EuroLeague's All-Time Best Shooter Shocks Public: I Plan to Return at the 2028 Olympics!
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Jaycee Carroll, widely regarded as one of the greatest shooters in European basketball history and a Real Madrid legend with 19 titles in 11 seasons, hasn't ruled out a return to the court.
Currently retired, Carroll works in the financial sector and coaches his daughter's basketball team in Utah. The former player recently gave a striking interview to "Marcador."
Jaycee admitted he still deeply misses basketball and left the door open for a comeback, specifically targeting the 3x3 basketball tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"I still think about playing basketball. Seeing what Marcelinho Huertas has done until he's 42 or 43, maybe I could have played two or three more seasons. Perhaps with fewer minutes on the court, it would have been possible to play at that level. The other day, I was talking to Jimmer Fredette about the Olympics and the 3x3 tournament; I told him I might be able to get back into playing shape. Basketball is still on my mind, and I feel I could compete at that level. Being at the Olympics would be an incredible experience; I'd be 45 then, it could even be a record age. For now, it's more of a fantasy, but it's true that I've thought about it." - Jaycee Carroll
After two seasons with Gran Canaria, the American guard signed with Real Madrid in the summer of 2011, becoming one of Pablo Laso's first reinforcements. He described the club's winning culture through an anecdote:
"At Real Madrid, no one thinks about being second; you always want to be the best. That's the mindset. Once, I was looking at the flags hanging in Olympiacos' arena, and there were flags for second-place finishes. I asked why we don't do that in Madrid, and the answer was clear: 'We're not interested in being second; for us, only being first matters.'" - Jaycee Carroll
As part of that legendary team that dominated European basketball for a decade alongside Rudy Fernández, Sergio Rodríguez, Sergio Llull, and Felipe Reyes, Carroll also explained the playing philosophy Laso implemented:
"Before us, for me, the best team in Europe was Barcelona, which based its success on very solid defense... That's how titles were won. Pablo Laso came in and told us: 'Okay, we'll defend too, but first, we'll get to 100 points and see who can score 101 to beat us.' That was our style: young, energetic, and very ambitious. Thanks to that, we won all those titles." - Jaycee Carroll
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