One of the biggest names to sign with a European club this season, Kenneth Faried, arrived in Moscow in order to join the ranks of seven-time EuroLeague champs CSKA.
Kenneth Faried
| Team: |
CSKA Moscow |
| Position: | PF, SF |
| Age: | 31 |
| Height: | 203 cm |
| Weight: | 103 kg |
| Birth place: | Newark, United States of America |
The former starting center of the Denver Nuggets and world champion with Team USA in 2014, reached the Russian capital one week after his official announcement by the European powerhouse.
In his first statements, Faried repeated that CSKA is the NBA team of EuroLeague and revealed that he had been watching EuroLeague games, wishing that one day he would get the chance to play in the Old Continent.
"I'm pretty excited. This is my first time in Russia. It's a new experience. Like I said when I was in the States, CSKA is the NBA team of the EuroLeague and I love to be here. One of my closest, best friends has played in Europe. So, I had some conversations with him," Faried said upon arriving at the Moscow airport.
The 31-year-old center explained how he came to love European basketball:
"I watched some games of CSKA and how strong and confident they were. I said to myself: "Who's this team? I like them."
And then, I saw Bayern Munich and some other teams too. I thought this is amazing! I watched how hard everyone played and the love they showed for the game and for their countries," the former NBA player stated.
"So, ever since I've been able to play in the NBA, I said: "Hey, if I get the chance to play in Europe for one year or a couple of months, I'm going to take that chance, just to have fun and enjoy it. It looks exciting."
CSKA is an amazing team. For this team and the way they won the title in 2016 and 2019, I want to bring the same type of energy, magic, and enjoy the game. Hopefully, we can win it again this year, in 2021-22," Kenneth Faried added.
On Saturday morning, Faried underwent the customary medical exams, as CSKA posted on their social media:
He even got to taste "borscht", a beet soup of Ukrainian origin common in Eastern Europe:
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