By Giorgos Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The 16 teams of the competition give their own battles each week in order to climb as high as possible in the rankings and get a step closer to their goals.
Of course, everything will be decided by the big protagonists: the players themselves! Some shine more than others, they are the contenders for the MVP award on a weekly basis and they skyrocket their value.
Eurohoops presents the Top 3 players in every position with the main criteria being each player’s individual performance and his contribution to the team’s progress…
The following players were left out of the list at the last minute: Facundo Campazzo and Sergio Rodriguez.
Take a look at the TOP 3 centers
Take a look at the TOP 3 power forwards
Kostas Sloukas
Stats: 11.4 points, 4.8 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 48.7% in three-point field goals, 15.6 PIR
Fenerbahce Beko are marching on this season in the EuroLeague and their main “conductor” is Kostas Sloukas. After Tyler Ennis’s serious injury, the Greek guard’s responsibilities were increased significantly, though this didn’t seem to affect him. Quite the contrary!
With 11.4 points, 4.8 assists and the excellent 48.7% from outside the three-point line, Sloukas is amazing in the departments of scoring and creating, making all of his teammates better too. The big men enjoy his passes in their pick and roll collaborations all the time and, when this doesn’t happen, Fenerbahce’s leader executes with great success.
Zeljko Obradovic has heaped praise on Sloukas on many occasions and this is anything but a coincidence. He’s one of the best point guards in the EuroLeague this season (based on his ranking and contribution), in what is the best season of his career as the kingpin of the top team in the standings. How could he not be in the top spot of the list?
Nick Calathes
Stats: 11.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 12.9 PIR
There’s no need for any special recommendations. Nick Calathes is the most quality guard in the EuroLeague and his ceiling as a player reaches higher than anyone else’s. His presence on Panathinaikos OPAP’s roster is a blessing for the Greens and his 8.1 assists confirm that his teammates should… hand over to him a large portion of their paycheck.
There were two games in which he didn’t perform well but, in general, Calathes has been continuing his outrageously good previous season. Barring any shocking surprises, he will emerge once again as the best facilitator on European courts and it’s very possible that he will better last season’s personal best of 8 assists on average.
Calathes’s impact on Panathinaikos’s game makes him the most valuable unit on the roster and made Rick Pitino heap praise on him as soon as he joined the team. He scores, passes, sets the pace, plays amazing defense and commits only 2 turnovers in every game despite the fact that everything goes through his hands. One of a kind…
Vasilije Micic
Stats: 11.6 points, 5.4 assists, 46.3% in three-point field goals, 13.8 PIR
The breakout season! In a backcourt that includes big names like Rodrigue Beaubois and Shane Larkin, Vasilije Micic has made a bang as a player and is rightly considered Anadolu Efes’s MVP.
The Serbian guard has been performing extremely well on the court and, averaging 11.6 points, 5.4 assists and 46.3% in three-point field goals, he has outdone himself. His presence on the court brings confidence to Efes and the fact that Ergin Ataman uses him more than any other player on the roster is no coincidence.
The ratio of initial expectations and eventual performance is overwhelmingly in Micic’s favor and this is why he earned a spot in the Top 3, leaving out Facundo Campazzo. The Serb’s amazing consistency adds luster to his accomplishments this season and it will be very interesting to see for how long he will manage to play at these levels.