Basket rumors

Manchester Giants have completed one of the biggest transfer coups in British Basketball League (BBL) history with the acquisition of Dan Clark, the all-time leading points scorer for Great Britain, and national team captain with over 100 caps. 

The 6’11” 32 year-old will play in the BBL for the first time in his professional career, and regularly in front of a British audience – outside of national team duty – for the first time in nearly two decades, since he departed at the age of 14 for the academy of Spanish ACB side Estudiantes.

After making his senior professional debut as a 17-year-old, he was a regular in the formidable Spanish top flight by the age of 20 and spent much of his career in what is widely considered the best domestic league in the world outside of the NBA. His personal peak was in 2017-18 when he averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds for Gipuzkoa, in a campaign during which he had three double-figure scoring games against Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. In total he has appeared in 14 ACB campaigns and nearly 300 games, and is a career 34.6% three-point shooter on more than 1,200 attempts.

In addition, Clark has played in European competition in recent years, both in the Basketball Champions League with Fuenlabrada in 2018-19, and in the EuroCup with Andorra in 2019-20. He has also featured in the NBA Summer League for the Orlando Magic in 2014-15, as well as an overseas stint in North Macedonia.

”The opportunity to be able to play in the UK for the first time in my career in a great sporting city that is Manchester is extremely exciting! If you add on to that the ambition that the Giants have shown me and the ability this opportunity provides me in terms of being able to develop and grow alongside a club that has big ambitions in the basketball world. It’s a new challenge but definitely an exciting one!” Said Dan Clark

Most recently, he was back in Spain last season playing for Real Canoe in LEB Gold, where he averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, shooting the three-ball at 35%.

Despite spending all of his career away from these shores, Clark is best known here as a GB stalwart and captain of the national team. He featured in the London 2012 Olympics, numerous Eurobaskets, and in the 2012 exhibition game at Manchester Arena against a USA side that included Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Kevin Durant. Last season he captained the team that made it to Eurobasket 2022 with a big win over France and an astonishing last-gasp win over Germany.

Jamie Edwards added, “we have signed a player who brings a wealth of experience from playing at the highest level in Europe.  He’s competitive and also cares about the ‘game’ and the future development of it.”

With over 1,000 points he is the all-time leading points scorer for GB, including personal best performances of 22 points against Hungary in 2016, as well as three double-doubles including 16 points and 11 boards against Greece in 2018. He has consistently averaged double-figure scoring through numerous GB campaigns, including Eurobasket and World Cup Qualifiers in recent years, and Eurobasket 2017 where he averaged 13 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and shot the three at 44% over five games.

Clark is an intelligent and skilled big man with range beyond the three-point line and an ability to facilitate for his teammates, joining like-minded forwards Geno Artison and Francois Lewis in the Giants’ frontcourt, as well as fellow GB players Josh Steel and Will Saunders.

It’s been a busy summer. This team is inspiring for the next generation of players and exciting for the past, present and future fans.

The Manchester Giants will start their new campaign with a PRESEASON friendly Sunday 12th September at their HOME COURT, the National Basketball Performance Centre, Belle Vue.