Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul have bolstered their backcourt for the upcoming season by securing the services of Serbian guard Aleksa Avramovic on a one-year loan from Dubai Basketball. The 31-year-old arrives with EuroLeague pedigree, international silverware, and a point to prove after an injury-disrupted campaign in the UAE. For a Bahcesehir side targeting a sustained EuroCup run, it is a signing with genuine substance behind it.
Avramovic remains contracted to Dubai through the end of the 2027-28 season, having signed a three-year deal with the club last summer, and this arrangement sees him spend the next campaign in Istanbul while European basketball clubs continue to navigate increasingly complex roster structures and financial rules that make creative loan deals an attractive mechanism for all parties involved. Bahcesehir gain an experienced operator without the full burden of a long-term contract; Dubai protect their asset while keeping him match-sharp at a competitive level.
A Season to Forget, A Move to Reboot
Avramovic's debut year with Dubai was not the statement campaign anyone would have planned. Health issues forced him to miss a significant portion of the season, limiting him to 22 EuroLeague appearances. In those games, he averaged 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in roughly 17 minutes per outing - numbers that suggest he was still finding his rhythm and managing his body rather than operating at full capacity. The move to Istanbul offers him a relatively lower-pressure environment to rediscover that form before his Dubai contract enters its final stretch.
EuroLeague Background and International Credentials
This is not a player learning what elite European basketball demands. Avramovic made his EuroLeague debut with Partizan Belgrade in the 2022-23 season and stayed with the Serbian club for the following campaign, developing his game in one of the continent's most passionate basketball environments. He then spent the 2024-25 season at CSKA Moscow before linking up with Dubai, giving him exposure to contrasting systems and competitive cultures. Three EuroLeague seasons in total, across three different clubs, speaks to both his adaptability and his market value.
His international record adds further weight to the signing. Avramovic was part of the Serbian squad that claimed silver at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and returned to the podium with a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Those are not footnotes - Serbia's national team has been one of the most competitive sides in global basketball across that period, and contributing meaningfully in those tournaments requires a certain calibre of player. Bahcesehir are banking on that calibre translating into leadership and quality within the EuroCup structure, where experience at the highest level consistently proves decisive in knockout basketball.
What Avramovic Brings to Bahcesehir
For Bahcesehir, the profile fits. A guard who can handle the ball, create for others, and score from the perimeter gives their backcourt rotation genuine flexibility. At 31, Avramovic is entering the phase of his career where reading the game and managing situations matters as much as athleticism, and that kind of intelligence is exactly what a team building EuroCup ambitions needs around younger contributors. If he can stay healthy - which will be the central question throughout the season - Bahcesehir will have secured one of the more quietly impactful backcourt additions in this summer's European basketball market.