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By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The Eurobasket is less than a week away and here are the stars of the show. Eurohoops picked the elite of the elite, just 20 of the players who are not only the leaders of their teams, but also in some cases already legends in the history of world basketball.
It wasn’t an easy choice and many big names were not included. It’s a pre-olympic year and that’s one of the biggest motives for any player to dress up for his national team and try to get not only a Eurobasket medal, but also the right to participate in the Olympics. We expect one of the best tournaments in recent years and those distinguished gentlemen are a big reason for that. After the 20-11 picks, here’s the Top10.
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[lptitle title=”10. Nicolas Batum“]
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The third pillar of the French team and the stand-in “successor” for the role of the team’s leader when the pair Parker–Diaw decides to say goodbye to the national team. He’s not coming from a good season in the NBA, he changed teams from Portland to Charlotte and the new start for him could have the EuroBasket as its starting point.
Last year he was part of the FIBA World Cup All tournament team, he’s a forward who can do everything and a huge headache for any opponent. His physical qualities and his basketball ‘literacy’ make a rare combination and ensure the future of the French team.
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[lptitle title=”9. Danilo Gallinari“]
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At 27 years of age Danilo Gallinari is getting ready for his second EuroBasket after 2011, as Italy have lost their way in big tournaments in the past few years. This has to do, at a very large extent, with the absence of Gallinari himself from these tournaments, usually due to injuries.
This time, however, he’s healthy and his presence is enough to give Italy the extra push they need to play a substantial role in the tournament after several years. If you’re looking for a strong outsider then Gallinari and the ‘azzurri’ can shock a lot of people as their image in friendly games has shown.
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[lptitle title=”8. Vassilis Spanoulis“]
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One of the two players that are in the top ten and are playing in the Euroleague, Vassilis Spanoulis returns to the Greek national team after his mandatory absence from the 2014 World Cup. With Spanoulis at the helm, Greece won their medal, the bronze in the 2009 EuroBasket.
For Spanoulis himself, that’s when his own individual blowout started at the club level, especially after moving to Olympiacos and winning two back-to-back Euroleague titles in 2012 and 2013. Despite the fact that in Greece’s starting line-up Spanoulis might be the only player who didn’t play in the NBA last year, there is no question that the team is banking on his personality in order to return to the podium.
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[lptitle title=”7. Bojan Bogdanovic“]
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After a very good season in the NBA with the Nets he’s back with the Croatian national team as the leader of a new era. Fourth in 2013 Croatia, after their failure in the FIBA World Cup, they’re the hosts of the third group of the tournament and have an impressive roster in which talent is in abundance.
As he has shown in friendly games, Bogdanovic is their main firepower, he now has the NBA feel and at only 26 years of age he’s entering the best phase of his career. On paper, Croatia has the capability to contend for a medal and start coming out from the shadow cast by the legendary generation of Petrovic, Kukoc and Radja, having a member of that group, Velimir Perasovic, in the role of coach.
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[lptitle title=”6. Boris Diaw“]
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The other half of the duo with Tony Parker, last year without his close buddy, he led France to third place in the World Cup. Pas mal! He’s the guy who can do everything, he can act as a second playmaker or even a center if need be, and is – especially when wearing the national emblem – the second major pillar of the team.
The fact that last year he was not included in the line-up for the World Cup given the tournament that he had, raises some questions since he’s going through the best and most mature period of his career. It’s a given that he’ll be present when the tough times come in the biggest challenge of his career with the national team.
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[lptitle title=”5. Milos Teodosic“]
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The Serb is the only player who is not playing in the NBA and is in our top five. Besides, he was the only player who was not playing in the NBA but was in the top five of the World Cup in Spain, where he led Serbia to third place.
Even though he’s still after the title of the Euroleague champion, Teodosic always has his best games wearing the colors of the national team of Serbia, has been delivering big shots and is a real leader. The fate of his team and the extent to which the Serbs will be able to reach their goal, which is the gold medal, will depend on the tournament that he is going to have.
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