By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Can there be a definite Top 100 or even Top 50 list of EuroLeague players? We decided once more to answer this question; as usual, it wasn’t easy at all.
We used a multitude of different factors to determine the final ranking after what was a rather long debate among the main editors of the English, Turkish, Greek and Spanish editions. Of course, our subjective but not biased – we hope – personal opinions also played a part.
As usual, being part of the top teams, or having a legacy of success with them helps your chances of being selected. And of course, making it to the Final Four or winning the title is obviously a huge plus.
So our main criteria remain the following:
1) The individual quality of each player in combination with the prospect he carries for the 2024-2025 season, plus the role and playing time we anticipate he will get with his team.
2) The strength and the potential of the club the player belongs to and what he has already achieved in the league.
3) Stats but not PIR though. We also strongly took into consideration a team’s success and whether each player registered their numbers as a member of a winning or losing side.
It wasn’t easy but somehow we made it work and here’s the result. And after the spots from 50 to 31 and 30 to 11, it’s time to go higher.
10. Edy Tavares (Real Madrid)
2023-24 numbers: 9.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.5 blocks in 22:53 with Real Madrid
How did his team do: EuroLeague Finalists
The No. 1 of the 2023 Top 50 Ranking had a fairly reasonable drop to the 10th spot. Last season, Edy Tavares didn’t seem as dominant as he was in previous years but his colossal defensive contribution, rebounding and ability to finish plays under the basket were all major ingredients in Real Madrid securing the first seed quite early.
9. Shane Larkin (Anadolu Efes)
2023-24 numbers: 16.8 points, 5.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals in 31:38 with Anadolu Efes
How did his team do: 9th in the regular season, eliminated by Virtus Bologna in the first round of the Play-In tournament
After missing almost half of 2022-23 with injury, Shane Larkin had a stellar run on an individual level last season and a couple of performances worthy of his status as one of the very best players in the EuroLeague. While Efes fell short in the Play-In, the American guard’s game was still way too strong enough to keep him in the Top 10.
8. Wade Baldwin (Fenerbahce Beko)
2023-24 numbers: 17.4 points, 4.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals in 27:39 with Maccabi Tel Aviv
How did his team do: 7th in the regular season, eliminated 2-3 by Panathinaiks Athens in the playoffs
One of the big “What Ifs” of the 2023-24 season has to do with Wade Baldwin’s injury in Game 1 of the EuroLeague playoffs against Panathinaikos that essentially kept him out of the rest of the series save for some minutes in Game 4. He was locked and loaded until that moment to lead Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Final Four, producing the best basketball in his career and going on an “MVP mode” throughout the larger part of the season.
7. Nigel Hayes-Davis (Fenerbahce Beko)
2023-24 numbers: 13.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals in 31:30 with Fenerbahce
How did his team do: 4th in the Final Four
Time for the first member of the 2024 All-EuroLeague First Team to appear on our list. The most memorable moment in Nigel Hayes-Davis’ 2023-24 season was when he became the first “Mr. 50” in EuroLeague history. He was much more than that though for Fenerbahce, as the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and overall a do-it-all power for the Turkish powerhouse.
6. Facu Campazzo (Real Madrid)
2023-24 numbers: 11.5 points, 6.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals in 25:17 minutes with Real Madrid
How did his team do: EuroLeague Finalists
The on-court mastermind behind the winningest team in the 2024 regular season, Facu Campazzo engineered Real Madrid’s offense with his majestic playmaking and beautiful passes while providing a healthy contribution of personal points as well.
5. Mathias Lessort (Panathinaikos Athens)
2023-24 numbers: 13.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals in 29:20 minutes with Panathinaikos
How did his team do: EuroLeague champions
Unstoppable. Mathias Lessort carried the center position for Panathinaikos almost single-handedly and there were few things that opposing teams could do to stop him from dominating. It wasn’t just about his numbers but the way he influenced the entire offense of the Greens with his screens, extra passes and very fast dives to the basket.
4. Sasha Vezenkov (Olympiacos Piraeus)
2023-24 numbers: 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds in 12:20 minutes with the Sacramento Kings
How did his team do: 9th in the Western Conference, eliminated in the second round of the Play-In tournament by the New Orleans Pelicans
Sasha Vezenkov returned to Olympiacos Piraeus and there was much rejoice among fans of the Reds. The definition of “efficiency” as a prolific scorer, a strong rebounder, and clinical off-the-ball cutter, the 2023 EuroLeague MVP is eager to finish the job that was left undone that season.
3. Mike James (AS Monaco)
2023-24 numbers: 17.9 points, 5.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals in 31:40 with Monaco
How did his team do: 3rd in the regular season, eliminated 2-3 by Fenerbahce in the playoffs
No player was as important for a high-ranked EuroLeague team as Mike James was for third-placed Monaco, something that is pretty much a defining factor of what an MVP is.
How come the reigning MVP doesn’t occupy one of the top two spots? Partly because James underperformed in the playoffs and also because the following two names had a EuroLeague title to also speak of their feats.
2. Kostas Sloukas (Panathinaikos Athens)
2023-24 numbers: 12.7 points, 5.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds in 26:14 with Panathinaikos
How did his team do: EuroLeague champions
Kostas Sloukas came, saw and conquered with Panathinaikos Athens, to push the team towards their seventh EuroLeague championship overall and first after 2011. His game was a spectacle to behold several times throughout the season and he often looked like the “best Sloukas ever”. He saved the truly best for last, with a sequence of enormous buckets in the EuroLeague championship game vs. Real Madrid, to be voted as the Final Four MVP.
1. Kendrick Nunn (Panathinaikos Athens)
2023-24 numbers: 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds in 27:27 with Panathinaikos
How did his team do: EuroLeague champions
On October 31, former NBA guard Kendrick Nunn signed with Panathinaikos Athens to play in the EuroLeague for the first time in his career. The rest was history and a quite glorious one.
The more Nunn successfully adapted to the Panathinaikos’ system and EuroLeague style of basketball, the more he began to unfold a scoring prowess that soon took the competition by storm. He established himself as one of the most dangerous and cold-blooded players, toying with opposing defenses while his presence benefitted the entire offense of Panathinaikos. In the meantime, he defined outcomes for his team, scored game-winners, came up big down the stretch and clutch when needed.
No other player overall was so impactful in all quarterfinals. He had a tremendous pair of 27 and 26 games in Games 4 and 5 to first help Panathinaikos survive Maccabi on the road and then win the series at home. He was also huge in the Final Four with 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while scoring 21 in the championship game.