"We Didn't Push Him Out, He Left!" Carlik Jones Opens Up: I Was Furious Until I Spoke with Željko!

I didn't know what to expect. When they first contacted me, I immediately Googled their games to check out the atmosphere. As soon as I saw it, I knew right away that I wanted to play for Partizan. My agent told me Željko wanted me on his team, and I was just like: 'Who?' He explained what he expected from me. He told me to come and just be myself. He understood me and my ambition to play in the NBA, but I told him that if I come, I'm fully committed and playing for him. If the NBA happens, it happens. It also helped that I already knew Duane Washington, Sterling Brown, and Frank Ntilikina, so I thought it was a great group of guys. Once I finished the call with Željko, I looked up his resume and thought: 'Yeah, that's it, there's nothing to think about.' It was an easy decision.

I'd say that very first game of the season left an incredible impression. Actually, it was the outdoor game against Panathinaikos. I was thinking: 'What on earth is this?' There were 40,000 people there... After that, we played our first official home game. I think it was the ABA League, but the arena was completely sold out. Keep in mind, the roster was brand new, and they hardly knew any of us... The coaching staff told us they had never seen a crowd that big for a season opener. I came off the bench, we hit a three-pointer, and the arena just erupted. I thought: 'No way, it can't be this crazy.' But every game after that was even wilder. I also realized how deeply people here know and follow the sport. While getting to know Belgrade, I was driving with the windows rolled down and stopped at a red light. I looked over to my left, and a guy on a motorcycle took off his helmet and said: 'You're Carlik Jones!' At that point, I hadn't even played an official game yet. Sure, they knew me from the Olympics, but it still caught me completely off guard. I had only been in the city for two days. I'd walk into a grocery store and get recognized; at restaurants, they'd tell me the next meal was on the house. It was insane.

I didn't really care. I'm used to it by now. This is my third year over here, and I've seen it all. Lasers in your eyes at the free-throw line... In the Cup, I had two free throws to win the game when we were down by one. As I took the first shot, a lighter flew right past my face, and I missed. We brought it up to the referees, but nothing happened. Ever since then, I've been ready for anything. I'm used to bottles and coins being thrown. It's crazy. Fans on both sides do it, but I don't think they realize the danger. Imagine hitting someone by mistake or injuring a player on your own team. They just get emotional and throw things. But that incident was different—they were hurling flares at each other. All I could think was: 'Aren't those boiling hot?'

I can't say too much. When I got injured, I wasn't around the squad as much. I was on crutches, so it was tough to constantly be there. What I did see was a positive team spirit. The guys were frustrated about losing, of course, but the camaraderie was good. Željko was the same—nothing out of the ordinary was happening behind closed doors. Naturally, he was angry about the losing streak, but that's just Željko. I didn't see anything unusual. I honestly don't know what went wrong. Afterwards, the fans turned against us. I don't know if you saw, but they showed up at practice and broke into the facility. We feared for our safety; we even went into the gym to grab weights just in case. We didn't want any trouble, but we felt we might have to defend ourselves. There were thousands of them, and they smashed a window. I was on the other side. The fans who spotted me were wishing me a speedy recovery, but they didn't treat my teammates the same way. I can only imagine what the rest of the guys went through.

The fans were booing us against Bayern. When Bayern hit a three, the crowd cheered; when we scored a three, our own crowd booed. It was one of the craziest things I've ever witnessed. I understand the passion, but at the same time, I don't. I know how much the fans love Željko, but we didn't push him out. He decided to leave. I saw all sorts of things on social media back then, and I was furious until I sat down and talked to Željko. I won't share what was said, but that conversation gave me a much clearer perspective. It was tough—not as much for me as it was for the rest of the guys. Despite everything the fans threw at them, those players kept showing up for practice and giving their all on the court. They handled it like true professionals. A legendary coach walked away, everyone had an opinion, but nobody truly knew the full story. Even I don't know everything. Some people picked a side and stuck with it.

I could never have imagined receiving this much love here. I absolutely love derby games, whether home or away—especially away. I love silencing the crowd. To be clear, I respect the Zvezda fans, and they respect me too. They come up to me on the street and say they support Zvezda, but they genuinely enjoy watching me play. I understand their loyalty to their team, and I appreciate that. I don't hate Zvezda's players either. I might not be their biggest fan, but there's no hatred. I respect them; they have their own journey, and at the end of the day, they're ballplayers too. I love these derbies and the rivalry. There's so much raw passion involved. Winning at home is great, but winning on the road is even sweeter. The whole arena goes quiet, and then you hear your 1,000 traveling fans screaming at the top of their lungs—it's an incredible feeling.