NIKOLA Mirotic entertained NBA fans for years before deciding to return to Europe and never looking back.

The 32-year-old former NBA big man continued his basketball career in Europe and revealed the moment that impacted his decision to return.

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Nikola Mirotic spent five years in the NBACredit: Getty

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Nikola Mirotic shared why he walked away from the NBA for EuropeCredit: Getty
Mirotic spent five seasons in the NBA, jumping from city to city and playing for three teams.

He expressed displeasure with his role in the NBA and detailed in an interview with Eurohoops when he decided to return to Europe while sitting at the airport.

"I felt that time was passing, and I had not played the best basketball of my life, although it was very good," Mirotic said.

"As soon as I didn't feel that joy and happiness to improve. I said it was time to go back and do something bigger in Europe."

"For me, the most important thing has always been enjoying the game, being happy, an important piece, trying to win the titles and, if I'm not in that environment, I don't care about all the money. I'm going away."

Mirotic was a standout athlete growing up. He joined Real Madrid at 14 in 2005 and spent several seasons there before entering his name into the NBA draft.

The Houston Rockets selected him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft.

That draft was loaded and featured superstars Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, and several other NBA All-Stars.

However, Mirotic didn't come to the NBA until 2015 after electing to stay in Spain for a few more seasons — by this time he had been traded to the Chicago Bulls.

He would go on to make the All-NBA rookie in his first season and spent the three with the Bulls, but a nasty fight in practice with a teammate ended his tenure with the team.

In 2017, Mirotic and teammate Bobby Portis got into an altercation, resulting in multiple facial fractures for Mirotic.

He would go on to play for the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks before heading back home to play.

Mirotic made over $41million during his time in the NBA and continues to play in Europe.

He's expected to sign with Partizan Mozzart Bet of the EuroLeague, where he averaged 15.9 points a game last season.

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He was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA draftCredit: Getty

Let’s fast forward to a lot of football jersey sales later.

Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce’s merch is reaching new heights in the United Kingdom, and the Chiefs tight end was quick to thank his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, for the assist.

While discussing the spike in sales during the Dec. 13 episode of their New Heights podcast, Jason asked his brother, “A lot of Swifties over there in the U.K.?”

“There’s gotta be,” Travis replied. “Only reasonable solution to all of this.”

Since Taylor and Travis began dating, many Swifties have taken a newfound interest in the NFL, and the Kansas City star in particular, likely leading to an increase in sales.

As for Jason, who plays for the Eagles, he thinks there may be a glitch over his shirt purchases—humbly suggesting on the podcast that people may be snagging his jersey because they think he’s dating Taylor instead of his brother.

“No, they’re all Kylie Kelce fans,” Travis quipped back. “Shoutout to Kylie, shoutout to Taylor. Thank you guys.”

Travis has certainly been the lucky one since his whirlwind relationship with Taylor went public in September, but the “Karma” singer also seems stuck in a lavender haze.

“We’re just proud of each other,” the singer told TIME magazine in her Person of the Year profile published on Dec. 6. “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care.”

Most recently, Taylor was by Travis’ side when he struck out and was crawling home after his loss against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 10. Later that evening, the couple was spotted packing on the PDA at a Christmas party in Missouri.

And although she’s currently on a break from her tour, the NFL player did travel to support Taylor during the Argentina leg of the Eras Tour. He was only able to see one show due to inclement weather, but the guy on the Chiefs had a great time beside Scott Swift in the V.I.P tent on Nov. 12.

Read on for why a million little shining stars may have aligned for this perfect pair.

No. 1: He’s a Swiftie

Long before Taylor Swift’s attendance at Kansas City Chief’s Sept. 25 game became one of the definitive pop culture moments of the year, Travis Kelce was an admirer of the Grammy winner.

The star tight end’s interest in Taylor was first revealed by one of his teammates in a TikTok video posted by the Chiefs in August.

Before Travis could answer the prompt of who his celebrity crush was when he was growing up, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling spilled, “Taylor Swift!”

Travis smiled at the camera before holding his finger up to his moustache, saying, “Alright now!”

Plus, Travis was just one of many celebs to attend Taylor’s record-breaking Eras Tour this summer. But more on that enchanting moment in a bit…

No. 2: He’s Not Her Usual Type (on Paper)

While he does have that daydream look in his eyes (especially when he sees Taylor on the big-screen at one of his games), Travis stands out a bit when you look back at Taylor’s dating history.

She is typically attracted to creative types, including actors (Joe Alwyn, Jake Gyllenhaal, Taylor Lautner and Tom Hiddleston) and musicians (Calvin Harris, John Mayer, Harry Styles, and, most recently, Matt Healey).

But perhaps that’s why her romance with the lighthearted and cheeky athlete—who signed a four-year deal worth $57 million in 2020—feels like such a refreshing option for Taylor after her six-year uber-private relationship with Joe came to an end this past April.

No. 3: He Publicly Pursued Her

Looks like the 8-time Pro Bowler’s wishes came true after he all but manifested his rumored romance with the superstar through sheer will, determination and declarations of infatuation.

Travis publicly aired his failed attempt to shoot his shot and talk to Taylor when he attended the Kansas City stop on her Eras Tour July 7. As it turns out, he had a special gift for her: He made her a friendship bracelet bearing his “number” that he hoped to give Taylor. (He wouldn’t definitely say if it was his jersey number or phone number.)

Alas, the NFL’s best tight end couldn’t get past the line of scrimmage that is Taylor’s pre-show rituals.

“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Travis shared on the July 26 episode of his New Heights podcast. “So I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”

Despite his claim that he failed to reach the end-zone, many fans speculated that the two had been talking, something Travis more or less confirmed during a Sept. 22 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

“I threw it out there, I threw the ball in her court,” he explained. “I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage at Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future.”

No. 4: She Isn’t In Hiding

Since her breakup with Joe, Taylor has been seen out and about much more frequently, including outings with friends in New York City and jubilant appearances at award shows, like the 2023 MTV VMAs.

But her most talked-about appearance? Sitting in Travis’ suite at the Kansas City Chief’s Sept. 24 home game against the Chicago Bears.

Rather than shy away from the attention, Taylor cheered, screamed “Let’s f–king go!” when Travis scored a touchdown and enjoyed beverages and a chicken tender with as one fan called it “ketchup and seemingly ranch.”

Like the public, even Travis admitted he was caught off-guard by Taylor accepting his invite.

“Shoutout to Taylor for pulling up, that was pretty ballsy,” Travis said during the Sept. 27 episode of the New Heights podcast. “I just thought it was awesome how everyone in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her, the friends and family.”

“She looked amazing,” he added. ” It was definitely a game I will remember, that’s for damn sure.”

After the game, Travis and Taylor were spotted leaving the stadium together in his convertible.

“We just slid off in the getaway car at the end,” said Travis, notably referencing Taylor’s hit song.”Shoutout to Taylor for coming through and seeing me rock the stage.”

No. 5: He Knows When to Pull Back

While Travis isn’t afraid to spill some tea on his podcast about his interactions with Taylor, he still expressed his boundaries about addressing his personal life moving forward.

“I know I brought all this attention to me,” he explained. “I did the whole friendship bracelet thing and told everyone how butthurt I was that I didn’t get to meet Taylor.” However, he continued, he didn’t plan to give a full play-by-play of their relationship.

“What’s real is that it is my personal life and I want to respect both of our lives,” he explained. “I’m enjoying life and I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend. So everything moving forward, I think me talking about sports and saying ‘alright nah’ will have to be where I keep it.”

But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t willing to respectfully call out the NFL for not exactly being delicate with their coverage of Taylor’s recent interest in, ahem, football.

“They’re overdoing it a little bit for sure—especially my situation,” he said during the Oct. 4 episode of New Heights. “But I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”

No. 6: He’s Family-Oriented

Like Taylor, who is close with her parents, particularly her mother Andrea, Travis hails from a tight-knit fam, including his parents Ed and Donna Kelce.

Donna became a beloved public figure when she became the first mother to have two sons playing against each other in a Super Bowl, when Travis faced off against his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce in the big game this past February.

“For all the stars to align and for them to get through high school and college and the pros. And for them to both play in the Pro Bowl and to play in the Super Bowl, and then for this to happen,” Donna told ET at the time. “This is just like a dream come true. I can’t express enough how special this is for the family and it’s just crazy.”

For the big game, Donna, who was married to Ed for 25 years before they divorced, supported both of her sons by wearing a half-black, half-red Eagles and Chiefs jacket.

After the Super Bowl, which saw the Chiefs best the Eagles, Travis and Jason got emotional while reflecting on sharing the experience with Donna.

“The moment I saw mom is when I got really emotional,” Jason said on the brothers’ New Heights podcast. “It was so awesome…She was on top of the world for a week.”

“She was the heavyweight champ man,” Travis added. “She was on top of it, and she shined the whole time.”

No. 7: He’s Super-Close With His Brother

Like Taylor and her younger brother Austin, Travis has a special bond with his older brother Jason, who inspired him to play football.

In addition to their impressive careers as NFL players, Travis and Jason launched their podcast New Heights in September 2022, a project that has only strengthened their relationship.

“What this did was gave us a scheduled 2-3 hour window where we have to talk to each other and we have to talk about what we’re going through, throughout the week and throughout the games,” Travis told NBC Sports in February. “It’s almost been like therapy, man.”

No. 8: They Have a Mutual Friend

Sure, the pair technically never met until this year, but there have been a few invisible strings tying them together.

Taylor and Travis both count Miles Teller as a friend, with the Top Gun: Maverick star and his wife Keleigh Sperry even being recruited by Taylor to star in the music video for “I Bet You Think About Me” off Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021.

Travis, meanwhile, joined Miles and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for golfing practice ahead of the American Century Championship in 2022.

Miles tweeted a photo of himself on the golf course with the athletes, writing, “Grip it and rip it.” Travis proved the bromance was real when he reposted the shot and added, “Back at it like we never left!!”

(Interestingly enough, Miles is a noted diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans, so perhaps he put in a word with Jason to broker an IRL meet-up between Travis and Taylor?)

No. 9: The Squad Is Shipping

While Taylor attended the Sept. 24 game solo, she brought an entourage of celebrity friends with her when she attended the Chiefs’ match-up against the New York Jets at New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium on Oct. 1.

She was accompanied by BFFs Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and his friend Hugh Jackman, as well as Sophie Turner, Sabrina Carpenter and Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski.

While their attendance at the game spoke volumes, even more telling was Ryan following Travis on Instagram.