By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Being devoted to one team is rare these days, but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t those who defy that trend. Eurohoops searched, found and presents here the 10 players who have accumulated the most games with the same team in the EuroLeague – proving their devotion, as the competition’s anthem says.
Berni Rodriguez
169 games with Unicaja Malaga
7.4 points | 1.8 rebounds | 2.1 assists | 0.7 steals | 0.0 blocks | 1.6 turnovers | 21.6 min
He came of age in Unicaja Malaga’s development programs and ended up playing with them for 11 seasons in the EuroLeague (2001-12), earning everyone’s respect with the consistency of his game. He was present at the team’s only appearance in a Final Four. In fact, Rodriguez played a leading role in that accomplishment, as 2007 was his best season in the competition and his only one with a double-digit point average (10.8).
Vangelis Mantzaris
172 games with Olympiacos Piraeus
4.8 points | 2.6 rebounds | 2.3 assists | 0.7 steals | 0.0 blocks | 0.9 turnovers | 21.6 min
Lady Luck was generous with Mantzaris, as in 2012, his very first season in the EuroLeague, he was able to win the trophy. The following season, even though he was once again the champion with his team’s rare back-to-back title, she wasn’t as generous, since a serious injury midway through that season kept him out of action. Mantzaris returned stronger for two more championship-game runs, in 2015 and 2017, and he continues to reinforce Olympiacos Piraeus’s effort to uphold this tradition. He’s ranked 35th in overall assists (389) and 44th in successful three-pointers (185) in EuroLeague history.