Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is all set to start afresh in the Philippines following an abrupt end to his stint in the Korean Basketball League (KBL).
The ex-NBA cager admitted that things simply didn’t work out between him and Jeonju KCC Egis, but has nothing but respect for his former club — his third overseas team after Atleticos de San German and Besiktas Icrypex.
He played for 38 games with the KBL side but was let go last week reportedly due to “an insincere attitude” during their last two games. He had 10.05 points, 3.84 rebounds, and 1.03 assists during his time there.
(C) KBL
“It’s kind of tough. What I tend to do when situations don’t work out is I put out in the world what some people may not, and that’s love,” he said.
“I love my teammates, the way they treated me and welcomed me, the training staff, management, all those guys were really good to me. Everybody was good. It’s just, some things in life don’t work out.
“And that’s just the way life happens sometimes,” added the Pennsylvania native. “Fits don’t happen. Relationships and things of that sort don’t happen. And we just learn from it. We grow from it. And that’s just the way it is.”
But it didn’t take him that long to find a new home. Days after being released, he would see himself flying to the Philippines as TNT came calling.
He suited up Wednesday and wasted no time flexing his pedigree for the whole PBA to see, dropping 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists to help the Tropang Giga rout Blackwater, 138-116, for their fourth win in a row.
Hollis-Jefferson drew praises from head coach Jojo Lastimosa not only with the way he scored, but how he impacted their play through his passing — a facet that greatly helped Roger Pogoy drop 40 markers.
“He knows how to pass,” said the cage legend. “Marunong talaga siya pumasa. And all we gotta do is just knock it down. And these guys, if you give them more opportunities on an open look, they’re gonna knock it down eventually.”
The 28-year-old guard said that it really is his game of making those around him better — he actually calls himself the ‘poor man’s LeBron James.’
“I like to look at myself and say I’m a poor man’s LeBron, where it’s about making your teammates better, making the game flow, and when the team needs me to score, being able to do that as well,” he said.
And he believes, too, that he’ll fit right into TNT, who has seized the provisional lead of the team standings with a 6-1 record following the win.
“I think I fit in pretty well,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think since the focus is on the import a lot of time, the import makes it more about them than it needs to be. Sometimes we may tend to overshoot even when there’s a guy open.
“I think it makes it easier than they brought me in to be able to facilitate, pass the ball so they can get easier shots. So if they’re flowing and they’re feeling good, now I know I can count on them to be on the help side.
“And, I can communicate that with them if they do make a mistake defensively, and vice versa, because we’re all sharing the ball and having fun. You saw the smiles out there. That’s what it’s all about,” he added.
Hollis-Jefferson couldn’t be any happier to be competing and, more importantly, being trusted by the entire Tropang Giga after that forgettable KBL run.
“Being able to play the game that I love is definitely amazing. So when you make a transition in life, you kind of don’t know what will happen. But being able to come here and compete and have the trust in the guys, it’s big. It feels good.”
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