By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Will Clyburn, Brandon Davies, Nando De Colo, Shane Larkin, and Shavon Shields were named to the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague Second Team, Euroleague Basketball announced Friday.
Per the press release: “As a result of voting that included media, fans and, for the first time in EuroLeague history, team captains and head coaches, Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, Nando De Colo of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Shavon Shields of AX Armani Exchange Milan, Will Clyburn of CSKA Moscow, and Brandon Davies of FC Barcelona have been chosen to the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague Second Team.
Larkin, 28, ranked 10th in scoring (15.0 ppg.) and ninth in both steals (1.2 spg.) and PIR (17.1) this season. He earned MVP of the Week honors twice. Larkin recorded 23 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds for a PIR of 37 in an 86-79 home victory against FC Barcelona in Round 16. His second MVP of the Week came through a 21-point, 5-assist, 5-rebound effort for a PIR of 32 to beat Olympiacos Piraeus 76-53 in Round 25 at Sinan Erdem Dome. Larkin led Efes to third place in the regular season with the highest average PIR on the team. His 17.2 PIR average in the playoffs was fifth-best in the league. Larkin has made the second-most three-point shots, 85, this season. This is Larkin’s first All-EuroLeague nomination in his fourth EuroLeague campaign.
De Colo, 33, is a member of the All-EuroLeague teams for the sixth time in his career, which ties former teammate Milos Teodosic for the third-most in competition history. Only Vassilis Spanoulis (8) and Juan Carlos Navarro (7) have more All-EuroLeague nominations than the Fenerbahce guard. De Colo was fourth in the EuroLeague in PIR with 18.8 per game. He ranked sixth in scoring (15.8 ppg.) and fifth in steals (1.4 spg.). De Colo shot well from all distances for his sixth consecutive 50-40-90 season, making a career-best 58.5% inside the arc and ranking sixth in free throw percentage (93.6%). He led the league in fouls drawn with 5.3 per game. A EuroLeague champion with CSKA in 2016 and 2019, the 2016 EuroLeague MVP was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team in the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons and the Second Team in the 2014-15 and 2018-19 campaigns.
Shields, 26, played a key role in Milan making its first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four appearance since 1992. He led his team in performance index rating, averaging 15.2 per game. Shields also showed great consistency, scoring in double digits in 22 of his team’s last 25 games. He improved his numbers in the playoffs against FC Bayern Munich, ranking fourth overall in scoring (16.4 ppg.) and tied for sixth in PIR (16.8) in that stage. Shields was chosen as the MVP of the Week after his monster performance in do-or-die Game 5 against Bayern. He led Milan to a historic triumph while setting career-highs of 34 points and 41 PIR. The PIR was the most in the EuroLeague Playoffs since 2005. This represents Shields’s first selection to the All-EuroLeague team in his third season in the competition.
Clyburn, 31, has averaged a career-high 14.1 points per game in his fifth season in the competition. Clyburn helped CSKA punch its ticket to a record ninth consecutive Final Four as the EuroLeague MVP for April. In that month, he led CSKA to a 6-0 record and a playoff sweep of Fenerbahce. Clyburn’s performance index rating of 22.7 per game in the EuroLeague Playoffs was the best in the league. He was also the playoff leader in scoring (21.0 ppg.) and earned MVP of the Week honors after setting a new career-best of 27 points and a PIR of 38 in his team’s Final Four-clinching victory. Clyburn had previously been chosen to the 2018-19 All-EuroLeague First Team. He also earned 2019 Final Four MVP honors in helping CSKA take the crown.
Davies, 29, is an All-EuroLeague selection for the second time. His first such honor came when he was voted to the First Team with Zalgiris Kaunas in the 2018-19 campaign. Davies helped Barcelona finish first in the regular season and reach the Final Four for the first time since 2014. He led Barcelona in performance index rating (20.2) and rebounds (6.8 rpg.) in the playoffs, ranking second overall in both categories. Davies was the co-MVP of the Week after producing 22 points and 8 rebounds in Game 2 of the playoffs. He was the 2020-21 EuroLeague leader in fouls drawn per 40 minutes with 9.0. Davies also served as Barcelona’s defensive anchor as the team allowed the fewest points (73.2 ppg.) in the competition. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 fouls drawn for an average PIR of 14.2 for the season. His PIR average per 40 minutes, 26.8, ranked seventh overall.”