By Utkan Şahin / info@eurohoops.net
This is not unusual. Before dominating the European and World Championships for years, Pau Gasol, made his Eurobasket debut in 2001 at the age of 21 and he took Spain to the bronze medal, being a member of tournament’s best five.
Dirk Nowitzki, one of the legends of European basketball, put his mark on the tournament with an average of 15 points in 1999 when he was 21 years old and showed what he could really achieve at the 2002 World Championships. And while those two are already legends, many other players emerged on the international scene at a very young age.
This year is not an exception and here are the top 10 young players to watch in EuroBasket 2017 with the limit being born at 1997 or after.
Georgios Papagiannis – Greece
Club: Sacramento Kings
Age: 20
Statistics: 22 matches 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.7 blocks
Papagiannis, who won medals twice for the junior Greek national teams, will make his senior team debut in a big tournament. He is expected to become one of the most prominent figures of EuroBasket in the coming years, being a member of the 2013 and 2015 best five in the junior championships.
Having spent some time with the Sacramento Kings last year, the young pivot is expected to have a key role in the team, especially with Kostas Koufos’ missing this summer.