Don’t you worry, fans of Umana Reyer Venezia; Kyle Wiltjer isn’t going anywhere.
The former Cat and Gonzaga Bulldog signed a multi-year extension with the Italian club today. He joined Umana Reyer, which is located in Venice, last September and played in 56 games, averaging 12.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and 12.2 points in BKT Eurocup. In his first season with the squad, Wiltjer was nominated for Sixth Man of the Year in LBA and won MVP for the months of January and March.
Wiltjer played for Kentucky from 2011-13, averaging 10.2 points per game his sophomore season and winning SEC Sixth Man of the Year. After transferring to Gonzaga in 2013, he played two seasons with the Bulldogs and went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. He joined the Houston Rockets for the NBA Summer League and spent some time with the Rio Grande Vipers, the Rockets’ G-League affiliate. Eventually, he moved overseas, making stops in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and China before landing in Venice last fall. As you might imagine, he and his family are enjoying La Dolce Vita.
“For me, it was an honor to sign a contract with Umana Reyer already last year because I had the opportunity to live in a city like Venice together with my family and to be part of a large organization that is like a family,” Wiltjer said of his extension (via Google Translate). “I am thrilled to have renewed the agreement because I am convinced that although our season has been positive we will continue the work with the hunger to complete ‘some unfinished business.’
“I believe it is the perfect situation for us because this Club has great ambitions and if we manage to face the season with the right spirit, desire and unity we can achieve even more important goals, in the championship and Eurocup. I have played in many places and here in Venice I have settled in very well, as has my family. I am convinced that it will be a season full of satisfaction and enthusiasm for everyone. I can’t wait to get back to work and start a new journey.”
If that translation doesn’t do it for you, enjoy this entertaining video announcing the news on Instagram.
Other highlights of Wiltjer’s Instagram include this picture of him, his daughter, and his old Rockets teammate James Harden, whom he ran into at a basketball camp in Venice recently, and a million pictures of water taxis in the Venice canals. Life seems pretty good over there.
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