By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops presents the Top 100 EuroLeague Players ahead of the 2021-22 season. It’s a list that was compiled with some specific criteria with the purpose of tracing and ranking those hoopers who are expected to define the upcoming EuroLeague season.
Editors from the international, Turkish, Greek and Spanish edition of Eurohoops selected the 100 players and ranked them after a certain procedure that included a lot of agreements and even more disagreements before a final consensus was reached. 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.
The list was compiled based on the rosters and moves as they were presented on the official EuroLeague website. Some cases, such as OJ Mayo, aren’t included as the list had been made before their official addition.
This year the primary criterion that determined the ranking was the momentum that a player may be carrying from the 2020-21 EuroLeague (or another European competition) as he’s heading into the new season. A decision was taken to focus on and reward a player’s individual performances, especially if his contribution lifted his team to certain EuroLeague heights.
In contrast, a player’s past achievements and overall legacy was taken in account far less than in our previous Top 100 features.
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 a certain 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 top talent.
There are a few cases where a player’s overall value and proven capacity to deliver big, counterbalanced numbers and stats as well as age, that otherwise wouldn’t justify his position.
It should be noted that the place an “x player” gets on the list doesn’t necessarily mean that he is overall “better” than another player since there’s a multitude of factors – some that matter more than others – that determine the final ranking.
30. Jalen Reynolds (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Year of birth: 1992
Position: Forward/Center
Height: 2.07 m.
2020-21 stats: 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds in 21:06 minutes over 39 EuroLeague games with Bayern Munich
A different kind of comeback: Maccabi Tel Aviv probably didn’t have any cause to keep Jalen Reynolds after the end of the 2019-20 season but had all the reasons in the world to welcome him back with open arms and likely a very big hug now. And that’s because Reynolds is coming off his breakthrough year in EuroLeague, a fantastic, absolutely dominant run with Bayern Munich that included MVP performances at the home of powerhouses and him helping the club make its first ever playoffs appearance.
29. Kyle Hines (Olimpia Milano)
Year of birth: 1986
Position: Center
Height: 1.98 m.
2020-21 stats: 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists in 24:19 minutes over 40 EuroLeague games with Olimpia Milano
A category of his own: Numbers will never, ever do justice (heck, you could pretty much tear the stats sheet in his case) to how important Kyle Hines is for his team. And we are talking about the leadership on and off the court, the inspiration that he transmits to his teammates and, of course, the massive and masterful, defensive impact. He boosted Milano to become a winning team and it was his block that sealed the club’s return to the Final Four after 29 years. An achievement that also made him a Final Four recordman.
28. Marko Guduric (Fenerbahce Beko)
Year of birth: 1995
Position: Guard/Forward
Height: 1.96 m.
2020-21 stats: 12.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 25:46 minutes over 21 EuroLeague games with Fenerbahce
15-3: That was Fenerbahce’s record in the EuroLeague regular season with Marko Guduric on the floor. The Serbian player’s name became synonymous to “win” following his return to Fener since his presence was combined with an absolute transformation for the Turkish side that was at 5-10 and in actual danger of missing the playoffs before his arrival. Guduric provided another dimension to Fener‘s offensive game and is expected to carry on that role – maybe even expand it – next season.
27. Mario Hezonja (Unics Kazan)
Year of birth: 1995
Position: Guard/Forward
Height: 2.03 m.
2020-21 stats: 14.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals in 22:41 minutes over eight EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos
Still in “Green” but in Russia: Mario Hezonja will continue wearing his beloved green colors but not for Panathinaikos since the offseason saga ended with him being signed by EuroLeague returnee Unics Kazan. Hezonja certainly made a strong impression in his short EuroLeague run with PAO and now looks locked and loaded to become Unics’ undisputed leader. He’ll rain buckets and if his superstar talent and poise will also translate into results, then Unics will get a significant kick into possibly making it to the next level in the competition.