Darius Thompson, presented as new Taronja player at El Mercat de Roig Arena with MGS

The American point guard with an Italian passport, Darius Thompson (1.93m, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 05/04/1995, 30 years old), was presented this afternoon as a new Valencia Basket player for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2028, in an event held at El Mercat de Roig Arena.

The player arrives from Anadolu Efes Istanbul, where he gained more than a hundred games of experience in the top continental competition and last season averaged 9.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists for an efficiency rating of 11.7 in the EuroLeague. Thompson now returns to the Liga Endesa, a competition he already knows well from his time at Baskonia in the 2022–23 season, when he was selected to the All-Liga Endesa Second Team. Moreover, last season was the best of his European career in three-point shooting, hitting 41.8% overall and raising that figure to 44.1% in the EuroLeague.

In his first remarks, Darius Thompson acknowledged:
“Since I arrived here in Valencia, everyone has received me very well. My teammates, the coaching staff, the people of the city… I’m super excited to be here and happy that the season is about to start. I’m looking forward to it being a great year. For me, the basketball culture in Spain overall is incredible. I really like the style of play, the way the game is played. And also here in Valencia, with the new Arena, the project that has been built, and the success the team had last season, I wanted to be part of it. So when the opportunity came and Valencia Basket called me, I thought it was a great place for me and also for my family. Even with just the two preseason games I’ve been able to play, I had really good feelings about the whole team.”

MGS Seguros, sponsor of the event

José Miguel Figueras, Regional Director for the Levante and Canary Islands area at MGS Seguros, represented the sponsoring company and opened the speeches, saying:
“For MGS it is very important to be here today, supporting Valencia Basket, in this first year of collaboration, because this is a long-term project. Like Valencia Basket, we believe in the values of people, of shared effort, of teamwork, which I know is a very important part of Valencia Basket. And we walk together because our company is also what it is thanks to the commitment of people, of the team, of the entire family staff. We are sure we have a future ahead of us, full of achievements and, above all, full of excitement.”

For his part, Valencia Basket general manager Enric Carbonell commented:
“I can only thank MGS for their commitment. We are very happy that you’re joining the Taronja Family, and doing so in such a strong and important way. We couldn’t be happier, it’s only been a short time but I believe this relationship will be very long-lasting. So really, thank you for trusting us. We’ve signed for three seasons but I’m sure that day by day this will lead to many more seasons of joining efforts, one after another.”

Darius Thompson, the last signing to be presented

Later, Enric Carbonell continued his remarks by welcoming Darius Thompson to Valencia Basket and emphasized:
“We’ve already played the whole preseason and we are less than 48 hours away from playing our first official game, so there’s not much need to talk about the players we are presenting. But in the case of Darius, it’s even less necessary, because he is a proven player. Not only because he has already been in the Spanish League —we all remember the great season he had with Baskonia— but also because he is proven in the EuroLeague. In the summer we spoke about being able to combine hungry players, eager to grow, with the mentality to keep improving, with established players, with experience, who also have the respect of the league, of rivals, and know what we are going to face. Darius also experienced in his season with Baskonia what it means to combine the toughest national league with a EuroLeague of the highest level. I think he is a piece that fits very well with what we need. He will add that experience, that knowledge of the game, the ability to make the team play, and in tough moments give us the stability and calm we need.”

The American playmaker added:
“The locker room is very united. All the guys want to contribute to being the best we can be, everyone wants to fight. We are a little inexperienced, but that can actually be positive in a way, because everyone is hungry to prove themselves, and I think we have a good team. The pace of Spanish basketball is one thing, but then the pace of Pedro Martínez is another. It’s unique because it’s very, very different, very fast all the time. The first week, more or less, I was just adapting, my legs were killing me. I thought: I don’t know how I’m going to handle this. But after about a week and a half, I said: I can handle this. After that time, my legs started to respond. I began to understand the pace. And it’s fine. I enjoy it a lot. It’s fun basketball.”