By George Efkarpides & Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
In recent times, more and more European players join the NBA and this year, a record-breaking 74 European players will be playing in the NBA.
The NBA has been attracted to international players, who seem to have unique talents, and are ready to conquer the basketball world.
Last season, many European players had dazzling campaigns with their respective teams. Others are considered to be ‘rising stars’ and players like Giannis Antetokounmpo have already established themselves as top-10 players in the league.
An exciting season is just around the corner and eurohoops.net has ranked the top 30 Europeans for the upcoming year.
The criteria for this year’s rankings are: The quality of the player, his role on the team and what is expected from him this upcoming season. Moreover, the playing time we anticipate he will get by his coach in combination with what he has been able to achieve in his NBA career so far. That’s why no rookies made the list with just two exceptions.
Notable Mentions: Some of the following have not even played a single minute in the NBA, some of them are role players who average 10-15 minutes per game in fair teams, and the others like Bender, Papagiannis are sophomores in the NBA, who did not have great rookie seasons.
Still, those are the players who just missed the cut: Marco Belinelli, Timofey Mozgov, Juan Hernangomez, Lauri Markkanen, Kosta Koufos, Paul Zipser, Nemanja Bjelica, Cedi Osman, Furkan Korkmaz, Joffrey Lauvergne, Daniel Theis, Zaza Pachulia, Omri Caspi, Dragan Bender, Tomas Satoransky, Thabo Sefolosha.
30. Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings / Serbia)
Year of Birth: 1992
Height: 198cm (6-6)
Position: G
At 24-years of age, Bogdan Bogdanovic is now entering his prime and the timing couldn’t be any better. His first year in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings is just around the corner. His great shooting skills, handles and experience in Europe over the last years with Fenerbahce have given him the confidence which he will try to also use in a totally different environment, the NBA. As he has stated himself, the NBA’s game is faster than Europe’s and he will have have to make quicker decisions; Bogdanovic will need to work on his decision-making offensively and his spacing defensively.
In the 2017 EuroBasket, he led Serbia to the championship game but eventually could not get the job done against Slovenia. His talent is unquestionable but is he ready for this biggest change in his basketball career? We trust that he is. The fact that he is number 30 in this list has strictly to do with him being an NBA rookie.
29. Milos Teodosic (Los Angeles Clippers / Serbia)
Year of Birth: 1987
Height: 196cm (6-5)
Position: G
Milos Teodosic’s move to the NBA will shock the world. His unbelievable passing skills is what makes the experienced 30-year old a special talent. His passing gift is something the Clippers’ fans are already starting to see and appreciate from the first preseason games. If he gets the minutes he deserves under Doc Rivers, Teodosic could average 7+ assists per game this upcoming season with the Los Angeles Clippers. His experience, his great shooting percentages, the way he handles the ball and creates offense is what will make him really successful in the NBA. Chris Paul’s departure will give Teodosic more minutes next to Blake Griffin and he figures to throw lobs to him as well as DeAndre Jordan.
Teodosic did not participate in the 2017 EuroBasket, with a minor injury. To start the season, he is our #29 because he has not yet been challenged in an NBA game. He is the second rookie of this list after Bogdanovic. That’s the only reason he is not ranked higher. He has not played yet an official game in the NBA.
28. Boban Marjanovic (Detroit Pistons / Serbia)
Year of Birth: 1988
Height: 221cm (7-3)
Position: C
Over the last couple of seasons, the third Serbian in our list, Boban Marjanovic has tried to gain more minutes with the Spurs and Gregg Popovich but also last year with Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons. With Detroit last year he averaged 8.4 minutes per game in the 35 games he played in. Marjanovic is unquestionably skilled for his size and body, and even though he is averaging only 8.4 minutes per game, he does his job perfectly coming off the bench and providing solid minutes. He played also a crucial part of Serbia’s national team this past EuroBasket as his body, height and length provided scoring and rebounding for coach Djordjevic and his team.
This year he is expected to gain some more minutes from coach Stan Van Gundy. Per 48 minutes (in 2016-2017), Marjanovic would average 31.3 points per game and 21.3 rebounds (!) so we could not leave him out the top-30.
27. Alex Abrines (Oklahoma City Thunder / Spain)
Year of Birth: 1993
Height: 198cm (6-6)
Position: G
Alex Abrines had a decent rookie campaign as one of the best three-point shooters on last year’s Thunder team. This season, he will most likely be the second option off the bench even though he might close out games when his team needs a deep threat.
Now that the Thunder have become stronger and want to contend in the Western Conference, he will have to elevate his game if he wants to have a more important and stable role on the team. In the 68 games he played last year, the Spaniard averaged 6.0 points on 39.3% shooting from the field. Even though he is a good shooter, especially from the three-point line (38.1%), Abrines has to improve his field goal percentage, in order to be the sixth man for coach Donovan. This summer he managed to only play one game for Spain in the EuroBasket as he injured his ankle and remained sidelined.
26. Nikola Mirotic (Chicago Bulls / Spain)
Year of Birth: 1991
Height: 208cm (6-10)
Position: F
Nikola Mirotic is at #27 in our list to start this season. The 26-year old had a good season in the NBA with the Bulls, as he played 70 games and averaged 24 minutes and 10.6 points per game. Starting from this season, the Bulls will be in rebuilding mode, and that will favor Mirotic and the minutes he plays. The Bulls will try to have him help Lauri Markkanen (no. 7 pick), with the adjustment to the NBA and the different style of play than in the NCAA and Europe. Mirotic will challenge him and will try to make him better. “Threekola” will potentially be a starter for this Bulls team and will quite possibly be a no1 option on offense in a team that lacks players who can score.
Mirotic did not participate in the 2017 EuroBasket.
25. Mindaugas Kuzminskas (New York Knicks / Lithuania)
Year of Birth: 1989
Height: 205cm (6-9)
Position: F
With Carmelo Anthony’s exit, Kuzminskas will have a more important role for this rebuilding New York Knicks team. Next to Porzingis, Hardaway Jr. and Hernangomez, he will try become the fourth go-to guy for coach Hornacek. His offensive skills, finishing through contact around the basket, knocking down mid-range step-back shots and also shooting the three-pointer, are the skills he showcased in the EuroBasket, something he had already shown flashes of last year. The Knicks’ fans are hoping to see him have a more stable role in the team, be a better player than just a “3 and D” type of guy and continue his good performances, this upcoming season. In the Eurobasket he showed how he has improved his offensive and defensive game as he averaged 15.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. “Kuz” is poised for a breakout year and if he gets the minutes he deserves fans will be chanting his name even more.
24. Willy Hernangomez (New York Knicks / Spain)
Year of Birth: 1994
Height: 211cm (6-11)
Position: C
Willy Hernangomez had a great year with the New York Knicks, as he became the starting center of this team for the majority of the season and had some great games with double-doubles next to Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony. Hernangomez was picked 35th in 2015 by the Philadelphia 76ers and last year was his first year in the NBA. The 23-year old averaged 18.4 minutes per game and in the 72 games he played and he also managed to average 8.2 points and 7.0 rebounds. Naturally, this year, coach Jeff Hornacek will trust him even more, especially after his successful rookie campaign and a great run in the EuroBasket next to Pau and Marc Gasol with Spain. He was one of the ‘surprises’ last season, and if he continues to play like that, he can have a more stable starting role in the team, while also turning into a young NBA star next to Kristaps Porzingis.
23. Enes Kanter (New York Knicks / Turkey)
Year of Birth: 1992
Height: 211cm (6-11)
Position: F/C
Enes Kanter was traded to the New York Knicks this summer along with Doug McDermott, in a trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kanter averaged 21.3 minutes per game and in that span averaged 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Kanter has some great offensive skills that he can bring in New York and become the go-to guy behind franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis. Per 48 minutes, Kanter would average 32.3 points and 15.1 rebounds per game on 54.5% from the field. This summer he worked on his game and did not compete with Turkey in the EuroBasket.
He will get the chances he deserves in New York under coach Jeff Hornacek and could challenge Willy Hernangomez for the starting spot next to Kristaps Porzingis. Regardless, Kanter will contribute with solid minutes for the New York Knicks’ when Porzingis is on the bench and the team needs scoring. If he improves his defense, Kanter could really elevate his game in a different environment.
22. Bojan Bogdanovic (Indiana Pacers / Croatia)
Year of Birth: 1989
Height: 200cm (6-7)
Position: G
Even though his 2016-2017 stats do not actually show how good he can be offensively, this year on a mediocre Pacers’ team, he will get more minutes and will look to prove that he can be a go-to guy. Last year, Bojan played 55 games for the Brooklyn Nets and 26 for the Washington Wizards, next to John Wall and Bradley Beal. With the Wizards, the 28-year old shooting guard did not play heavy minutes as he came off the bench. This off-season he signed with Indiana where he has to prove that he is a great scorer while improving his efficiency and it won’t be a surprise if he leads the Pacers in scoring.
In the EuroBasket, Bogdanovic was effective for Croatia as he averaged 22.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. As he has shown at the international level of play, he can score the basketball in many ways, shoot the deep ball and attack the basket and this is what he also has to do in Indiana in order to average 18-20 points per game this season.