By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Days of High (Scoring) Adventure
You’ll probably won’t be surprised to find out that almost all top individual performances (according to PIR – Performance Index Rating) as well as scoring records are traced waaay back to the early EuroLeague days. Actually, four out of the five best in the related list registered these numbers in the inaguaral season of the competition.
Basketball was rather different back then. Bucket-making responsibilities weren’t divided as much as today and the stage was set for one heavily talented individual, or two, to emerge as a team’s absolute protagonist, therefore dominating the numbers completely.
Like fabled superscorers Carlton Myers and the late Alphonso Ford pretty much did in “ye old days”. They don’t only share the top spot in the PIR list but are also the ones responsible for the most points made in a single game of the EuroLeague playoffs. Both did so 2000/2001.
“The only way we could stop Carlton would be shooting him”, Real Madrid head coach Sergio Scariolo said after Myers scored 41 points and registered 45 PIR in the 88 – 70 victory that granted PAF Bologna a ticket to the 2001 semifinals.
Ford, had finished with exactly the same number of points and PIR in Game 1 of the eighthfinals of Peristeri vs Baskonia. His epic game wasn’t enough to prevent a narrow loss to the generally superior Basques 79 – 81 with Peristeri also getting defeated in Vitoria.
| Ranking | Player | Team | PIR | Date | VS | Season |
| 1 | Carlton Myers | PAF Bologna | 45 | 07/03/2001 | Real Madrid | 2000/2001 |
| 1 | Alphonso Ford | Peristeri | 45 | 31/01/2001 | Baskonia | 2000/2001 |
| 2 | Luis Scola | Baskonia | 43 | 05/04/2005 | Benetton Treviso | 2004/2005 |
| 2 | Saulius Stombergas | Baskonia | 43 | 04/04/2001 | AEK | 2000/2001 |
| 2 | Gregor Fucka | PAF Bologna | 43 | 22/02/2001 | Real Madrid | 2000/2001 |
Top Five Scoring performances in a single game of the EuroLeague playoffs
| Ranking | Player | Team | Points | Date | VS | Season |
| 1 | Carlton Myers | PAF Bologna | 41 | 07/03/2001 | Real Madrid | 2000/2001 |
| 1 | Alphonso Ford | Peristeri | 41 | 31/01/2001 | Baskonia | 2000/2001 |
| 2 | Saulius Stombergas | Baskonia | 39 | 04/04/2005 | AEK | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Panagiotis Liadelis | PAOK | 36 | 01/02/2001 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 2000/2001 |
| 4 | Terrell McIntyre | Montepaschi Siena | 35 | 02/04/2009 | Panathinaikos | 2008/2009 |
Team America leading the boards
Three American players are in the Top 3 of the list with the most rebounds collected in a EuroLeague playoffs game: Victor Alexander, Rashard Griffith and Richard Hendrix.
Alexander set his record in the Baskonia – Kinder Bologna best-of-five Finals (regarded as a “Playoffs game” by EuroLeague stats) series of 2000/2001. It helped his team begin with a road victory but ultimately Bologna and second in the list Rashard Griffith won the title. Griffith had grabbed 17 rebounds in the first semifinals game vs PAF Bologna, which Kinder won 92 – 84.
Richard Hendrix‘s game took place in the 2011 playoffs loss of Maccabi vs Baskonia. He’s the only still active player in the list together with Dario Saric and Nemanja Bjelica who have taken their talents to the NBA. Saric had helped Efes get their only win (82 – 79) in the 2015 quarterfinals vs Real Madrid while in the same season, Bjelica got the 15 boards in a 82 – 67 Game 2 victory of Fenerbahce over Maccabi Tel Aviv, one game before the Turkish team clinched a Final Four spot for the first time in history.
| Ranking | Player | Team | Rebounds | Date | VS | Season |
| 1 | Victor Alexander | Baskonia | 19 | 17/04/2001 | Kinder Bologna | 2000/2001 |
| 2 | Rashard Griffith | Kinder Bologna | 17 | 29/03/2001 | PAF Bologna | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Richard Hendrix | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 16 | 22/03/2011 | Baskonia | 2010/2011 |
| 3 | Dario Saric | Anadolu Efes | 15 | 21/04/2015 | Real Madrid | 2014/2015 |
| 3 | Nemanja Bjelica | Fenerbahce | 15 | 16/04/2015 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2014/2015 |
| 3 | Dejan Tomasevic | Buducnost | 15 | 08/02/2001 | Real Madrid | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Mate Skelin | Cibona | 15 | 08/02/2001 | PAF Bologna | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Stojan Vrankovic | PAF Bologna | 15 | 08/02/2001 | Cibona | 2000/2001 |
Playoffs playmaking at its finest
Contrary to points, we see that assists production rates have been greatly increased over the years, thus we find four out of five records set in the current decade. Small wonder, since the pace of the game becomes faster and faster and the offenses more team oriented, heavy on”automatisms”.
Thomas Heurtel surpassed Teo Papaloukas (13 assists in Game 1 88 – 79 victory of Olympiacos over Real Madrid in 2009)) in just his first playoff series appearance. It was actually Game 2 vs champion-to-be Real Madrid, a match where Anadolu Efes came quite close to a break but didn’t manage to win (90 – 85 loss). Heurtel’s dimes number gets more impressive, given that he also scored 16 points in that game.
It was the same match where Sergio Llull dropped 12 dimes, one less than Elmer Bennett’s output in a 65 – 90 road win of Baskonia vs AEK back in 2001.
On his way to becoming 2010 season MVP, Teodosic dropped 12 assists in Game 2 of Olympiacos vs Prokom, helping his team make the 2 – 0 (90 – 73) and make the second step to the Final Four.
| Ranking | Player | Team | Assists | Date | VS | Season |
| 1 | Thomas Heurtel | Anadolu Efes | 15 | 17/04/2015 | Real Madrid | 2014/2015 |
| 2 | Teo Papaloukas | Olympiacos | 13 | 24/03/2009 | Real Madrid | 2008/2009 |
| 2 | Elmer Bennett | Baskonia | 13 | 04/04/2001 | AEK | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Sergio Lllull | Real Madrid | 12 | 17/04/2015 | Anadolu Efes | 2014/2015 |
| 3 | Milos Teodosic | Olympiacos | 12 | 25/03/2010 | Asseco Prokom | 2009/2010 |
The “thief with the Afro”
Apart from carrying one of the most awesome hairstyles ever in European basketball, Shaun Stonerook has also been one of the most potent defensive warriors in EuroLeague history. This is also reflected on the fact that his name appears twice in the list with the more steals made in a single playoffs game.
His impact on Siena’s ultra physical and successfull defensive behavior was crucial. He set his 8 steals record in the 2008 playoffs vs Fenerbahce where his team won 73 – 66 for the 1/2 ahead of its second Final Four in the history of the club.
Manu Ginobili is also found in the list two times, owning 2nd place and being tied at third with Stonerook and three other players.
| Ranking | Player | Team | Steals | Date | VS | Season |
| 1 | Shaun Stonerook | Montepaschi Siena | 8 | 01/04/2008 | Fenerbahce | 2007/2008 |
| 2 | Manu Ginobili | Kinder Bologna | 7 | 17/04/2001 | Baskonia | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Shaun Stonrook | Montepaschi Siena | 6 | 21/03/2012 | Olympiacos | 2011/2012 |
| 3 | Willie Solomon | Anadolu Efes | 6 | 08/04/2005 | Panathinaikos | 2004/2005 |
| 3 | Manu Ginobili | Kinder Bologna | 6 | 29/03/2001 | Par Bologna | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Ricardo Pittis | Benetton Treviso | 6 | 07/02/2001 | Barcelona | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Marko Jaric | Kinder Bologna | 6 | 01/02/2001 | Estudiantes | 2000/2001 |
Stojan, Kyle and the rest
Blocking is the dominion of one of the most terrifying… “scarecrows” in European basketball history, a.k.a. “Stojan Vrankovic”.
The 1996 continental champion with Panathinaikos set the top playoffs record by blocking the ball 10 (!) times – a number which seems unreachable – in a Game 2, 74 – 75 win of PAF Bologna vs his fellow Croats in Cibona for the 2001 eighthfinals.
Vrankovic continued bullying during postseason with 5 blocks in quarterfinals Game 1 74 – 68 victory over Real Madrid. Same number of stops that another Croatian big guy, Dino Radja, had to help Olympiacos beat Muller Verona 94 – 92 in the same season’s playoffs.
There are seven players with 4 blocks in a EuroLeague playoffs game but of course Kyle Hines’ name stands out.And not only because he’s by far the…. shorter player in the list. Hines’ 2012 performance led Olympiacos to a 74 – 69 victory in Game 4 vs Siena, a result that checked them the ticket towards the Istanbul Final Four. He tied this number next year, but his team back then narrowly lost 74 – 73 to Efes, postponing the qualification to the London Final Four for Game 5.
| Ranking | Player | Team | Blocks | Date | VS | Season |
| 1 | Stojan Vrankovic | PAF Bologna | 10 | 08/02/2001 | Cibona | 2000/2001 |
| 2 | Stojan Vrankovic | PAF Bologna | 5 | 22/02/2001 | Real Madrid | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Dino Radja | Olympiacos | 5 | 31/01/2001 | Muller Verona | 2000/2001 |
| 3 | Kyle Hines | Olympiacos | 4 | 19/04/2013 | Anadolu Efes | 2012/2013 |
| 3 | Devin Smith | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4 | 12/4/2013 | Real Madrid | 2012/2003 |
| 3 | Kyle Hines | Olympiacos | 4 | 30/03/2012 | Montepaschi Siena | 2011/2012 |
| 3 | Richard Hendrix | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4 | 22/03/2001 | Baskonia | 2010/2011 |
| 3 | Ante Tomic | Real Madrid | 4 | 25/03/2010 | Barcelona | 2009/2010 |
| 3 | Benjamin Eze | Montepaschi Siena | 4 | 02/04/2009 | Panathinaikos | 2008/2009 |
| 3 | Gregor Fucka | Barcelona | 4 | 04/04/2006 | Real Madrid | 2005/2006 |
| 3 | Grygorii Khizhniak | Zalgiris Kaunas | 4 | 01/02/2001 | AEK | 2000/2001 |