By Utkan Şahin/ info@eurohoops.net
You also have to perform at a certain level with consistency and step up to the plate to give everything you have on the court.
At Eurohoops, we decided to take a look at the greatest legends for each EuroLeague club. The first step of our research was to uncover the highest-scoring players in their beloved teams’ jerseys for all 16 teams.
Distinguished readers, here you have the 16 highest-scoring players this century in the EuroLeague from 16 great clubs.
ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL – THOMAS HEURTEL (916 POINTS)
Seasons: 2014-2017
Games: 77
Stats: 11.8 points, 6.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds
Thomas Heurtel made a leap regarding his performance at the highest level in his 2014-15 season with Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz, and this led other teams to notice him. That performance paved his way to Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
There were high expectations. Thanks to his unique vision, perfect passing and accuracy rate of 56.3% from beyond the arc, everyone admired him. The fact that he was working with one of the best coaches in Europe, Dusan Ivkovic, was particularly exciting to everybody.
Unfortunately, that excitement was not matched by the results in the end. Heurtel put up several amazing performances throughout three seasons in Istanbul, and was so talented that he could dish out 15 assists against Real Madrid. Still, he was not able to lead Efes to the long-awaited Final Four, falling one victory short of that goal last season.
Nonetheless, Heurtel scored 916 points and dished out 499 assists. The French guard leads both categories for Efes since 2000.
Runner-up: Antonio Granger – 900 points
AX ARMANI EXCHANGE OLIMPIA MILAN – ALESSANDRO GENTILE (825 POINTS)
Seasons: 2011-2017
Games: 71
Stats: 11.6 points, 2.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds
The relationship between Alessandro Gentile and AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan didn’t end as both had hoped, but they certainly had their shiny days together.
Gentile came of age in Benetton’s youth program, and in 2012 he became a player for Milan. He was an all-around sort of player who was physically superior to his opponents.
All these properties had everyone excited and, indeed, Gentile was a major factor in Milan reaching the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time in 2014, although an injury kept him and the club from their dream of playing that year’s Final Four at home.
Even though the story did not end the way he wanted, Gentile created his myth in Milan by becoming the highest-scoring player there in the EuroLeague this century.
Runner-up: Keith Langford – 609 points
BASKONIA VITORIA GASTEIZ – LUIS SCOLA (2,054 POINTS)
Seasons: 2000-2007
Games: 144
Stats: 14.3 points, 1.7 assists, 5.6 rebounds
What a player he was…Yes, he never got to win a title in the EuroLeague, but Luis Scola deserved it more than most.
Having been one of the stars that Baskonia brought from South America, Scola managed to become the most important player of the team in the seven seasons he played there. During this time, Baskonia competed with the powerhouses of both the EuroLeague and the Spanish League.
While he was on the court, the Argentinian was his team’s primary offensive power and he instilled fear in his opponents.
During his time there, Baskonia got themselves in the Final Four five times and reached the final on two of those occasions. Even though they never won it all, it didn’t hold Scola back from becoming a legend.
Runner-up: Mirza Teletovic – 1,438 points