Damian Jones Joins Real Madrid Basketball

Damian Jones is heading to one of European basketball’s grandest stages.

Real Madrid confirmed the signing of the former NBA center on a one-year deal, adding size, pedigree and championship know-how to a frontcourt already stacked with experience. At 31, Jones arrives in Spain with the kind of résumé EuroLeague contenders covet: a first-round pick, a two-time NBA champion and a big man who has seen just about every level of the professional game.

Drafted 30th overall in 2016, Jones broke into the league with the Golden State Warriors and collected two rings in his first two seasons as a reserve on one of the most dominant teams of the era. His NBA journey stretched across eight seasons and multiple franchises, with his most recent stop coming in Cleveland during the 2023/24 campaign.

From there, his career took a different route. Jones spent most of the past two years in China with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, adapting his game to a league that leans heavily on foreign bigs to anchor both ends of the floor. He didn’t just drift overseas; he kept winning. Most recently, he helped Vaqueros de Bayamon capture a title in Puerto Rico, adding another trophy to a quietly decorated career.

Now comes a new challenge. Real Madrid, perennial EuroLeague contenders and the standard-bearers of European club basketball, are betting that Jones’ blend of rim protection, vertical spacing and big-game experience can translate to the European game. The move gives Madrid another athletic interior presence to complement their established veterans and adds fresh energy to a roster that is rarely rebuilt, only refined.

For Jones, it’s a chance to trade NBA role-player minutes and global wandering for a central role in one of the sport’s most demanding environments. For Madrid, it’s another calculated move in an arms race that rarely slows.