By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops presents the Top 100 EuroLeague Players ahead of the 2019-2020 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/data 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 EuroLeague newcomers, 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 “rookies” that already have 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.
This year there is a slight change in the usual Eurohoops Top 100 Players ranking criteria. Past achievements (individual awards/team titles) are no longer considered or taken into account with the same gravity they used to carry in previous Top 100 features.
It should also be noted that the place an “x player” gets in the list doesn’t necessarily mean that he is overall “better” than another player since there’s a multitude of factors that determine the ranking.
The most important ones are the following:
1) The individual quality of each player in combination with the prospect he carries for 2019-2020, plus the role and playing time we anticipate he will get with his team.
2) The strength of the club the player belongs to. 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 the club’s high aspirations.
3) Prior experience in EuroLeague/European basketball.
4) How the player performed in 2018-2019 and his contribution to his team reaching its goals.
Here are the picks from 100 to 91, 90 to 81, 80 to 71 and 70 – 61.
50. Shelvin Mack (Olimpia Milano)
Year of birth: 1990
Position: Guard
Height: 1.91 m.
2018-2019 stats: 7.5 points, 3.2 assists, 1.8 rebounds in 21:90 minutes over 57 games in the NBA regular season with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Charlotte Hornets.
Olimpia Milano head coach Ettore Messina picked Shelvin Mack, a veteran of eight NBA seasons, to pair with Sergio Rodriguez, as the player who can both share the court with the Spanish guard while playing as “2” or be the one to assume main floor general duties.
Messina, an ideal coach to help Mack smoothen his transition to European basketball, said that he tried to get the player during his second stint with CSKA Moscow. Mack is in EuroLeague now and his well-controlled game, mind for taking care of things in defense and team-first attitude should make his adjustment easier.
49. Luca Vildoza (Baskonia)
Year of birth: 1995
Position: Guard
Height: 1.91 m.
2018-2019 stats: 9.1 points, 3.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals in 22:32 minutes over 34 EuroLeague games with Baskonia.
Luca Vildoza should pick it from where he left it in the previous EuroLeague season. When Jayson Granger suffered a season-ending injury in January, Vildoza stepped up, took over the responsibilities given by coach Velimir Perasovic and showed that he has the potential to truly carry the Baskonia offense.
He actually often ran the show in the previous season. Vildoza can maim the opponent with multiple ways after the pick n’ roll, either via his assists (he can pull off some pretty difficult ones) or his lethal jump stops.
Vildoza performs with plenty of dash, unafraid of who or what’s in front of him. He has all the talent to become a part of the tradition Argentinian players such as Luis Scola, Pablo Prigioni, Andres Nocioni have created with the club.
48. Stefan Jovic (Khimki Moscow)
Year of birth: 1990
Position: Guard
Height: 1.98 m.
2018-2019 stats: 8.3 points, 4.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals in 21:28 minutes over 23 EuroLeague games with Bayern Munich.
One can’t help but wonder if Stefan Jovic might break the EuroLeague single-game assists record (19) he holds since 2015 next season. Because Khimki is among the candidates for having possibly the most prolific offense in the league and the Serbian guard will find a lot of opportunities for registering dimes.
Jovic is simply as good as they come in reading the game, finding open teammates with exceptional passing savvy and orchestrating the offense. Last season, he also showed a notable improvement on his 3-point shooting with the more than dependable 40.5% on 45 attempts.
47. Chris Singleton (Anadolu Efes)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Forward/Center
Height: 2.06 m.
2018-2019 stats: 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals in 24:58 minutes over 35 EuroLeague games with Barcelona.
Just because things didn’t exactly work out for Chris Singleton with Barcelona, doesn’t mean it will be same on his new team: Anadolu Efes.
There were some major ups and downs in Singleton’s performances with Barcelona. He was a winning factor in a couple of matches but looked like a “phantom” in others.
Much regarding Singleton’s contribution seems to depend on the position he’s used. With Barcelona, he spent a lot of time as a “4” while he has shown that he’s at his best as a “5”, when he becomes serious mismatch machine that can exploit opposing centers, particularly slow ones, forcing them to pursue him to the perimeter and then beat them on speed.
Or just shoot the ball in front of them. Singleton is a career 41.1% on 3-pointers on 436 overall in EuroLeague.
Singleton can be an elite defender when he puts his mind into it and Efes will need him to provide stops in its effort to return to the Final Four.
46. Ante Tomic (Barcelona)
Year of birth: 1987
Position: Center
Height: 2..17 m.
2018-2019 stats: 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists in 20:16 minutes over 35 EuroLeague games with Barcelona.
Ante Tomic looks like one of the last remaining specimens of a breed of 7-footer centers that sometimes seems dated (if not near-extinct) in modern basketball, sure. Still, he had his most productive season in EuroLeague with 2016 and that’s something to consider.
And this was while Barcelona made it back to the playoffs for the first time in two years. Tomic let his offensive talent flow: the plethora of moves he can use from mid or short-range to inflict damage or the ability to pass the ball with the finesse, vision, and skill of a point guard.
45. Nemanja Nedovic (Olimpia Milano)
Year of birth: 1991
Position: Guard
Height: 1.91 m.
2018-2019 stats: 11.5 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds in 23:28 minutes over 15 EuroLeague games with Olimpia Milano.
Lady luck wasn’t exactly kind to Nemanja Nedovic in 2018-2019. The Serbian guard jumped into the season with some notable performances but injuries started to haunt him. Eventually, he missed half of the regular season, with Milano falling behind in the playoffs race.
Who knows how different things could be for Milano with a completely healthy Nedovic.
When at full strength, Nedovic is an All-EuroLeague type of player, able to inflict heavy damage to the opposing defense with his explosive and smart game. He was operated in August and now his comeback will be much anticipated by the “Red Shoes” that want to make use of his offensive arsenal.
44. Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid)
Year of birth: 1985
Position: Guard/Forward
Height: 1.96 m.
2018-2019 stats: 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds in 20:27 minutes over 31 EuroLeague games with Real Madrid.
2018-2019 possibly marked Rudy Fernandez’s top season with Real Madrid since the championship run of 2015. The Spanish swingman excelled as an all-around player for the “Blancos” and sometimes delivered with a kind of flair that often reminded the Rudy of years past.
He also had his best 3-point shooting season… ever with Real, making 41.4% of his 156 attempts. His game overall was quite composed and well-calculated, perhaps like never before.
That’s why while this version of Rudy may not be the best we’ve seen (that would’ve been impossible), it’s definitely the most mature.
43. Tyrese Rice (Panathinaikos)
Year of birth: 1987
Position: Guard
Height: 1.89 m.
2018-2019 stats: 16.4 points, 4.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds in 29:9 minutes over 20 Basketball Champions League games with Brose Bamberg.
The MVP of the 2014 Final Four is back in EuroLeague. Tyrese Rice spent the second half of 2017-2018 in China after leaving Barcelona, joined Brose Bamberg, then claimed Basketball Champions League MVP and lead the team to the competition’s Final Four in 2019, before signing with Panathinaikos to enter his fourth season in EuroLeague.
Rice was acquired by Panathinaikos to provide much-needed quality depth at the point guard position. This doesn’t mean that the American guard won’t be tandem with Nick Calathes in specific lineups.
A “master” of taking advantage of the slightest gap of the opposing defense to slash and cut his ways to the basket, plus a proven winner, Rice is an addition that could be an x-factor for the “Greens” that haven’t been in a Final Four in seven years.