By George Orfanakis / info@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague is the best basketball competition in Europe and on its courts each season we see amazing players from Europe and the other side of the Atlantic.
Of course, the ones who steal the show are the top scorers, who always enjoy the greatest glorification from the fans and the media. But which players were able to combine their individual performance with their team’s success?
Eurohoops searched for and presents here those players who excelled in scoring from 2000 until today, but also their team’s course in each corresponding season.
Alphonso Ford (2000-01, Peristeri)
Point average: 26.00
Total points: 313
Games: 12
One of the best, if not the best, scorers who have graced with his presence the courts of Greece and Europe. The late Alphonso Ford passed away on September 4, 2004, at the age of 32, but before that, he managed to give us some unique moments as he unfolded his rare offensive talent.
His best season offensively was 2000-01, when in the colors of Peristeri he played in 12 games and scored an average of 26 points. In fact, he was the main reason the Greek team advanced to the playoffs with an overall record of 7-3, before being knocked out by Baskonia in 0-2.
It’s worth mentioning the American’s career high in the first game against the Basques. Ford blew up the stats with 41 points (9-for-19 in two-point shooting, 3-for-4 in three-point shooting, 14-for-15 free throws), 9 rebounds, 13 drawn fouls and 45 points in the ranking system. These, of course, are numbers that are difficult to come by nowadays in basketball…
Aside from him, Gregor Fucka was also highly productive and actually found himself at the top of the scorers’ list in terms of the overall number of points. The stats registered 335 points in 17 games (19.71 on average).
Alphonso Ford (2001-02, Olympiacos)
Point average: 24.75
Total points: 495
Games: 20
Different team, same result! Alphonso Ford was born to score and in Olympiacos he did it splendidly.
The American won the EuroLeague’s top scorer award for the second consecutive season (2001-02) after playing in 20 games with an average of 24.75 points. In fact, that season, he managed to stand out both in terms of the point average as well as the total number of points (495), despite the fact that Dejan Bodiroga played in 22 games (441 points, 20.05 on average).
Unfortunately, Ford couldn’t combine this amazing individual performance with a European title, as the Reds didn’t make it to the Final Four in a group that included Panathinaikos, AEK and Olimpija Ljubljana. Olympiacos‘s overall record? 14 wins and 6 losses.
Milos Vujanic (2002-03, Partizan)
Point average: 25.79
Total points: 361
Games: 14
How far would this player have gone if he hadn’t been plagued by injuries to the extent that he had?At just 23 years of age, Milos Vujanic emerged as the top scorer of the EuroLeague by scoring an average of 25.8 points in a total of 14 games in the colors of Partizan.
As is apparent by that low number of 14 games, the Serbian team was not able to make a good run and, as a result, they were eliminated in the first phase of the competition with just 4 wins and 10 losses.
Even so, Vujanic didn’t have a hard time standing out and getting one of the highest point averages in modern history. It’s telling that he had 20+ points in 9 games, 30+ points in 3 games but also a career high of 36 points against Virtus Bologna.
Lynn Greer (2003-04, Slask)
Point average: 25.10
Total points: 351
Games: 14
Lynn Greer had his greatest successes in the EuroLeague playing in the colors of Olympiacos, but the fact that Slask was of a lower caliber gave him the chance to shine and win the top scorer trophy.
The Polish team may have said goodbye to the competition early on with a record of 6-8, but this didn’t prevent the American from driving people wild with his performances. The end of the regular season found him with an average of 25.07 points and a total of 351 points, leaving behind big names like Arvydas Macijauskas (19.45 points on average) and Marcus Brown (18.71 points on average).
Greer was a player with a rare offensive talent that helped him find contracts with – among other teams – Fenerbahce, Unics Kazan and of course Olympiacos, with who he reached the Final Four in Berlin (2009).