By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Vladimir Lucic of FC Bayern Munich, Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes, Shavon Shields of AX Armani Exchange Milan, Kostas Sloukas of Olympiacos and Giorgos Papagiannis of Panathinaikos OPAP were named to the 2021-22 All-EuroLeague Second Team, Euroleague Basketball announced Friday.
Per the press release: “Here is your All-EuroLeague Second Team for the 2021-22 season! These five stars were selected through a voting process that included the media, fans and EuroLeague team captains and head coaches.
The players who made the cut played major roles for their teams this season and most of them are not strangers to such accolades. Only one of them is a first-time All-EuroLeague selection. Both Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Vladimir Lucic of FC Bayern Munich were membered of the first team last season. AX Armani Exchange Milan forward Shavon Shields returns to the second team for the second year running. Kostas Sloukas was a first-teamer in 2018-19. Panathinaikos OPAP Athens center Georgios Papagiannis is the only newcomer to this team. Congratulations to all of them.
Kostas Sloukas, Olympiacos Piraeus
As Olympiacos Piraeus’s floor general and emotional leader Kostas Sloukas was often the difference-maker during a campaign that saw the Reds finish second in the regular season before ousting AS Monaco in a five-game playoff series to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2017. Coming off the bench in all but one of his 35 appearances, Sloukas ranked fifth in the league in assists (4.9 apg.) and averaged a career-high 11.9 points per game. He also set career-highs in three-pointers and free throws made with 59 and 86, respectively, and counting. Sloukas buried a game-winning jumper with 2 seconds remaining to sink Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 7 and beat the buzzer in overtime to defeat Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 23. The veteran playmaker stepped things up another notch during the postseason. Sloukas finished fourth in the EuroLeague Playoffs in average PIR (18.2), seventh in scoring (14.8) and eighth in assists (3.8 apg.). He made multiple three-pointers in all five playoff games. For the three-time EuroLeague champion, this is the second All-EuroLeague honor.
Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Instanbul
Fresh off helping lead the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions back to the Final Four held in his city of Belgrade, Anadolu Efes Istanbul point guard Vasilije Micic has been selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team. Micic, who won this season’s Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy award, led the EuroLeague in scoring in both the regular season (18.1 ppg.) and the playoffs (18.5 ppg.). He scored 20 or more points in exactly half of his 32 appearances this season and also finished sixth in assists (4.6 apg.) and seventh in average performance index rating (17.5 per game). Micic ranked seventh in three-pointers made (2.1 per game) and was also second on his team with 1.2 steals per game. During the season, Micic was MVP of the Round three times, which was tied for most in the league, including a double-double against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv for a PIR of 30 in Round 27 and a 29-point effort against Real Madrid in Round 31. This is the third consecutive All-EuroLeague Team selection for Micic, who was a Second Team member in 2018-19 and on the First Team last season when he was named EuroLeague MVP.
Shavon Shields, AX Armani Exchange Milan
AX Armani Exchange Milan small forward Shavon Shields has been selected for the All-EuroLeague Second Team for the second season running. Despite missing 14 games due to a broken forearm in the middle of the regular season, Shields was Milan’s on-court leader before and after the injury. He helped the team finish third in the regular season with a 19-9 record to lead Milan to a second consecutive playoff appearance. He led the team in both scoring (13.0 ppg.) and minutes played (29:48), the latter representing the eighth-most in the league. The injury did not stop Shields from posting career-best averages in rebounds (4.0 rpg.), assists (2.8 apg.) and steals (1.1 spg.). The Milan forward recorded PIRs in double figures in 19 of his 24 appearances this season and averaged 14.2 per game. Shields was a force in the EuroLeague Playoffs; he posted 21 points and 8 rebounds in Game 2 to lead an injury-riddled squad to its lone victory in the series against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and was that phase’s steals leader (1.8 spg.) while playing the fifth-most minutes (31:34) on average.
Vladimir Lucic, FC Bayern Munich
For the second season in a row, FC Bayern Munich came within a whisker of defying the odds and reaching the Final Four for the first time and star forward Vladimir Lucic was at the heart of the team’s challenge. Lucic led the team in performance index rating (14.2 per game) and was second in both scoring (12.2 ppg.) and rebounding (4.2 rpg.). He was sidelined for the first four games of the season as Bayern fell to 0-4. Upon his return, Bayern promptly won three in a row with Lucic scoring 17 in Round 5 at Zalgiris Kaunas and 20 in Round 6 against AX Armani Exchange Milan. He later set a career-high in rebounding with 14 boards in Round 17 against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Lucic sacrificed his body time and again in drawing the fourth-most fouls (4.4 per game) and attempting the fifth-most free throws (3.5 per game). Lucic was also 10th in the league in free-throw accuracy (88.1%). Lucic led Bayern in PIR (15.4) and scoring (11.2 ppg.) in the playoffs, too. This is Lucic’s second All-EuroLeague selection.
Georgios Papagiannis, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
Georgios Papagiannis comes off a career-best season with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. The Greens’ center became only the fourth player in competition history to lead the EuroLeague in both rebounds (8.2 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.7 bpg.) – joining the likes of Arvydas Sabonis, Ekpe Udoh and Andrei Kirilenko – and the first this century to average better than 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Papagiannis also led the league in defensive rebounding with 6.0 per game, which was the best in the league in five years. Papagiannis shined for Panathinaikos in many different ways, including rankings third overall with 4.7 two-point shots made per game. He did so with 64.3% accuracy, which ranked 15th in the competition this season. In addition to posting career-best marks in rebounding, defensive rebounding, blocks and two-pointers made, Papagiannis also set career-highs with 10.3 points per game, 72.7% free-throw shooting and 28:24 average minutes played. He led the league with eight double-doubles, including in the regular-season finale when Papagiannis posted 14 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks.”
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net