By Michalis Gkiouneloglou / info@eurohoops.net
The power forward position has its own charm. This is not the… classic “3” that usually shoots. But they do shoot it. This not the… classic center, but they can play close to the basket.
Nowadays, the “4′ is a key position. It showcases scorers and players. It’s not incidental that two out of the last four EuroLeague MVPs play in the power forward position.
Eurohoops picked the top three power forward after the completion of the first leg of the 2024-25 EuroLeague regular season. Olimpia Milano has two players mainly because of their outbreak with six straight wins (despite the two losses with which they finished the first leg) tht improved their position.
The third player on the list comes from Olympiacos Piraeus and he’s one of his team’s protagonists.
The fourth finalist
The player who narrowly lost his spot in the Top 3 is Panathinaikos forward Junacho Hernangomez. The Spanish player averages 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals (12.8 in PIR) over 17 games.
He’s shooting 58.6 percent on 2-pointers (41-70), 46 percent on 3-pointers (23-50) and 38.5 percent on free throws (5-13). He averages 24:07 minutes on the floor.
He ranks 11th in 3-point shooting.
Sasha Vezenkov
Sasha Vezenkov returned to the EuroLeague after a one-year absence and his run in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.
Olympiacos once again found the scorer they were missing last season as the Bulgarian forward leads the Reds in points at a distance from second-placed Evan Fournier.
Vezenkov averages 18.7 points along with 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals (22.9 in PIR).
He has 62.5 percent on 2-pointers (70 – 112), 33.9 percent on 3-pointers (19-56) and 90.2 percent on free throws (83-92).
The player of Olympiacos has won the MVP of the Round award three times.
At the same time, he ranks 5th in scoring, below Carsen Edwards, Kendrick Nunn, TJ Shorts and Theo Maledon.
Nikola Mirotic
He’s one of the responsibles for Olimpia Milano‘s turnaround run after the first half of the first leg.
Mirotic is finally reminding the player that Ettore Messina was looking for from the first moment.
In this EuroLeague season, the Montenegrin-Spanish forward has 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.9 steals in 29:10 (23.5 in PIR).
At the same time, he shoots 51 percent on 2-pointers (53 – 104), 40.6 percent on 3-pointers (39 – 96) and 87.6 percent on free throws (92 – 105).
He ranks 6th in scoring and 3rd in rebounding (behind centers Edy Tavares and Mathias Lessort) in the EuroLegue.
Zach LeDay
The American forward is the other pillar of Milano’s counterattack. Also, a proof that he performs better when he plays as a “4”. Rotating at the “5” is giving him a new breath and scoring.
The former player of Partizan and Olympiacos registers the following average numbers in the EuroLeague: 15.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.8 stels in 28:27 on the floor (20.0 in PIR).
He shoots 50 percent on 2-pointers (50-100), 52.7 percent on 3-pointers (29-55) and 91.3 percent on free throws (84-92).
LeDay ranks 9th in scoring in the EuroLeague. His top performance came against Barcelona where he registered 33 points (6-10 2-pointers, 4-4 3-pointers and 9-9 free throws).
He’s been named MVP of th Round two times this season.