101 Greats of European Basketball

The Alaskan
Assassin
I
saw Trajan Langdon for the first time at the 1998
World Cup in Athens, but I admit I don’t remember
him there. His numbers justify my lack of memory.
They were below the 4 he wore on his jersey: 2.9
points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists. However, due
to the NBA players’ strike, he ended up on a national
team that took a bronze medal, his first important
trophy.
Three years earlier, on the same Athens stage, a
young Langdon had taken part in the U19 World Cup
1995 with the USA. That team recorded four wins and
four losses, and the Americans finished eighth. More
was certainly expected from a team with Stephon Marbury
(17.5 points), Vince Carter and Langdon himself
(8.5 points). His shooting was far from perfect: 48%
on two-pointers, 30.8% on threes. Although his two
experiences in Greece didn’t set the tone for his future
career in Europe, it would be that way in his three years
in the NBA.
After finishing East High School in Anchorage in
his native Alaska, where he scored 2,200 points and
earned his nickname “The Alaskan Assassin”, Langdon
chose to play college basketball at prestigious Duke
University. He finished his career there with averages
of 14.5 points and 2.9 rebounds, plus a school record in
three-pointers made. Standing at 1.92 meters, he was
the typical shooting guard, but he also had solid rebounding
skills. His numbers in the NCAA were enough
for Langdon to be picked 11th overall in the 1999 NBA
Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a side note, Langdon
had already been drafted in 1994 into another
pro sport, baseball, but continued playing basketball
instead. He stayed in Cleveland for three seasons with
discreet numbers: 5.4 points and 1.3 rebounds. It was
not enough for an ambitious player who was right in
thinking he could do more. It was then that Langdon
decided to come to Europe.
Treviso, Istanbul, Moscow
At the time, Benetton Treviso was a standard-bearer
in Italian basketball, with Ettore Messina on the
bench and Maurizio Gherardini in the front office.
They signed Langdon and were right once again. In
his first season there, Langdon won the Italian League
and Italian Cup double. He played 46 games, scored
703 points (15.3 per game) with 52.1% two-point and
44.7% three-point shooting. The team reached the
EuroLeague Final Four in Barcelona in 2003, but after
defeating Montepaschi Siena in the semis 65-62, FC
Barcelona was better than Treviso in the final and won
76-65. Treviso’s mistake was signing Langdon for only
one year. His season caught everyone’s attention. Efes
Pilsen made its move and Langdon moved to the Bosphorus,
where he also won the Turkish League with
similar numbers: 14.3 points per game. Efes couldn’t
keep him either, however, as an offer for the next
season from Dynamo Moscow was better. He moved
to the Russian capital without even thinking that he
would stay there for six years and, in fact, finish his
career there. He didn’t do that with Dynamo, but rather
at CSKA Moscow, the most powerful club in Russia.
After another good season at Dynamo (14.4 points),
CSKA signed Langdon for a new project.
Ettore Messina, who had become CSKA’s head coach
Trajan Langdon
101 greats of european basketball
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