover half the team with that money,’ I would have been okay with it too. I would know that in that way, I was also doing something for the good of the team."
Ponitka believes his time in Denver would have been short-term, as he didn’t have the right mentality to function there.
"I didn’t see a chance for myself to stay there long-term. At that time, I wasn’t mentally ready to function there," he said.
"I’m afraid that if I had gone to the NBA back then, it might have gone to my head."
The Polish forward also revealed that he received some calls after an unforgettable run with the national team at EuroBasket 2022, where he became only the fourth player in history to record a triple-double against Luka Doncic's Slovenia.
"There were some calls, some contract offers, but they were 10-day deals. Some… nonsense," he recalled. "When I heard about it, I immediately said no."
Ponitka's triple-double against Slovenia at EuroBasket 2022:
Ponitka says he has already gotten over his dreams of playing in the NBA, revealing the moment the realization came.
"There was a moment when I went to the Summer League, and it passed," he revealed.
"I went there and realized it probably wasn’t the world for me. I like teamwork, sharing the ball, the brotherhood – I didn’t feel that there. I felt it was more of an individual business, and I didn’t like that."
The 32-year-old was one of the leaders of the Polish team at EuroBasket 2025, averaging 18.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.
This upcoming season he will play in Turkiye, where he will play his second season with Bahcesehir in the EuroCup.
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