James Karnik, new player for Bàsquet Girona

First Team | Wednesday, 22 April 2026

James Karnik (Surrey, 17/07/1998) is the new player for Bàsquet Girona until the end of the season. The 2.06-meter-tall center arrives from Asia.

Karnik played his college career with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks from the 2017/18 to 2019/20 seasons, before signing with the Boston College Eagles for two seasons. He later played in the Canadian league with the Fraser Valley Bandits in the 2021/22 season.

His first experience in Europe was in the 2022/23 season with Genève, of the Swiss league, and later with Brno, of the Czech league. In the 2023/24 season he returned to Canada to play again with the Fraser Valley Bandits.

Upon his return to Europe, he signed with Donar Groningen of the BNXT league for the 2024/25 season, in which he played 29 regular league games, averaging 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. In the playoffs, he played 5 games, averaging 13.2 points, 10 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. After his time in the BNXT, he returned to the Fraser Valley Bandits.

This past season he played for the Lithuanian team Neptunas, with whom he also played in the EuroCup, before finishing the season in Asia. He was currently without a team.

The player has also participated with the Czech Republic national team since the 2021/22 season.

Statements from Fernando San Emeterio, sports director: “James is a player who has expressed his desire to come to Girona. He sees the ACB League as a good opportunity for him, and he is a player who we believe can help us a lot both in defensive rebounding and in offense, since we consider it to be one of his main strengths. He is a center with a lot of presence in the zone, who does not avoid contact: he is tough and very strong. We also believe that he can adapt to our rhythm of play, with activity, energy and high intensity. Given the circumstances we have with the centers, and the problems and uncertainties in the recovery of both Maric and Fernández, we consider that it was necessary to reinforce this position to face the final stretch of the season with the maximum guarantees, try to stay as high as possible and achieve a good end to the season.”