By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
It’s no secret that EuroLeague is gaining more and more attention overseas in the last few years. The emergence of Luka Doncic, who was named 2018 Final Four and season MVP with Real Madrid, is the latest example of great talent residing in the Old Continent.
While the future of the 2019-20 season is still unclear both for the NBA and EuroLeague, Eurohoops has gathered the Top 10 players who are most likely to make a move to the NBA soon. Our list includes top-notch NBA draft prospects, former NBAers, as well as EuroLeague veterans that could try their luck overseas.
It has to be noted that in recent years, we have seen many players not only from EuroLeague but from European leagues, in general, making a successful jump to the NBA with Utah Jazz‘s Royce O’Neale being the poster boy of this category. So the list could easily extend to at least 30 or 40 names, which could potentially fill a role in the NBA. However, those players are the most obvious choices for a variety of reasons.
Shane Larkin
PG | 1992 | Anadolu Efes
The face of the 2019-20 EuroLeague season couldn’t be missing from this list. It was November 29, 2019, when he set a new all-time game scoring record in the competition with 49 points vs. FC Bayern Munich, and that was just for starters.
He is no stranger to the NBA either, as he made his EuroLeague return after spending the 2017-18 season with Boston Celtics. An 18th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, he started his pro career with the Dallas Mavericks before moving to New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
While Efes GM Alper Yilmaz denied rumors of the team having a new extension deal with Larkin already in place, the team counts on him as one of its leaders, so a possible NBA offer would have to be alluring for him to return.
Vasilije Micic
PG | 1994 | Anadolu Efes
Adding up to Larkin’s efforts, Micic also has left a massive impact on Efes during the 2019-20 season, with 14.5 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in EuroLeague before action was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Serbian guard picked things up from where he left off last season when he led the team to the EuroLeague title game for the first time in its history.
Micic, who was selected by Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft, recently stated he wants to make a possible NBA run count and believes he has ‘gained the status of a player that shows he could play a role that is longer than 20 minutes’. He remains under contract with Efes, after signing a two-year extension deal last May but also has an NBA buy-out.
Facu Campazzo
PG | 1991 | Real Madrid
Even though his agent recently addressed the rumor mill linking Campazzo to the NBA by stating there is ‘nothing concrete yet,’ the Argentinean guard’s name is always on the watch-list. It makes perfect sense if we consider that he is going through a stellar point of his career with Real Madrid and left the best of impressions during the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.
Before the season suspension, 29-year-old Campazzo led Real to win the Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey and was named MVP on both occasions, while he has been among the team’s top contributors in its 2019-20 EuroLeague campaign.
One issue that could complicate things is his big buy-out; however, if an NBA really wants him, there’s a way to get him.