By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Topping the list of most appearances, Juan Carlos Navarro has 341 with FC Barcelona Lassa, but he just retired. The second in games played, Felipe Reyes (325), has been with Real Madrid a long time, but he started his EuroLeague career with Estudiantes in 2000.
So, who are the 10 players who are active this season and own the most appearances in the EuroLeague with only one team?
Eurohoops presents:
#10 GUSTAVO AYON – 111 games
Ranked 168th in total appearances
The Mexican center first found himself in Madrid in 2014 at the age of 29 and that’s where he’s been ever since. In their first four seasons together, they’ve celebrated the EuroLeague title twice, in 2015 and last season. His dynamic game close to the basket makes him important to the Spanish team, for whom he averages 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds over his four-plus seasons there. In his most productive season, that of 2015-16, he had 11.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.
#9 EDGARAS ULANOVAS – 116 games
Ranked 155th in total appearances
The Lithuanian forward hasn’t played in a team outside of his home country or in any team other than Zalgiris Kaunas since 2014. His role constantly gets upgraded and last season he had one of the most crucial ones on the team’s way to the Final Four. It was also his most productive season today, with 10.9 points per game, while he also got close to his career high in rebounds (4.1 versus 4.5 in 2016). This is his fifth season with the team from Kaunas.
#8 DOGUS BALBAY – 123 games
Ranked 134th in total appearances
The 2005-06 season in Fenerbahce Istanbul could have been the Turkish guard’s first in the EuroLeague but he didn’t get any playing time. So, he had to wait for his repatriation after attending the University of Texas (2008-11) to have that experience. Anadolu Efes Istanbul had to wait for him and they’ve been together since. This, Balbay’s eighth season in the competition, has started as his most productive yet, with 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
#7 ARTURAS MILAKNIS – 150 games
Ranked 90th in total appearances
The Lithuanian shooter knows how to do two things better than anyone else. One is to play in the EuroLeague in the colors of Zalgiris, and the other is to execute from long-range for them. The eight seasons they’ve been together have been more than enough for the rivals of the team from Kaunas to understand this fact, and especially so last season, in their run to the Final Four. Milaknis has started his ninth season with a career-high scoring average (10.7 points) and with a corresponding career-high rate from behind the three-point line (61.5%).
#6 NICK CALATHES – 153 games
Ranked 86th in total appearances
The Greek guard has become a byword for Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and, since we’re talking about their captain and leader, how could it be otherwise? He’s in the fourth season of his second stint (2009-12, 2015-today) for the Greek team, and he’s hoping it will be even better than the last, when he achieved career highs in points with 14.5, in assists with 8, and in the PIR with 18.5. These records got him on the All-EuroLeague First Team for the first time and now he has the chance to experience moments like those of 2011, when he and the team won the EuroLeague title.
#5 NIKITA KURBANOV – 169 games
Ranked 64th in total appearances
The Russian forward has found himself leaving and returning to CSKA Moscow more than once (2004-08, 2009-12, 2015-today), but hasn’t played with a different team in the EuroLeague. Now in his ninth season in the competition, he continues to do what he knows best, to contribute quietly, with the hope of adding another EuroLeague trophy those he won in 2006 and 2016. With a career-high average in points (7.7) and nearly another in rebounds (4.7 against 5 in 2016) in the opening rounds, he’s right on track.