Βy Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Who are the players that are going to remember this year’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague season as the one that changed their careers? Eurohoops.net evaluates the players who have made this their breakout season in the Euroleague and explains why they realized this blast-off in their careers.
The players are divided into many categories depending on when they matured, improved and reached the highest playing level in their career. There are those that showed us early on what has come to pass, those who worked and showed their improvement every year, but there are also the so-called “late bloomers”, the ones who are slow to sprout but eventually impress us with their talent.
Eurohoops.net ranks those who made the biggest bang in their careers this season and compares this year with their previous ones in the Euroleague.
Of course, those who are playing in the Euroleague for the first time this year could not have been included in this list, nor those who are having a very good season but have had a similarly one or more in previous seasons.
Janis Strelnieks
Brose Baskets Bamberg
Guard
Height: 1.91 meters
Date of birth: 31/10/1989
Season in the Euroleague: 2nd
Strelnieks is one of the not-so-well-kept secrets in Bamberg‘s excellent course this season. The Latvian guard has impressed with his performances in a well-structured unit that has perfectly distributed roles between everyone. Strelnieks was always known for his amazing accuracy from long-distance. This season in the Euroleague, not only does he confirm this reputation – hitting 28 or 57 three-point shots, or 49%, to date – but he makes sure he does other things, too, like dishing 3.5 assists per game! With 12 points and a 13.4 performance index rating (PIR) per game, Strelnieks can definitely be proud for the lift-off he has taken this season.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas
Unicaja Malaga
Forward
Height: 2.05 meters
Date of birth: 19/10/1989
Season in the Euroleague: 6th
Kuzminskas’s path in the Euroleague has been constantly on the rise, but this year is really special for him. The Lithuanian forward’s numbers have soared to 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 14.2 PIR in his third season in Unicaja, where he now has an undisputed role as team leader. Kuzminskas is a forward, but head coach Joan Plaza has structured Unicaja in such a way that the ball goes through his hands very often on offense so that he can decide whether to shoot, pass or create a lane in the opposing defense.
Miroslav Raduljica
Panathinaikos Athens
Center
Height: 2.13 meters
Date of birth: 5/1/1988
Season in the Euroleague: 3rd
Raduljica has played two previous seasons in the Euroleague, with Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Partizan Belgrade, but he was still very young and “unripe” then, basketball-wise. But the Serbian center of Panathinaikos is having by far the best season of his career now, enjoying a starter’s role for the Greens while posting averages of 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 12.8 PIR. Head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic collaborated flawlessly with Raduljica on the national team of Serbia and with that background has helped his compatriot center have an excellent season, his best at the club level. Actually, he’s the player with the eight-highest ranking per 40 minutes of playing time in the Euroleague.
Gustavo Ayon
Real Madrid
Center
Height: 2.08 meters
Date of birth: 1/4/1985
Season in the Euroleague: 2nd
After debuting in the Euroleague with Madrid last year, Ayon has catapulted his performance to an impressive level this season. The Mexican center is now 31 years old, but this is the first time in his career that he’s having such a great season at the top level of European basketball. Ayon is fourth in average PIR and the second-best rebounder in this year’s Euroleague thanks to his 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 19.8 PIR, numbers that are considerably increased compared to last years 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 11.7, respectively. His playing time for the Euroleague champs has increased from 18 to 25 minutes and he’s the Euroleague’s most accurate two-point shooter at 70.3%, but head coach Pablo Laso definitely gives him more time on the court because of his increased impact on Madrid’s game.
Miro Bilan
Cedevita Zagreb
Center
Height: 2.13 meters
Date of birth: 21/7/1989
Season in the Euroleague: 3rd
Bilan, who’s having an excellent season, is the pillar of Cedevita of excellent run this year. The 26-year-old center is in his third season in the Euroleague, all of them with Cedevita, but this year’s is by far his best. He plays more than 27 minutes per game and he averages of 13.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 16.5 PIR. The Croatian center has scored in double-digits in 12 consecutive games, showing – among other things – an incredible consistency in his performance.
Luigi Datome
Fenerbahce Istanbul
Forward
Height: 2.03 meters
Date of birth: 27/11/1987
Season in the Euroleague: 6th
Datome was introduced to the Euroleague audience before he had even reached adulthood, wearing Siena’s jersey first, and then Roma’s. However, the Italian forward is now a completely different player. In Fenerbahce, he has found the role and the conditions to develop his talent and become one of the best forwards in Europe. The 28-year-old guard averages 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 13 PIR while playing 27 minutes on average. Zeljko Obradovic helped him make this his breakout season in Fenerbahce and it looks like he can only get better in the coming years.
Nicolo Melli
Brose Baskets Bamberg
Power Forward
Height: 2.05 meters
Date of birth: 26/1/1991
Season in the Euroleague: 6th
Melli is 25 years old but nonetheless a “veteran” of the Euroleague, as he’s playing his sixth season in the competition. All the previous seasons, with Milan, he was a role player who was often limited to garbage time. This year at Bamberg, though, the situation is completely different. Andrea Trinchieri trusted Melli and his compatriot is having an amazing breakout season, with 9.9 points, 7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 16.5 PIR. His previous best season was the year before last with 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 7.3 PIR. The difference is immense and it’s justified because of the role that Melli has this year, but also the newfound virtues that he produces in his game, like reading plays and his excellent creation from the post.
Maik Zirbes
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
Center
Height: 2.08 meters
Date of birth: 29/1/1990
Season in the Euroleague: 4th
For the first time in his career, Zirbes was handed a starting role on a Euroleague team, with an average playing time of 25 minutes. The German center is having an excellent season, upgrading his position in Zvezda compared to last year when he was the substitute for the amazing Boban Marjanovic. The 25-year-old center has played three other seasons in the Euroleague, last year with the Serbian team and the two years prior to that with Brose Baskets Bamberg. However, up until the summer, his best season was his rookie year in the Euroleague, in 2012-12, when he had 8.2 points and a PIR of 7.7 per game. This year, in a total of 13 games in the Euroleague, he has had just two games without posting double digits and PIR, and now averages a total of 15.5 points and 17.8 PIR.