NBA suffers big loss as veteran center heads to EuroLeague

With Boban Marjanovic reportedly signing with a professional team in Turkey, the NBA has suffered a big loss — literally.

The 7-foot-4 Marjanovic is the fifth-tallest player in NBA history among those who have played at least 200 games. He spent the last two seasons playing sparse minutes for the Houston Rockets, but his real skill was being one of the most beloved teammates in the NBA. Marjanovic can score in bunches and rebound, but the real reason he carved out a long NBA career was his incredible personality. Former teammate Anthony Tolliver called him, "Literally the nicest human being I’ve ever met," according to The Athletic .

While Marjanovic averaged 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in his NBA career, he has the off-court career of an All-Star, appearing in numerous commercials and films, often alongside his former teammate and close friend, Tobias Harris. The two did a series of Goldfish commercials and also starred in the Netflix movie "Hustle."

Marjanovic even followed in the footsteps of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain and appeared in an action movie. To date, he's the only NBA player to ever fight John Wick.

Marjanovic began his career as a 27-year-old rookie for the San Antonio Spurs in 2015, after winning the Serbian Super League's MVP award three straight times and setting the single-season EuroLeague record for rebounding, and quickly became a fan favorite in Texas. He was wildly productive in limited minutes at times right away, finding a role early on as a defender of inbounds passes.

Marjanovic signed with the Detroit Pistons, then was traded twice along with Harris to the Los Angeles Clippers, then the Philadelphia 76ers. Then he moved on to the Dallas Mavericks for three years, then the Houston Rockets.

Fittingly for a player fans responded to so much, Marjanovic's last act in the NBA was to win free Chick-fil-A for an arena full of Clippers fans by intentionally missing a free throw.

Now Marjanovic is returning to his EuroLeague roots by joining Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce. His contract reportedly has an out clause should he get an NBA offer, so he may not be totally gone. But until then, the NBA will have a Marjanovic-sized hole in it.