Sixers PF Dario Saric regrets not joining the NBA earlier

Sixers forward Dario Saric seems to imply that if he were to do it all over again, he would have probably spent more time playing in the NBA.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric seems to imply that if he were to do it all over again, he would have probably spent more time playing in the NBA. However, the Sixers are happy with the player he is today.

In an interview with Paul Hudrick of NBC Sports, Saric spoke about how his decision to stay in Croatia for a couple more years affected his basketball career.

“It means so much to me (to play for Croatia) but you know it’s going through your mind maybe if you skip some summer you will be a better player. Maybe you have more time to spend in the States to work on your game. Absolutely, I think I would be a better player if I didn’t play [the last] five, six years on the international team every night. I think I would be a better player but at the end of the day, everything is about winning and you want to win with your national team, too…

It’s just so hard to talk about it. It really matters for me. This way I choose is maybe wrong, maybe right, but I really enjoy being there and playing with those guys and to represent my country.”

Dario Saric loves playing for his home country, but it seems like he regrets spending too much time in the international scenes. The 6-foot-9 Croatian had the chance to play in the NBA as soon as the 2014-15 season when he was drafted with the 12th overall pick by Philadelphia in 2014. However, he opted to continue on with his international career at the time. He first suited up for the Sixers in the 2016-17 season.

Saric is currently in a rut to start his third NBA campaign. The Sixers starting power forward is averaging 12.2 points in five games, and is struggling with efficiency to start the year. He is shooting a low 37.3 percent from the field, and an abysmal 26.5 percent from deep. This is well below his percentages of 45.3 percent and 39.3 percent, respectively, from last season.

Obviously, Dario Saric can no longer go back in time to change his decision to move to the U.S. much sooner. The only thing he can do now is focus on improving his game and working much harder to get better. The good news for Saric is that he is only 24 years old, thus there is much more room for him to grow into a well-rounded and more efficient basketball player with the Sixers.