BERLIN, Germany — For his Latter-day Saint mission, Oklahoma-born Justin Bean “only” had to go as far as Reno, Nevada.
For his pro basketball career, the trip has been much more extensive — from the Utah State campus in Logan to Berlin, Germany.
A third-team academic All-American in college and all-conference performer, Bean is in his third season with the famed Alba Berlin club that plays in the top pro league in Germany.
It is rare for an American playing in Europe to sign a long-term contract, especially without any prior experience overseas. But top Americans are paid much better in high-level Euro leagues as compared to the G League.
“It was actually a really easy decision,” said the 6-foot-7 Bean, 29, standing in a tunnel at Uber Arena in Berlin following a recent one-point loss to Ulm in the German league. “It was between two teams after Summer League with the Celtics. Paris was the other team that was really interested.”
“We felt Berlin would be a better fit for our family,” added Bean, whose wife, Claire, recently delivered their second child, and first daughter, in early December. “We committed long term. That was up to my wife and me. Out of the G League, they want you to earn your stripes (overseas). For us, (Berlin) kind of seemed like a no-brainer.”
Playing in Germany is his first extensive foray into Europe or any other country — though there was a near miss.
Prior to his freshman season at Utah State, the Aggies made a trip to Italy that summer to play club teams there. The NCAA allows schools to make one overseas excursion every four years, but Bean missed out since he had just finished up his two-year mission in the Reno area.
From Oklahoma to Nevada
Bean is one of five children of Gordon and Shauna Bean. His father played basketball at Idaho State and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1987.
The younger Bean was a hoop star at Southmoore High in Moore, Oklahoma, where he was an all-conference player and was third in the state in scoring as a junior.
“Growing up in Oklahoma in the Bible Belt, I was able to share a lot of my beliefs with my friends,” Bean said. “Every day I got random questions. The people were so Christ-like and willing to give.”
Bean studied Spanish in high school and earned academic awards.
“I personally wanted to go somewhere I can speak another language,” he said of his mission. “My first choice was South America. But Nevada was great.”
Bean was assigned to four different areas in the Reno area, stretching as far as Elko — more than 200 miles from Reno — during his mission from 2015-17.
Following his church mission, the Oklahoma native headed to Utah State, where he was a standout on the court and in the classroom.
Bean had at least 10 rebounds in a game 57 times while at Utah State, to set a school record. He ended up with 1,027 career rebounds, the second-most in school history at the time. He and his wife were married in August 2021.
They lived in the Memphis area while he played in the G League, then headed to Germany after he started for the Celtics on their Summer League team in 2023.
Other former Utah State players, per eurobasket.com, overseas this season include (not a full list): Christopher Smith (Japan); Ian Martinez (Israel); Aubin Gateretse (Belgium); Diogo Brito (Spain); Dexter Akanno (Germany); and Brandon Horvath (Lithuania), who began his college career at Maryland, Baltimore County, under former Aggies’ coach Ryan Odom.
Adjusting to Germany
Bean is far from the only American who has gone through culture shock after moving to a different country.
“Oh man, at the beginning I will be honest, it felt like a mission,” Bean said. “Everyone speaks English for the most part. It feels like Berlin is a go, go, go city. We live near the central train station. My wife’s father gave some good advice after he visited after our son was born. He told us just to get acquainted with where you are. The church family has been good to us. The Berlin English (speaking) ward, that is really a second home.”
Some of their best friends are a couple in their 80s who live in the same apartment complex.
“They don’t speak much English and we don’t speak much German” but they spend a lot of time together, he said.
Bean was teammates early on with fellow American Matt Thomas, who played for the Utah Jazz in 2020-21 during his NBA career before heading to Europe. Iowa State product Thomas is now playing in Spain.
“I think it is important to share people’s stories when guys are playing overseas and making a career,” Thomas said in a 2024 interview in Berlin. “Maybe a lot of fans saw their favorite player in college, or a guy that was in the NBA for a few years, and say what happened to him? Where is he at? Maybe they think he retired. They have no idea.”
In Alba’s last game before Christmas, Bean hit a 3-point shot with 1:54 left in the game to pull his team within 67-66 of the German club Ulm. But that was the final score as a Bean teammate missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won the game. Bean ended up with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals before more than 9,000 fans.
After the game, Bean and his teammates signed autographs and posed for photos for nearly 15 minutes with mostly young fans — despite the rough loss.
“They are going to support you, win or lose,” Bean said of the fans.
He is one of dozens of former Utah college players overseas.
Other Utah collegians playing overseas
BYU products with pro teams overseas include (not a full list): Elijah Bryant (Israel); Zachary Seljaas (France); Alex Barcello (Spain); Matt Haarms (Japan); Yoeli Childs (Japan); Spencer Johnson (England); Rudi Williams (Romania); Fousseyni Traore (France); and Brandon Averette (Iceland).
Weber State products who have played in another country this season include (not a full list): Jerrick Harding (Lithuania); Scott Bamforth (Mexico); Jeremy Senglin (France); Koby McEwen (Portugal); Vasilije Vucinic (Montenegro); Jamison Overton (Belgium); Brekkott Chapman (Italy); Dyson Koehler (Denmark); Steven Verplancken (France); and Zahir Porter (Latvia).
Former Utah players, per eurobasket.com, who have been abroad this season include (not a full list): Mikael Jantunen (Turkey); Both Gach (France); Sedrick Barefield (Philippines); Rollie Worster (Denmark); Jayce Johnson (Turkey); Jakub Jokl (Austria); and Jason Washburn (Taiwan).
Utah Valley products overseas this season include (not a complete list): Trey Woodbury (Romania); Le’Tre Darthard (Hungary); Brandon Randolph (Hungary); Juliien Ducree (Turkey); and Kenneth Ogbe (Germany).
From Utah Tech, Beon Riley (Finland), Frank Staine (Portugal), Jack Pagenkopf (Bulgaria) and Mark Ogden (Italy) are players who have appeared overseas early in the 2025-26 campaign.
Former Southern Utah standouts who appeared in Australian leagues earlier this year were Damon Heuir, Jason Spurgin and Kingsley Box, while Jacob Calloway and Harrison Butler were in Mexico while Tevian Jones played in a league in Canada, per eurobasket.com.
Bean said he spoke with former Utah State standout and one-time Aggies assistant coach Spencer Nelson, who also went on a Latter-day Saint mission, about his career overseas.
“It is a healthy amount of chaos,” Bean said of European hoops. “The games are so fun. I have been to a lot of NBA arenas; I went to Utah Jazz games. You can’t get as involved (as a fan) like places like Serbia and Greece, where the fans light flairs. The fans are so passionate. You get to make that contact with the fans, despite the cultural and language barriers.”
Editor’s note: Virginia native David Driver is the author of “Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas,” available on Amazon and daytondavid.com. Driver lived three years in Hungary with his family and has lived the past three years in Poland; he is the former sports editor of papers in Baltimore and Harrisonburg, Virginia.