By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thanks to his performance in the recent win of his team over Bayern Munich, Olympiacos Piraeus star forward Sasha Vezenkov accomplished something that only seven players had previously achieved before in the modern EuroLeague era.
Vezenkov became just the eighth player to register more than 40 in PIR (Performance Index Rating) while taking less than 10 field goal attempts. The Bulgarian player had 4-9 (2-2 two-pointers, 2-5 triples) shots while also going 10-10 from the free-throw line en route to 20 points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out four assists, and won 10 fouls to register a career-high 43 in PIR.
Before Vezenkov, his former Olympiacos teammate Nikola Milutinov had 41 PIR with eight shots in a 79 – 65 win over Panathinaikos Athens in 2019. The current CSKA Moscow big man posted 18 points, and 18 rebounds and forced his opponents to foul him 11 times.
Retired Croatian center Andrija Zizic, another former Olympiacos player, is the “leader” on the list due to the fact that he managed to notch 41 PIR with only five shots. In 2006 and during a 101-95 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Croatian big had 23 points (3-5 from the field) nine rebounds, and an outstanding 17-17 free throws.
The rest:
Dereck Hamilton (Saint Petersburg Lions): 24 points (7-9 shots), six rebounds, five assists, five steals, 40 PIR in a 97- 88 loss to Baskonia in 2001
Marcus Brown (Anadolu Efes): 25 points (6-8 shots), six assists, four steals, 41 PIR in a 101 – 84 win over Ural Great in 2002
Dragan Lukovski (Pau Orthez): 23 points (5-8 shots), 12 assists, four rebounds, 40 PIR in a 106 – 110 loss to Lottomatica Roma in 2003
Arvydas Sabonis (Zaligirs Kaunas): 25 points (7-9 shots), 16 rebounds, four assists, 47 PIR in an 85 – 73 win over Fenerbahce in 2004
Alan Anderson (Maccabi Tel Aviv): 20 points (5-8 shots), eight rebounds, five assists, four steals, 40 PIR in an 81 – 76 win over Real Madrid