The Crossover’s celebration of the EuroLeague’s 20th anniversary continues with Joe Arlauckas hosting two-time champion and all-decade nominee Cory Higgins of FC Barcelona, who has been a quiet force in the competition since joining the continental elite in 2015.
With a father, Rod Higgins, who spent 13 seasons in the NBA, and a godfather, Michael Jordan, from basketball royalty, Cory Higgins may have seemed predestined for one sport, but that was not always the case.
“I was actually better at baseball and soccer,” Higgins reveals, “but basketball was in my blood. There was really no other option.”
Higgins is sure that his early proximity to superstars influenced the always-calm demeanor with which he plays the game at the highest levels today.
“How I grew up around Hall of Famers and the best of the best, I feel like I’ve seen it all, so nothing really surprises me in the basketball world,” he says. “It makes the pressure moments, big games or whatever, easier for me.”
But, don’t mistake his unflappability and fundamentally sound way of playing for a lack of fire in Higgins.
“I’ve got a huge chip on my shoulder, but it’s a quiet chip,” he says. “I try to keep it even-keeled no matter what. I think I only have like two technicals in my career, maybe.”
Higgins bracketed his four seasons with CSKA Moscow by winning EuroLeague titles in 2016 and 2019, priding himself in doing anything the team needed from him at a given moment.
After just a couple months in Barcelona, it’s already clear that his spirited dependability makes Higgins a main ingredient in that club’s aspirations to return to the top of the EuroLeague.
“I’m very excited to start my new journey here with Barca and to create more memories,” Higgins says.
