At 38, Nando De Colo continues to be a voice of experience and perspective.
Points this season
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
EuroLeague
At the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi, he shared his thoughts on everything from team preparation to player legacies, from Kendrick Nunn’s sensational season to Mathias Lessort’s resilient return.
"It's a great honor for sure, to be there with all these amazing players I played with or against," De Colo began with a smile, referring to his EuroLeague All-Time 25 membership.
"It's a great moment, so I try to enjoy as much as I can, you know, the fact that I'm here today."
Fenerbahce in his heart
De Colo isn’t just a spectator this weekend—he’s emotionally invested. His former club, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, is facing Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in the semifinal, and while he maintains neutrality, his heart remains yellow and navy.
“One team, Panathinaikos, has a lot of great individual players. The other one, Fenerbahce, is more team basketball. If I have to choose, I still have Fenerbahce in my heart, about everything we did over there as a family and on the court. But it will be a tough match-up for sure.”
Connecting with Mathias
Asked about Mathias Lessort’s return from a serious injury just in time for the Final Four, Nando De Colo didn't just empathize — he connected it to his own battle-tested past.
“We all want to play in the Final Four. I remember our third year together with Kyle Hines at CSKA Moscow, we got injured just before the Final Four,” he recalled.
“But as much as you can, you want to try and you want to make it. I don't know how easy exactly, but it's tough to find a reason. I think from the regular season play-off, it's one level up. Final Four is even tougher.”
The French guard revealed that the two connected via Skype on Thursday evening and had a brief discussion. Still, De Colo didn’t want to disrupt Lessort’s preparation.
“I didn't want to talk with the player before the Final Four. And I didn't have the opportunity to meet him,” he admitted.
“But I think you went to the practice. You saw him doing some stuff like I saw on the media. It's the only info I can have right now.”
Still, he believes in Lessort’s mindset.
“Mathias is a great competitor. I'm sure he's going to try to do his best for his team… We'll see tonight. Surprise for everybody.”
De Colo is cautious about the potential impact of Lessort’s return.
“He's an incredible player. He can come and bring the energy they need. But it's difficult to come after six months and be at this level… Now, in the semifinal, we'll see.”
Top 25 pride—and some notable snubs
De Colo said he wasn't surprised by being named to EuroLeague’s Top 25 players of all time.
“I'm proud. I'm not going to lie. I think I've done things to be part of the top 25,” he said. “But it's very important for the players to have this distinction. And here we are.”
Still, he sees room for others.
“Jan Vesely. I think so. Nick Calathes. These two, at least… It's tough to find just 25 players. Like when you have to choose your team and you choose one player better than another—you always make people think about it.”
What really defines success?
For a player with an MVP trophy, multiple titles, and a EuroLeague championship, De Colo’s view of legacy goes beyond silverware.
“I think it's a lot of things. From my point of view, it's how professional you are. How strong you become every day to practice or to come back from a loss. And how you can build something with your teammates—and coaches too,” he said.
“When you are young, you think about what you're going to do on the court. After, you think how you can do it with your teammates. But you never think how you can build a relationship with the coach. And after, with the experience, you find a way to understand. Finally, we are all the same team.”
Lessons from the Final Four
Having been to multiple Final Fours, De Colo knows what it takes to get there—and to win.
“Be prepared. But not a week before—from the beginning of the season. It's a rhythm. It doesn't matter if you lose or win the game. In the end, it's how you're going to get up the next day to improve,” he explained.
“You also have time to prepare for your first final. But you have to think about the first thing. And be sure that the whole team is fine.”
And mentally? It’s all about the long-term mindset.
“If you did a great job during all the season, if you at least stay focused on what is the main goal, you will be ready. After, it’s tough to say if you're going to play good or not… But the most important is to be ready and don’t get over-pressured. It’s what you did before.”
From NBA bench to EuroLeague king
De Colo’s rise wasn’t always linear. After limited NBA opportunities at San Antonio and Toronto between 2012 and 2014, he returned to Europe and became a superstar.
“I didn’t have the opportunity I would like to have in the NBA. Every time they put me on the court and I got a decent amount of minutes, I showed them I was able to play,” he said.
“But you know how tough is it to get your spot, especially when you arrive in a team where everything is already built… I just kept working every day during two years.
And when I came back to Europe, I knew I was able to show much better than what I did in the NBA.”
De Colo managed to sweep every award available in 2016, when he won the Alphonso Ford trophy for the top scorer, as well as the season and the Final Four MVP. Panathinaikos' Kendrick Nunn has won 2/3 awards already, and can make complete the run in Abu Dhabi.
De Colo has no doubt about that.
“Yeah, why not? He already won two trophies. He's in the semifinal for sure. He's got the opportunity to do it.”
No regrets—but unfinished business
De Colo still has one year left on his contract with ASVEL and isn’t done dreaming.
“Today it's about focusing on what happens next week. It's as simple as that,” he said. “Then we'll see how things evolve. I’ll do my best to try to get at least the same season as this year—even if it's going to be complicated. The objectives are much more collective than individual.”
Does he carry any regrets?
“No, it's complicated to live with regrets. Life is made of choices, so you have to accept them,” he reflected.
“But I think it would have been a real pleasure for me to be able to do a strong season finale with Fenerbahce. In the first year (2019-20), there was Covid. In the second year (2020-21), we were eliminated in the playoffs, even though we were on a good dynamic.”
Recognition—home and abroad
De Colo is aware that his achievements haven’t always been fully appreciated in France. However, that has barely affected him.
“As I've always said, the most important thing is that my family, my wife, my daughters, know about me, about my career,” he said.
“But I know that at some point, when you're one of the first French players to win the EuroLeague or to be MVP, you don't necessarily have the recognition that you could have in your own country—whereas you have it in others. But I hope that it will change.”
Giorgos Kyriakidis
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