By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
As the season is coming to an end, we picked the most notable moments, figures, records and happenings that took place in its course.
Follow the list to check out which players and teams stood out and which historic moments have been carved in stone!
Luka Doncic’s breakthrough
It would be safe to say that 18-year-old Doncic has the world in his grip. The biggest revelation of the season and rightfully selected ‘Rising Star‘ definitely deserves a spot on our list. His ability to create and score, the way he moves around the floor, as well as the character that he has shown, has made every basketball fan cheer for him.
The consistency of the competition
Much has been said about the new game system of EuroLeague, with many taking a stand against it. Truth is that it is indeed challenging for teams and players, but the competition has gained an identity which resembles a lot of the NBA. As all teams played against each other, we were able to see many new and interesting clashes down the stretch of those 30 weeks of action. All that add up to the reasons why EuroLeague is making its way towards the best sports leagues on the continent, and not just.
Double-game weeks
Speaking of consistency and the new format, the innovative move for double-game weeks needs to be noticed. There had been a few times in the regular season when 4 days of the week were “EuroLeague days”, offering much more desired spectacle to the fans. Not just that, but we were also able to see how the teams could control two equally challenging games in the course of 2 days.
Sarunas Jasikevicius’ season with Zalgiris
Eurohoops selected Sarunas Jasikevicius as the coach of the season, since he has given Zalgiris a breath of fresh air. The Lithuanian team managed to challenge and prevail over tough opponents, as the 41-year-old coach started making his way towards the elite of European coaches.
Real Madrid‘s spectacular games
From Sergio Llull’s ‘mandarinas’, to Anthony Randolph’s imposing blocks and dunks and then to Jaycee Carroll’s shooting abilities, Real Madrid is definitely a good match for any NBA team in terms of impressive plays! Who can forget how the Madrid team swept Barcelona 63-102 in Palau Blaugrana, how they outlasted Olimpia Milano by dropping another hunded-and-one game, while also taking down future playoff pairing Darussafaka 101-83 at home.
The memorable playoffs
No one will be able to forget how Fenerbahce swept Panathinaikos with a playoffs’ disadvantage, how CSKA showed total signs of domination against Baskonia, how Real Madrid was challenged let its experienced roster take charge and how Olympiacos edged Anadolu Efes in Game 5 of a fantastic series!
Darussafaka’s playoffs presence
Under the guidance of David Blatt, Darussafaka managed something great for the franchise this season, as they made it to the best 8 teams in Europe. Not only that, but they were quite a challenge for Real Madrid and even stole a win in the series.
Andrea Trincheri’s deliriously good game quotes
Andrea Trinchieri’s Brose Bamberg struggled a lot this season, losing some pretty tight margin games. Still, the always witty coach offered us many moments of raw honesty combined with sarcasm, a unique mix in European basketball.
Juan Carlos Navarro’s historic moment
“La Bomba” became the first player in EuroLeague history (since the new format was launched) to reach the 4.000 point mark. Barcelona might have not made it far into this season, but this record is carved in the pages of this season. And it looks like he has no fear of being surpassed anytime soon!