By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Celebrations on the 25th season in the modern history of the EuroLeague extended to an All-25 EuroLeague Team. The five final entries were announced by Euroleague Basketball on Tuesday.
The selection process combined votes of championship-winning head coaches, past All-Decade Team members, Most Valuable Players, media representatives, and fans.
With a specific limit of 25 players in the prestigious list, naturally several household names, leaving their mark on Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history, were left out.
All-25 EuroLeague Team (in alphabetical order)
- Mike Batiste
- Dejan Bodiroga
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
- Nando de Colo
- Dimitris Diamantidis
- Luka Doncic
- Rudy Fernandez
- Manu Ginobili
- Kyle Hines
- Mike James
- Sarunas Jasikevicius
- Shane Larkin
- Sergio Llull
- Vasilije Micic
- Juan Carlos Navarro
- Theo Papaloukas
- Anthony Parker
- Giorgos Printezis
- Ramunas Siskauskas
- Kostas Sloukas
- Vassilis Spanoulis
- Sergio Rodriguez
- Walter Tavares
- Milos Teodosic
- Nikola Vujcic
Certainly, solid selections for the prestigious list. But there is always room to play the villain.
Off a nice stroll down history lane and focusing on respective list of achievements in the EuroLeague, Eurohoops presents a Top 10 of omissions. These legendary players perhaps deserved a spot on the All-25 EuroLeague Team.
Nemanja Bjelica
The MVP of the 2014-15 season, Nemanja Bjelica did not make the All-25. He is a veteran of 109 EuroLeague appearances. During his career, he was crowned NBA champion but did not achieve similar success in the Old Continent.
Nick Calathes
Perhaps the biggest snub is Nick Calathes. Besides becoming a EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos, relatively early in a storybook ongoing career, the 36-year-old floor general is also the all-time leader in assists and steals.
Alphonso Ford
Alphonso Ford passed away in 2004, after confirming his tremendous scoring ability in the EuroLeague. He was named in the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2001 and 2003. A two-time season scoring leader, his legacy extended into the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy.
Paulius Jankunas
The all-time leader in total rebounds and defensive rebounds, Paulius Jankunas, also fell shy of the All-25. He spent the majority of his career with Zalgiris en route to a sum of 392 appearances in Europe’s premier club competition.
Andrei Kirilenko
The MVP of the 2011-12 season, Andrei Kirilenko missed the cut, adding to a trend of players lacking a championship in the biggest snubs. To be fair, his EuroLeague career was limited to 28 games with CSKA.
Nikola Mirotic
Another former MVP without a championship, Nikola Mirotic, is also out. In addition to the 2021-22 MVP nod, he was named in the EuroLeague First Team twice and entered the Second Team on three occasions.
Felipe Reyes
Felipe Reyes retired in 2021 as a two-time champion with Real Madrid. Idle but still ranks fourth on the all-time list of players with the most rebounds and is 12th among players with the most games played.
Ricky Rubio
Before spending the majority of his career in the NBA, Ricky Rubio was crowned champion with Regal FC Barcelona and was also named Rising Star in 2010. In 2024, after focusing on his mental health and retiring from the NBA, he bounced back with Barca.
Jan Vesely
Jan Vesely won a championship in 2017 with Fenerbahce and two years later threw in a season MVP award to a long list of career achievements. An accumulated Performance Index Rating of 5,099 trails only Nando de Colo and Mike James.
Sasha Vezenkov
The MVP of the 2022-23 season, Sasha Vezenkov, was also named in the All-EuroLeague First Team for two straight years before a cup of tea with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA. The youngest snub is eager for more highlights, including a potential championship.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net