John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
The number does not exceed 44 and the fact that only 17,3% of the players appeared in all games makes their achievement even more special.
Zalgiris Kaunas has the most iron men on its roster – five – while CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul follow with one player less. Olympiacos Piraeus is at the other end, with just one player out of the 17 they have used having made 30 out of 30 appearances.
|
CSKA Moscow (4/19) |
Cory Higgins, Sergio Rodriguez, Will Clyburn, Nikita Kurbanov |
|
Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul (4/16) |
|
|
Olympiacos Piraeus (1/17) |
Janis Strelnieks |
|
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens (3/16) |
Chris Singleton, James Gist, Lukas Lekavicius
|
|
Real Madrid (2/17) |
Jaycee Carroll, Fabien Causeur |
|
Zalgiris Kaunas (5/17) |
Arturas Milaknis, Brandon Davies, Vasilije Micic, Kevin Pangos, Aaron White |
|
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz (3/17) |
Johannes Voigtmann, Matt Janning, Vincent Poirier |
|
Khimki Moscow Region (3/15) |
Alexey Shved, Malcolm Thomas, Charles Jenkins |
|
Unicaja Malaga (3/14) |
Ray McCallum, Carlos Suarez, Alberto Diaz |
|
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv (3/13) |
Alex Tyus, Artsiom Parakhouski, DeAndre Kane |
|
Valencia Basket (2/16) |
Will Thomas, Aaron Doornekamp |
|
Brose Bamberg (2/16) |
Augustine Rubit, Maodo Lo |
|
FC Barcelona Lassa (2/16) |
Thomas Heurtel, Adrien Moerman |
|
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (3/15) |
Taylor Rochestie, Mathias Lessort, Branko Lazic |
|
Kaleb Tarczewski, Amath M’Baye |
|
|
Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2/15) |
Out of this total of 44 players, some managed to stand out even more thanks to their stamina and consistency.
Here are the Top 10 Iron Men based on playing time:
#10 Sergio Rodriguez (CSKA Moscow)
13.5 points | 1.9 rebounds | 4.8 assists | 0.8 steals | 0.1 blocks | 2.2 turnovers | 25:30 minutes | 13.2 PIR
His first season in Moscow has turned out to be his most productive in the competition, but former EuroLeague MVP Sergio Rodriguez never did just one thing well (he leads his team in assists). At the rate he’s going, the career highs in points (25) and the index rating (35) were only a matter of time.
#9 James Gist (Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens)
10.1 points | 4.5 rebounds | 1.1 assists | 0.9 steals | 0.5 blocks | 1.1 turnovers | 25:50 minutes | 11.1 PIR
He’s in his sixth season in Panathinaikos and every time he walks onto the court he makes sure to remind everyone why he’s still playing in green. He’s one of the four players on his team with double-digit point averages and ranked second in rebounds, with a career high (11) in that category for good measure.
#8 Nicolo Melli (Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul)
8.2 points | 5.2 rebounds | 1.7 assists | 0.8 steals | 0.4 blocks | 1 turnover | 25:51 minutes | 11.4 PIR
Fenerbahce trusted him for his ability to contribute in all areas and Nicolo Melli made sure to vindicate them with a full set of stats. He leads his team in rebounds and his career high in steals (4) was the cherry on top in these first 30 rounds.
#7 Taylor Rochestie (Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade)
13.4 points | 2.3 rebounds | 5 assists | 0.8 steals | 0.1 blocks | 1.8 turnovers | 26:00 minutes | 14.4 PIR
His performances were not enough for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade to make the extra step, but they were more than enough for Taylor Rochestie to remind everyone of his value. Leading his team in points and assists and posting his career highs in rebounds (9), steals (4) and the index rating (38) did the job.
#6 Will Clyburn (CSKA Moscow)
11.7 points | 5.7 rebounds | 1.9 assists | 0.8 steals | 0.2 blocks | 1.5 turnovers | 26:12 minutes | 14.1 PIR
Signing with CSKA came with increased responsibilities, but Will Clyburn proved quickly that he can rise to the challenge. Dominant in the air (first in rebounds among his teammates), he also came up with multiple career highs (28 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 34 index rating).
#5 Brad Wanamaker (Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul)
11.4 points | 2.6 rebounds | 3.9 assists | 1.3 steals | 0.1 blocks | 1.5 turnovers | 26:32 minutes | 12.7 PIR
The weight of defending the title is great for everyone in Fenerbahce, but Brad Wanamaker has been able to lift a large part of it on his back as the second-best player among his teammates in points and assists, and the first in steals. He added a career-high in steals (5) as a bonus.
#4 Kevin Pangos (Zalgiris Kaunas)
12.4 points | 2.8 rebounds | 6.2 assists | 0.8 steals | 0.1 blocks | 2.6 turnovers | 27:34 minutes | 13.9 PIR
Kevin Pangos gets better every year and he’s one of Zalgiris’s protagonists in his second season in the competition. The proof of this: the fact that he leads his team in points and assists (third in the competition), and had an assortment of career highs, in points (22), rebounds (7), assists (15) and the index rating (28).