Nothing given, everything earned: Jean Montero living his life motto in EuroCup stardom

The Valencia guard has been one of the competition’s best players this season

For a kid growing up in the Dominican Republic that picks up sports, the obvious choice was, is and probably will forever be baseball.

Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic, and the country has a very long tradition of exporting numerous players to the big stage: specifically, the USA’s Major League Baseball. Most young people who dream of a successful career as an athlete will grab a bat and a mitt rather than a basketball.

It didn’t take long for Valencia Basket guard Jean Montero to make up his mind as to which sport hits all the right buttons for him.

“I was easily bored while growing up,” Montero told Eurohoops. “I wanted to get to be active. I wanted to get tired. I wanted to run. Do something, have some activity in the game that requires a lot of running and all the stuff in it. That’s why I chose basketball. I was playing both baseball and basketball, but basketball was just more fun to me.”