Baskonia in Talks to Sign Alex Len to Fill Void Left by Diop

Baskonia moves to address its most urgent need. The Vitoria club is pursuing the signing of Alex Len, a 33-year-old Ukrainian center who has been without a team since July, according to El Correo. The move comes just over a week before the start of the season.

Why Vitoria Needs a Center

The context explains everything. Baskonia lost one of its key interior players just a week ago, when the Cleveland Cavaliers finally exercised their draft rights on Khalifa Diop, four years after selecting him. The Senegalese player appeared in 47 games last season, 38 as a starter.

Adding to that is the fact that the center market is practically exhausted in September, something we've already seen these days at other European clubs. In that scenario, a 2.13-meter interior with proven track record is an opportunity that doesn't come around often.

His 2025-26 Numbers

Here's the nuance worth noting. Len arrived at Real Madrid in late October 2025 to cover for Bruno Fernando's absence and signed through the remainder of the season plus 2026-27, but the club and player agreed to terminate the contract in July.

In the ACB, he appeared in 21 games with 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for 9.6 in efficiency rating, shooting 64 percent from the field. In EuroLeague, however, his numbers were much more modest: 23 games with three points and two rebounds on average, for 3.7 in efficiency rating. Sergio Scariolo didn't give him much playing time until Edy Tavares' injury in April, and just when he was going to get his opportunity, he suffered a left foot plantar fascia injury and missed the rest of the season, including the Final Four in Athens.

That's the player Baskonia would sign: a center with craft and physicality who performed reasonably well in the ACB, well below par in Europe, and who comes off a foot injury that cut short his season.

Who Is Alex Len

His résumé is from another category. Selected 5th overall in the 2013 Draft by the Phoenix Suns after playing at Maryland, he has accumulated twelve seasons and 708 games in the NBA, with averages of 6.7 points and 3.1 rebounds. He played for the Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings in two stints, Toronto Raptors—where he overlapped with Scariolo—, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers.

He is a full international with Ukraine since 2018 and competed in the 2022 EuroBasket.