By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Mirotic was named to the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague First Team, Euroleague Basketball announced Wednesday.
The FC Barcelona star joins Vladimir Lucic and Vasilije Micic as the known members of the First Team.
Mirotic, 30, makes his debut appearance in the First Team. He had logged a couple of Second Team selections attached to Real Madrid in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
He posted 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 assists per match over 31 appearances helping his side clinch a Final Four berth for the first time in seven years.
Per the press release: “As a result of voting that included fans, media and, for the first time in EuroLeague history, head coaches and team captains, Nikola Mirotic of FC Barcelona was selected for the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague First Team!
Mirotic was a dominant force throughout the season, ranking second among all EuroLeague players in performance index rating (19.6 PIR), fourth in rebounds (5.8), eighth in points (15.5) and 15th in steals (1.2). He did all that while shooting the ball extremely well (60.2% 2FG, 42.2% 3FG, 86.8% FT). Just six more players reached all three of those thresholds, but among them, only Mirotic took 100 shots or more of each type.
Mirotic’s first-ranked 30.6 PIR per 40 minutes made him more prolific than any EuroLeague player while he was on the court. Most important of all, Mirotic led Barcelona to a first-place finish in the regular season. With its well-earned home-court advantage, the team passed a tough playoffs test to reach its first Final Four since 2014.
He was co-MVP of the Week in late October thanks to a PIR of 27 in his only game off the bench this season, leading Barcelona to 71-72 road victory at TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Mirotic became the EuroLeague MVP for March after leading the competition in PIR with 26.8 per game while helping Barcelona to five victories. Mirotic averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in that month. By the end of the regular season, he had a PIR average of 21.9, this campaign’s highest and the sixth-best mark since the introduction of the current format for the 2016-17 season.
This marks the first time that Mirotic has been named to the All-EuroLeague First Team. He was a member of the 2012-13 and 2013-14 All-EuroLeague Second Teams while playing for Real Madrid. Mirotic was also chosen as the EuroLeague Rising Star in both the 2010-11 and the 2011-12 campaigns. In between his Madrid and Barcelona stints, Mirotic spent five seasons in the NBA with Chicago, New Orleans and Milwaukee.”