By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops presents the Top 100 EuroLeague Players ahead of the 2020-21 season. A list of players compiled with some specific criteria with the purpose of tracing and ranking those hoopers who are expected to define the upcoming EuroLeague season.
This Top 100 is unlike anything else before it for an obvious reason: The cancellation of the 2019-2020 EuroLeague season due to the coronavirus pandemic. In previous lists, some of the most important factors were the amount of a player’s contribution to club success or failing to help the team achieve its goals. This time – without a champion and not even the playoffs being held – this criterion is out of the picture but the overall run of the team up to the cancellation is still taken into account.
While there are some objective and factual elements/data that were taken into consideration when choosing the 100 players and then ranking them, the final result is, inevitably, subjective.
As always, there was a calculated risk with EuroLeague newcomers, especially those who are completely unfamiliar with European basketball. Hence why some players who will now take their first steps in EuroLeague have been omitted from the list or where placed in lower positions in comparison with “rookies” that already have considerable experience at a competitive level of European basketball. Experience in this level and type of game matters since we’ve seen no few quality players, even established NBAers, immensely struggle in their new surroundings simply because of their unfamiliarity with everything that European basketball encompasses.
A player of a team that is a title or Final Four contender automatically got a relative priority over another with possibly similar or equal, maybe even superior individual strengths. The higher the team’s projection for the upcoming season, the more boost a player got when it comes to his ranking and this is why you will find that there is an increased number of players from well-known powerhouses. Of course, there’s also the fact that these teams acquire of top talent.
The list was compiled based on the rosters and moves as are presented on the official EuroLeague website. It goes without saying that injuries (length of absence, seriousness) also played a part in picking and ranking the players, with a notable example being the complete absence of Maccabi Tel Aviv star Omri Casspi. While a healthy Casspi with numbers like the ones he had at the start of the previous season would probably make the Top 20, the fact that he is still rehabilitating (he’s not registered in EuroLeague’s website) after last playing in November 2019, has left him out.
There are a few cases where a player’s overall value and proven capacity to deliver big, counterbalanced numbers and stats as well as an age, that otherwise wouldn’t justify his position. Preseason/ early domestic competition games were also taken into account if they hinted towards an obvious significant positive shift in a player’s role and/or performance.
It should be noted that the place an “x player” gets in the list doesn’t necessarily mean that he is overall “better” than another player since there’s a multitude of factors that determine the ranking.
The most important ones are the following:
1) The individual quality of each player in combination with the prospect he carries for 2020-2021, plus the role and playing time we anticipate he will get with his team.
2) The strength of the club the player belongs to. The players of the teams that are usually playoff staples and are considered among the title contenders always have the edge because they combine individual quality with the club’s high aspirations.
3) Prior experience in EuroLeague/European basketball.
4) Numbers. How the player performed in 2019-2020.
A note regarding positions 51 to 100: Sometimes there’s a small or no real difference in the player’s positions. Especially the ranking of the spots between 51 to 100 is, more or less, typical and the differences between players can be negligible. Here are the players ranked between 100 to 76 and from 75 to 51.
50. Trey Thompkins (Real Madrid)
Year of birth: 1990
Position: Forward
Height: 2.08 m.
2019-2020 stats: 10.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 19:55 minutes over 20 EuroLeague games
2020-2021 expectation: Reaffirming how important he has become for Real. Especially after the previous season that was possibly his best with the team, at least numbers-wise. It included a particularly consistent stretch with back-to-back 20+point games in wins, and him stepping up as a go-to-guy when Real was looking for one.
49. Nemanja Nedovic (Panathinaikos Athens)
Year of birth: 1991
Position: Guard
Height: 1.92 m.
2019-2020 stats: 7.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 16:31 minutes over 17 EuroLeague games
2020-2021 expectation: Stay healthy. When he’s not troubled by injuries and when he’s given a role and a system that plays to his strengths, Nedovic can unfold an All-EuroLeague level quality on the floor and burn defenses to the ground. Panathinaikos will provide him with the opportunity to do that plenty be it via scoring or passing, since the Serbian guard carries the whole package.
48. Martin Hermannsson (Valencia)
Year of birth: 1994
Position: Guard
Height: 1.90 m.
2019-2020 stats: 10.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 25:46 minutes over 27 EuroLeague games
2020-2021 expectation: Retain this progress rate. Hermannsson was somewhat of a “revelation” last season in his debut EuroLeague campaign with Alba Berlin and he capitalized on this by signing with Valencia. His playmaking will now serve a much different, high-aspiring goal since this edition of Valencia was built to dream big.
47. Alex Abrines (Barcelona)
Year of birth: 1993
Position: Guard/Forward
Height: 1.98 m.
2019-2020 stats: 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14:49 minutes over 25 EuroLeague games
2020-2021 expectation: Continue on the same track as his season beginnings in Spain. While Abrines’ run in his 2019-2020 EuroLeague return wasn’t exactly productive, the signs ahead of the new season are beyond promising. The Spanish swingman is receiving a more significant, upgraded role by Sarunas Jasikevicius and making the most out of it, looking en route to a true return to form.
46. Pierria Henry (Baskonia)
Year of birth: 1993
Position: Guard
Height: 1.93 m.
2019-2020 stats: 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 24:39 minutes over 25 EuroLeague games
2020-2021 expectation: Run the show. Baskonia won’t require from Henry just his all-around output and ability to provide in every single area of the game but strong decision-making as playmaker, particularly in key moments. His role should be greater than 2019-2020 and his experience from his debut EuroLeague season shall come in handy on his floor-general duties.