By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
We evaluated the players – 10 being the highest score – in five different areas that can demonstrate the competitive value of each of them so far this season.
Honorable mentions: Vladimir Lucic (FC Bayern Munich), Jan Vesely (Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul), Kevin Pangos (Zenit St Petersburg), Marius Grigonis (Zalgiris Kaunas)
#5 WALTER TAVARES (previous rank: 3rd)
Real Madrid | Center | 22 March 1992 | Cabo Verde
11,3 pts | 7,9 reb | 0,9 ast | 1 stl | 1,8 blk | 1,9 tov | 26:03 min | 18,5 PIR | 26 G
Player’s performance: 8
Team’s course: 8
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 7
Leadership: 7
Total: 39
Walter Tavares is a benchmark of Real Madrid’s game and perhaps the only player in the EuroLeague with such a big impact on both ends of the court. Often unbeatable in offense, he truly dominates the paint on defense. This season, however, he has been either all up or all down, something that has affected his team (5-5 in 2021), to the extent that they’re in danger of losing their place in the top four of the standings.
At the individual level, he’s still ranked second in rebounds and blocks, but he’s now out of the Top 10 in two-point field goals (12th) and out of the top 30 in points (31st). Despite that, he’s still high up in average PIR (4th), being one of only three players (Nikola Mirotic and Alexey Shved are the others) with a presence in the top five of three main statistical categories.
#4 NANDO DE COLO (previous rank: re-entry)
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | Guard | 23 June 1987 | France
14,9 pts | 3 reb | 4,1 ast | 1,4 stl | 0 blk | 3 tov | 25:29 min | 18,1 PIR | 21 G
Player’s performance: 8
Team’s course: 7
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 9
Total: 41
After a long hiatus due to an injury and being out of form, Nando De Colo has begun to look like the MVP of the 2017 season and is one of the reasons Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has began to look like the team that made five consecutive appearances in the Final Four in recent years. His stats skyrocketed in the team’s recent 10-0 streak, and were were high even in defeat in last week’s Turkish Derby won by Anadolu Efes Istanbul (74-106).
Take note: He’s back in the Top 10 in points (9th), he has climbed up to 14th in assists, while his contribution extends to defense too, as he’s fifth in steals. Add all of it up and you’ll find him rounding out the top five in PIR.
#3 VASILIJE MICIC (previous rank: new entry)
Anadolu Efes Istanbul | Guard | 13 January 1994 | Serbia
16,1 pts | 2,3 reb | 5 ast | 1,1 stl | 0 blk | 3,1 tov | 30:28 min | 15,8 PIR | 21 G
Player’s performance: 9
Team’s course: 7
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 8
Total: 41
Its 2-5 record in December is a thing of the past for Efes, whose record in 2021 is 1-7. Not only is Efes back in the playoff positions, but it also sits one win away from the Top 4, with a game in hand. If you’re wondering how, Vasilije Micic can answer that for you, as he has stepped up and is leading the team from victory to victory.
The last of those marked the end of an impressive streak (74-106 to end Fenerbahce’s 10 wins in a row). Micic finished that game with a career-high in points (37) and PIR (44). He has climbed up to fifth place in scoring while he’s also seventh in assists. If he had managed to limit his turnovers, he’d be much higher than 13th in PIR.
#2 NIKOLA MIROTIC (previous rank: 2nd)
FC Barcelona | Forward | 11 February 1991 | Spain
16,2 pts | 6,1 reb | 0,8 ast | 1,1 stl | 0,3 blk | 1,6 tov | 24:34 min | 20,7 PIR | 19 G
Player’s performance: 8
Team’s course: 9
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 8
Total: 42
Personal reasons forced Nikola Mirotic to be absent for most of January but after his return, FC Barcelona climbed back to the top of the rankings. Surprisingly, his best game since then was in a defeat (86-88 by Efes). He’s generally trying to regain his lost consistency, the one that makes him stand out in a team full of stars.
Not that his numbers have dropped, far from it. He’s one of only three players (Shved and Tavares are the others) with a presence in the top five of three main statistical categories: Fifth in points and rebounds, and second in the PIR, just behind frontrunner James.
#1 MIKE JAMES (previous rank: 1st)
CSKA Moscow | Guard | 18 August 1990 | USA
20,5 pts | 3,5 reb | 5,8 ast | 1,1 stl | 0 blk | 3,1 tov | 31:26 min | 20,9 PIR | 22 G
Player’s performance: 9
Team’s course: 9
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 9
Total: 44
James is the only CSKA Moscow star who hasn’t been injured, but despite that, for various reasons, he has missed three games. Two of those were won marginally, they were decided by a single possession, while the other one was lost by a similar margin. His presence generally makes the Russian team feel safer and it’s thanks to him that they were ranked first for rounds 15 through 20 and tied or within breathing distance from Barcelona, who replaced them at the top.
He’s on track for the second Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy of his career (2019), again with 20+ points, something that has happened only five times in the history of the award (2004-present). Add to that the fact that he’s sixth in assists, how could he not also be first in the PIR, despite being second in turnovers.
Photo credit: CSKA Basket, EuroLeague