By Utkan Şahin /info@eurohoops.net
Even in the extraordinarily tall world of basketball, some players in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague manage to be taller than Europe’s biggest and their majestic figures help them remain a sensation throughout their careers.
Eurohoops found the 10 biggest players in the history of the EuroLeague and looked at how they fared in their European careers through their stats.
WALTER TAVARES
Country: Cape Verde
Height: 2.20 m
EuroLeague Career: Real Madrid
EuroLeague Stats: 18 games, 7.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks
Walter Tavares, even though still a fresh EuroLeague face in his debut season, managed to get on the list.
He’s impossible to miss with his majestic height of 2.20 meters and his quick feet. He uses his speed to try to be everywhere on the court and he’s a good rim protector, as shown by his average of 1.6 blocks.
Tavares’s work rate, combined with those long limbs, is one of the most vital elements in Real Madrid‘s injury-riddled season.
It’s going to be fun watching him play as the pressure increases for Madrid in this season’s tough competition.
CONSTANTIN POPA
County: Romania/Israel
Height: 2.20 m
EuroLeague Career: Hapoel Jerusalem
EuroLeague Stats: 9 games, 4.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks
While Tavares is chronologically the last entry of the list, Contanstin Popa is the first.
After coming of age in Romania as a professional player, Popa played in France and Israel. He finally made his way to Hapoel Jerusalem in 2000-01.
He used his size to his advantage. His hook shot, especially, was the biggest weapon in his arsenal. It was impossible to stop his hook with that height.
His short stint in the EuroLeague marked the end of his career.
ARVYDAS SABONIS
Country: Lithuania
Height: 2.20 m
EuroLeague Career: Zalgiris Kaunas
EuroLeague Stats: 16.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks
Arvydas Sabonis was not just a basketball legend, he changed the entire game with his height of 2.20 meters.
In his time, bigs were usually used as rebounders and post scorers. You didn’t see them shooting the ball or distributing passes at the top of the key really often.
Sabonis was one of the players who changed this pattern and opened the horizons for basketball’s giants.
He would most likely have become a star even with a height of 1.88, but his exceptional ball handling skills and his court vision, combined with his 2.20-meter height, made him unique and a legend in basketball history.
Even at the age of 40 and in the final season of his career, he was unstoppable at the EuroLeague level. The legendary Lithuanian averaged 16.7 points and 10.7 rebounds and was chosen as the MVP of both the regular season and the Top 16.
BRUNO SUNDOV
Country: Croatia
Height: 2.21 m
EuroLeague Career: Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Cibona Zagreb
EuroLeague Stats: 8 games, 3.0 points, 1.5 rebounds
The Croatian center is known throughout the world not because of his height but because of the fact that he played for 20 different clubs in his long career.
In the EuroLeague, we watched him play in the colors of Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and Cibona. He won the title with Maccabi in 2004 and then played for Cibona in the 2008-09 season.
He possessed a surprising ability from the three-point line and he was one of the first prototypes of a “stretch big” player with his long-range shooting.
NEMANJA BESOVIC
Country: Serbia
Height: 2.21 m
EuroLeague Career: Partizan
EuroLeague Stats: 2 games, 0.0 points.
After shining in the Buducnost academy, he found an opportunity in Partizan to perform on the big stage in his country and in Europe.
He managed to make his debut at the age of 17 but his chances were truly limited and scarce. Between 2008 and 2010 he only played in two games and for a total of 1 minute.
ALEKSANDAR RADOJEVIC
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Height: 2.21 m
EuroLeague Career: Union Olimpija, Prokom
EuroLeague Stats: 16 games, 4.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.9 blocks
The Bosnian center was a player you had to keep an eye on.
He played in various clubs throughtout his career and made his EuroLeague debut in the 2001-02 season. He played in seven games with Olimpija and then returned to the big stage with Prokom three years later.
His career-high was against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and AEK with 12 points. As a two-way player, he was functional on both offense and defense. His 15 blocks in 16 games is a sign of that.
BOBAN MARJANOVIC
Country: Serbia
Height: 2.21 m
EuroLeague Career: Zalgiris Kaunas, CSKA Moscow, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
EuroLeague Stats: 48 games, 11.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.8 blocks
One of the stars of Serbia’s national team, Boban Marjanovic is one of the first players to come to mind when exceptional height is mentioned.
Boban played his first EuroLeague game with CSKA Moscow but finished that season in the colors of Zalgiris Kaunas. His breakout moment, however, came in his third EuroLeague club: Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade.
After appearing in a EuroLeague game for the first time with the red-and-white jersey, he dominated the league in 2014. He was an unstoppable force with his versatile repertoire of scoring close the basket and his prowess in free throws.
He managed to get 16 double-doubles in 24 games, becoming the player with the most double-doubles in a single EuroLeague season.
REMON VAN DE HARE
Country: Netherlands
Height: 2.22 m
EuroLeague Career: FC Barcelona Lassa, Union Olimpija
EuroLeague Stats: 12 games, 1.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.2 blocks
The Dutch center played in the EuroLeague for 4 seasons.
Coming up through the ranks of FC Barcelona Lassa’s academy, he made his debut with the Catalan giant in the 2001-02 season and became a EuroLeague champion with them in the following season. After three seasons in Barcelona, he left the EuroLeague but made a brief return with Union Olimpija for 7 games during the 2005-06 season.
Despite being a prospect that was courted at the youth level, his career lasted only 9 seasons.
NEDZAD SINANOVIC
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Height: 2.22 m
EuroLeague Career: Real Madrid, Unicaja Malaga
EuroLeague Stats: 27 games, 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.6 blocks
With his 2.22-meter figure, Nedzad Sinanovic was one of the EuroLeague’s giants.
He shined in the Belgian League and was transferred to Madrid in 2005, making his debut in with the Spanish behemoth. He played a total of 7 games in the EuroLeague. Finishing his stint at Madrid after two seasons, he signed with Unicaja Malaga and played there for 3 seasons.
His EuroLeague career was not really glamorous but he did play some memorable games with his quick feet, shooting ability and athleticism. In 2011 he scored 18 points against Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz in the Top 16.
SLAVKO VRANES
Country: Montenegro
Height: 2.29 m
EuroLeague Career: Buducnost, Partizan
EuroLeague Stats: 78 games, 2.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
Slavko Vranes was one of the longest-lasting tall players not just in the EuroLeague but in world basketball.
Even though being big is a huge advantage in basketball, it’s hard for players who are 2.20 meters tall to be consistent. Vranes’s height was 2.29 meters, so the fact that he was able to keep himself in the game for so long is a big success.
He made his debut in the EuroLeague as a 19-year-old with Buducnost Voli in the 2002-03 season. He became a household name in his club but signed with Partizan in 2007.
In his three seasons and 64 EuroLeague games with Partizan, he didn’t put up impressive numbers but was certainly a solid contributor.
In 2009 he averaged 4.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, playing his part in a surprise Final Four team.