By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Well, it’s that time of the year again.
Eurohoops presents the Top 100 EuroLeague Players ahead of the 2018-2019 season. A list of players compiled with some specific criteria with the purpose of tracing and ranking those hoopers that are expected to define the upcoming EuroLeague season.
While there are some objective and factual elements that were taken into consideration when choosing the 100 players and then ranking them, the final result is, inevitably, subjective.
As always, there was a calculated risk with rookies, especially those who are completely unfamiliar with European basketball. Hence why some players who will now take their first steps in EuroLeague have been omitted from the list or where placed in lower positions in comparison with EL rookies that already have a considerable experience at a competitive level of European basketball. Experience in this level and type of game matters since we’ve seen no few quality players, even established NBAers, immensely struggle in their new surroundings simply because of their unfamiliarity with everything that European basketball encompasses.
What should be noted is that a player of a team that is a title or Final Four contender automatically got a relative priority over another with possibly similar or equal, maybe even superior individual strengths. This is why you will find that there is an increased number of players from well-known powerhouses. Of course, there’s also the fact that these teams usually sign a lot of top talent.
It goes without saying that injuries also played a part in picking and ranking the players.
Like every year, the Eurohoops Top 100 Players ranking is based on the following criteria (in this order):
1) The individual quality of each player in combination with the role and playing time we anticipate he will get with his team.
2) The strength of the club he plays for. The players of the teams that are usually playoff staples and are considered among the title contenders always have the edge because they combine individual quality with their club’s high aspirations.
3) What each player has achieved in his career in the EuroLeague, combined with the prospect he carries for the 2018-19 season.
The countdown continues with the spots from 21-30. Here are the 40-31, 50-41, 60 – 51, 70 – 61, 80 – 71, 90 – 81, plus the 100 to 91 picks.
30. Anthony Gill (Khimki Moscow)
Year of birth: 1992
Position: Forward
Height: 2.04 m.
2017-2018 stats: 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1 assist in 25:53 minutes per game with Khimki Moscow in EuroLeague.
There’s no coach in EuroLeague that wouldn’t want a forward like Anthony Gill on his team’s roster.
It’s not only the fact that Gill is the complete package: A dynamic forward with soaring abilities who can sometimes dunk on the ball in “5 vs 5” as easily he does in transition, a stout and simultaneously agile defender able to guard multiple positions and throw down blocks when he comes off the help, plus a 3-point shooter that no team can risk to leave him open beyond the arc. It’s mostly that in his debut EuroLeague season, Gill rose to the occasion, contributing big in unfriendly arenas, demanding games and “do-or-die” situations for Khimki. Gill basically exceeded all expectations in 2017-2018, especially considering the fact that he just had one year of pro basketball in his resume.
Advancing to the playoffs will be once again a challenge for Khimki given that other teams (Barcelona, Maccabi, Milano, Efes) are expected to make a strong case for returning to the Top 8. If Gill has a similar season like 2017-2018, a legit All-EuroLeague Team candidacy might be in order, given that the Russian team once again makes the postseason at least.
29. Adam Hanga (Barcelona)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Forward
Height: 2.01 m.
2017-2018 stats: 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2 assists in 24:43 minutes per game with Barcelona in EuroLeague.
Adam Hanga’s first season with Barcelona didn’t go exactly as planned both on a team and individual level. Barcelona suffered from chemistry issues and ultimately missed the playoffs for the second year in a row while the player hurt his knee on March and had to go through surgery some months afterward.
But a renovated Barcelona approaches a new campaign with a much optimism and so does Hanga. The Hungarian player is expected to return to action around the end of October to assume his post as the starting “3” of the squad and help his team’s run towards a playoff or possibly Final Four return.
An energy-packed and high-flying swingman that if you blink you’ll lose track of his position on the court, former DPOY Hanga is the definition of a “multi-tool” who brings versatile contribution on both ends. Defense will always be his forte of course, since he utilizes his athleticism to pull stops in all places, steal balls and then push the transition with some road-runner alike speed.
Seeing him and the “new” Barcelona in EuroLeague definitely feels like a treat already.
28. Nikola Milutinov (Olympiacos)
Year of birth: 1994
Position: Center
Height: 2.13 m.
2017-2018 stats: 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1 assist in 21:43 minutes per game with Olympiacos in EuroLeague.
Nikola Milutinov may very well be entering his last season in EuroLeague. The San Antonio Spurs have their eyes fixed on their stashed center and, given his progress rate, he should be Texas bound by the end of 2018-2019. Year by year Milutinov has taken significant steps in improving his game and the previous season wasn’t any different.
The Serbian center has come to a point where he’s a central figure for Olympiacos on both ends of the floor. He plays the pick n’ roll like out of the textbook, implements excellent moves to get rid of his opponents and finish a play, dominates the glass and he’s a cerberus when protecting the rim.
We’ve seen Milutinov dishing assists after the short roll or close to the basket and under David Blatt his role as a dime-dropper might get larger due to the continuous off-ball movement that the coach asks for his players. In essence, Milutinov has extra opportunities to unfold even more aspects of his talent as a playmaker next season and present an upgraded version of himself to Spurs representatives that will probably once again appear in Piraeus around April.
27. Anthony Randolph (Real Madrid)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Forward/Center
Height: 2.11 m.
2017-2018 stats: 8.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists in 17:56 minutes per game with Real Madrid in EuroLeague.
Following a summer in which his future with Real Madrid was reportedly highly doubtful for behavioral issues, reigning EuroLeague champion Anthony Randolph is entering the new season extact where he was in the past two years. With Real Madrid.
With few exceptions, Randolph’s previous season was a bit lackluster in comparison with his first year in Madrid and a persistent shoulder injury played a part in this. Still, he checked into the Top 20 of our list and the reason is simple: He remains by far the most unique 7-footer in Europe. A player able to do things that no other with his height can.
Hitting jumpers with the execution and sometimes efficiency, of a shooting guard is one thing but carrying the ball on a fast break? Running the court to bring down an opponent with a chasedown block? Dribbling your way from beyond the arc to the basket in “5 vs. 5”? Randolph’s bag of tricks is huge and absolutely special.
In spite of all the summer drama, Randolph began the season as a starter for Real and if he stays healthy and focused, he’s bound to have a superior campaign than the previous one.
26. Joffrey Lauvergne (Fenerbahce)
Year of birth: 1992
Position: Forward/Center
Height: 2.13 m.
2017-2018 stats: 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, in 13.6 minutes per game with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.
Out of all EuroLeague offseason signings, few made such a buzz like Joffrey Lauvergne’s transfer to Fenerbahce.
It was natural. Lauvergne came back in Europe after nearly four seasons in the NBA and was the big guy selected by Zeljko Obradovic to boost the team’s frontline that, with the exception of Jan Vesely, seemed to lack some “punch” since Ekpe Udoh’s departure.
Lauvergne’s addition provides Fener a scorer with an array of low-post moves, and the potential for a stretch impact, but more importantly brings to the team a much-needed boost on rebounds. In 2017-2018, Fener was 13th among EuroLeague teams in rebounds and 15th in rebounds collected by the opponents. Lauvergne made a name for being a bruising rebounder since his Partizan days and this affinity for collecting boards will be valuable to his new team.
The French big has should have a key role in Obradovic‘s defensive plans and early reports project him as a “game-changer” in the defensive game of the Turkish league champions.
While so far Lauvergne has been mainly used as a “5”, he gives Obradovic plenty of flexibility since he can plays at both positions and in various lineups for the 2017 EuroLeague champs.
25. Will Clyburn (CSKA Moscow)
Year of birth: 1994
Position: Forward
Height: 2.01 m.
2017-2018 stats: 11.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 26:33 minutes per game with CSKA Moscow in EuroLeague.
The pairing of Will Clyburn and CSKA Moscow often looked like a match made in heaven during the previous season.
CSKA got possibly the most athletic and definitely one of the top rebounding wings outside the NBA to fill a major gap in its roster and Clyburn went to a team packed with dangerous shooters that would allow him opportunities to play his favorite iso game.
And so it happened, since either as a “3” and “4”, Clyburn found the spaces he wanted to penetrate the defense with his super-dynamic drives due to the presence of many shooters around him. After all, he’s a mismatch even for players of his position since he can beat them on the dribble, especially if they make the mistake of closing out on him.
Then again, maybe it isn’t such a mistake after all. Clyburn basically began to force the close-out D by showing significant improvement on his 3-point shooting and ending up close to 40 percent after 30 games. He had finished the 2016-2017 regular season with 31.4 percent.
Clyburn gets better and with him so does CSKA. They’ll both look to nothing else than winning the EuroLeague title, like every year, and Clyburn will now carry the Final Four experience as extra weapon.
24. Mindaugas Kuzminskas (Olimpia Milano)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Forward
Height: 2.05 m.
2017-2018 stats: 10.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists in 21:56 minutes with Olimpia Milano in EuroLeague.
You should consider Mindaugas Kuzminskas’ 2018 run with Milano more as a “transitional period”, and not really a representative sample of his game. The Lithuanian forward arrived in Milano halfway through the season and at a moment when the team was more or less already eliminated from playoff contention. In 2018-2019, he’ll be there from the beginning as the heavily bolstered Italian club will seek to return to the playoffs after a four-year absence.
Kuzminskas epitomizes all the elements that compile a modern, offensive-minded forward who can be a difference-maker even for a contender. He’s athletic, ever-threatening when standing beyond the arc, clever with the ball in his hands, equally potent when facing the basket or by posting up his opponents and dangerous in transition thanks to not only his speed but his large strides.
While a forward of top-class skillset, Kuzminskas has yet to compete in EuroLeague “playoff basketball” since neither Zalgiris Kaunas back then nor Unicaja Malaga were really postseason material. The 2018-2019 Milano, though, appears to be as long as Kuzminskas and his teammates prove on the floor that this is the case.
23. Gustavo Ayon (Real Madrid)
Year of birth: 1985
Position: Forward/Center
2017-2018 stats: 9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists in 23 minutes with Real Madrid in EuroLeague.
Gustavo Ayon didn’t escape the injury outbreak that plagued Real Madrid in 2017-2018 and as a result, he missed 18 games of the regular season. Real lost eight of them and they won 9 out of the 12 in which Ayon played and then went 5-1 in postseason, including the title-giving wins in the Final Four, with him on board.
Yes, Ayon wasn’t the only absence that Real had to cope with but this win/loss ratio reflects a certain degree of the game-winning impact the Mexican player has for the “Blancos”. Ayon is one plethoric presence for the offensive game of Real since his influence comes from scoring, dishing out assists and providing some of the key screens that set the wheels in motion for the rest of his squad. He just does all the important things right.
Ayon’s sweet finishing touch makes him one of the most dangerous big guys at the post but it’s his passing that sometimes hurts defenses since it puts his teammates in the equation and makes a fool out of his opponents. You simply don’t know from where it’ll hit you with Ayon having the ball in his hands.
22. Gigi Datome (Fenerbahce)
Year of birth: 1987
Position: Forward
Height: 2.03
2017-2018 stats: .6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists in 23:53 minutes per game with Fenerbahce in EuroLeague.
Gigi Datome is entering his fourth year with Fenerbahce, a season where and he and his teammates have one single goal on their minds: Reclaiming the EuroLeague title they lost to Real Madrid last season. It certainly won’t be easy, but Datome and the rest of the core of players of the Turkish team have been there, done that, bought the t-shirt will look to make it all the way again.
The Italian forward (now also with the capacity of the first EuroLeague Players Association president) will bring to the court what established him as one of the prominent forwards in the continent upon his return in 2015. The deadly 3-pointers and mid-range buckets that can ravage any defense, the post-up game for some more jumpers (this time step-back) and generally all kinds of sorts of offensive assistance. Plus the blocks, yes blocks, that he re-introduced to his game last season.
Datome had 10 blocks in his first two seasons with Fenerbahce and double this number in 2017-2018. Another reason to “fear the beard”.