What retirement? Worthy de Jong aims at Olympic gold

PRAGUE (Czech Republic) - The orange shirt. The bouncy hair. The creative floaters and crafty dribbles. The sky high release on his shots. The intensity. The physicality. The 28 points against Serbia. Doesn't take a pro scout to notice Worthy de Jong out on the floor, doing his thing.

FIBA Europe Cup followers have known for years about his talents, and regular viewers of national team Qualifiers would always point the finger to the shooting guard, saying he is a part of the Netherlands one-two-three offensive threat with Charlon Kloof and Yannick Franke, each of them capable of lighting you up for 20-plus points on any given night.

The Netherlands are a tough team. Serbia felt it for three quarters, Israel felt it for 40 minutes, a couple of more games like that, and Oranje will start winning regularly at the big stage.

 

"The first game was already a good game. In the second we built on the last game. If we build on this one again, we'll get a step closer to what we want to achieve, and that's our first win. We gotta stay positive and keep pushing," Worthy said after Netherlands fell to 0-2.

He scored a combined 40 points in those two. All of a sudden, people started asking questions about his goals for next season, noticing that he's a free agent. But don't try in vain to get ahold of his phone number and try to lure him to your team next season. Worthy de Jong is a retiree.

"It's not the body, it's the mind," the 34-year-old explained his decision to hang up his shoes.

 

"Of course, playing on this level is also a great motivation to keep things going, but my mind is set."

However, although the shoes are about to be hung, they wont be out of reach. The retirement plan is only true for professional basketball. De Jong is still as motivated as ever, this time about a different goal.

"I think 3x3 gives me a different motivation," he said about his plans to switch careers.

It's actually a plan of a genius. Think about it - the bouncy hair, the creative floaters and crafty dribbles, the sky high release on his shots, the intensity, the physicality. All makings of a world class caliber, easily recognizable 3x3 player. Especially when the body is not the reason for his retirement from 5-on-5 hoops.

And when you add into consideration the reputation of the Netherlands in 3x3, those Paris 2024 Olympics seem like a legit goal for Worthy de Jong. He'll be 36 then, and he is about to join the federation that's ranked #7 in the World Rankings, and #5 in European Rankings. 

The Netherlands lost the Olympic Quarter-Finals 21-19 to ROC in Tokyo, meaning the podium really isn't that far away.

"A gold medal is the cherry on the cake. But I have my first couple of games, my first World Tour at the end of this month, so we'll see where I'm at there," he explained.

It's a win-win. He gets to compete on the highest level, his family doesn't have to suffer and sacrifice as much. A guy who can score 28 points against Vasilije Micic, Nikola Jokic and the rest of coach Svetislav Pesic's star-studded lineup could've had a notable career abroad. Instead, he focused on his family and spent 11 seasons with ZZ Leiden, picking up numerous individual and team trophies along the way.

"Ever since I had my first son, in France in 2016, I chose to be with them. I had offers, but I wanted to be close, and going to 3x3 gives me more flexibility, more time to be with them, and it gives my girlfriend time to build on her career."

 

The transition to 3x3 will not be easy. It's a different beast, and there won't be a red carpet laid out for him just because he is one of the all-time greats of Dutch basketball. He is wanted there, the move was in the making for a long time, but he knows how tough it can get.

"The coaches wanted me to play for them for the past three or four years now. My mind wasn't there yet, but now is a good moment to go and shift. We'll see what happens," he said, not hiding his optimism about the outcome.

He didn't reach the Olympics as a 5-on-5 player. He could do it as a 3x3 player. And if all falls apart, maybe we hire him and send him there as a photographer.

 

"It's not my ambition to be a photographer at the Olympics," he said laughing out  loud. "But it's my ambition to continue and tell more stories. I'm really filming now, I like to tell stories and especially to help the game grow in our country. Content helps a lot in that. Together with the Federation, the organization and the Board, I think we're going in the right direction right now."

FIBA