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.
20. Scottie Wilbekin (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Year of birth: 1993
Position: Guard
Height: 1.88 m.
2020-21 stats: 13.8 points, 3.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds in 27:03 minutes over 34 EuroLeague games with Maccabi Tel Aviv
Tasked with pushing Maccabi back at high grounds: Scottie Wilbekin fell exactly 10 spots from his spot in last year’s Top 100. On one hand this had to do with his own numbers and performances that saw a drop in comparison with his excellent 2019-20 season. On the other, there was the fact that Maccabi had far from a winning record (14-20) and was eliminated from playoff contention early. The Yellows made some interesting transfers over the summer, but their main weapon remains Wilbekin and his killer instinct. He’ll be the guy who handles most of the offensive tasks and the one who will most likely be called to close the game, as he’s done so many times before.
19. Kostas Sloukas (Olympiacos Piraeus)
Year of birth: 1990
Position: Guard
Height: 1.90 m.
2020-21 stats: 11.0 points, 6.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds in 27:43 minutes over 34 EuroLeague games with Olympiacos Piraeus
Fully in charge: While Kostas Sloukas had stretches where he played basketball of MVP quality in the first season of his return to Olympiacos, he sometimes struggled to retain a certain degree of consistency and juggle both scoring and passing efficiently (a lack of backcourt depth on Olympiacos was something that also affected him). The one constant was his savvy playmaking. With Olympiacos having added some extra weapons in their guard lineup, the Greek star should be able to be have a clearer and more focused role in order to successfully carry the team and potentially lead it back to the playoffs.
18. Tornike Shengelia (CSKA Moscow)
Year of birth: 1991
Position: Forward
Height: 2.06 m.
2020-21 stats: 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 24:54 minutes over 37 EuroLeague games with CSKA Moscow
With the expectation to be even better: After six years with Baskonia, it took some time for Tornike Shengelia to adjust to his new surroundings on CSKA Moscow and put his game at full swing. When that happened he was all over the place and contributing in all areas of the games, close to the fashion that established him as the top power forward in Europe. The new president of ELPA (EuroLeague Players Association) didn’t have the numbers of previous years since his role was quite different than the one he had in Vitoria, but his game was still of top quality.
17. Vladimir Lucic (Bayern Munich)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Forward
Height: 2.04 m.
2020-21 stats: 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds in 31:08 minutes over 31 EuroLeague games with Bayern Munich
A hurricane: We are at this point in the Top 100 where we find players from the 2021 All-EuroLeague Team. Vladimir Lucic was actually named to the First Team after a stellar season in which his Bayern Munich made the playoffs for the first time in the history of the club. The Serbian forward was a two-way machine on the floor, using a combination of slashing force and lethal jumpers from all ranges to inflict damage while also defending like there’s no tomorrow with an endless amount of energy. Bayern is lucky to have such a player who isn’t generally considered as or acts like a star but definitely plays like one.
16. Shavon Shields (Olimpia Milano)
Year of birth: 1994
Position: Guard/Forward
Height: 2.01 m.
2020-21 stats: 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds in 26:46 minutes over 36 EuroLeague games with Olimpia Milano
The man of the hour: A career-high 38-point performance in the biggest EuroLeague game for Milano in decades was the icing but not the only highlight in Shavon Shields’ superb debut season with the Italian team. Before he was the leading scorer for Milano in the playoffs, Shields provided steady (13.5 points with double figures in 23 out of 29 regular season games) and quite efficient (57.2 percent on 2-pointers, 44.9 percent on threes) scoring for the Red Shoes, establishing himself as a bucket-getter for a team that – also thanks to him – found its way back to EuroLeague prominence after a very, very long time.
15. Wade Baldwin (Baskonia)
Year of birth: 1996
Position: Guard
Height: 1.93 m.
2020-21 stats: 15.3 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds in 27:17 minutes over 39 EuroLeague games with Bayern Munich
Soaring high: Wade Baldwin left behind a rough rookie season in EuroLeague with Olympiacos Piraeus to transform himself into one of the most dangerous offensive players in Europe. Andrea Trinchieri gave him the ball along with a considerable amount of freedom and Baldwin made the most out of it by catapulting his numbers and also push Bayern to a first-ever postseason run. With his swift drives to the basket and jump stops on 5 vs. 5 and by being a menace in the open court, Baldwin terrorized defenses, including the top one in EuroLeague. The funny thing is that he still has so much room for further growth, especially if he improves his 3-point shooting (that 4-22 in the playoffs is reason alone for some extra practices) and his decision making.
14. Nick Calathes (Barcelona)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Guard
Height: 1.96 m.
2020-21 stats: 7.8 points, 6.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds in 25:08 minutes over 41 EuroLeague games with Barcelona
Different role, same quality: The fact that Nick Calathes’ numbers in his first season with Barcelona were nowhere near the ones he had on Panathinaikos was completely understandable and pretty much expected. What didn’t change was the Greek guard’s playmaking mastery and ability to be a multitasker of the highest order. Calathes was excellent as the floor general of Barcelona while being a defensive commando and doing all sorts of dirty work on the floor. He also looked ready for big things in the Final Four with a tremendous performance in the semifinal until he got injured and became unable to play full strength in the championship game. Just another thing to add some extra motivation as he’ll look to help Barca go all the way this time.