By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Shane Larkin‘s historic 49-point game in a Round 11 win by Anadolu Efes over Bayern Munich should be treated as nothing less than one of the true wonders of modern European basketball.
And while scoring 49 points had been unprecedented in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague annals, it’s mainly the context behind the number that makes Larkin’s performance truly extraordinary.
Larkin has been hosting offensive fiestas of the highest order in 2019 but this was unheard of. It took him 31 minutes to score 49 points. He accomplished it by attempting less than 20 shots from the field and making a viciously efficient 5 of 7 two-pointers, 10 of 12 three-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws.
“I was in shock when I saw the box score. I could never imagine anyone scoring that much in a EuroLeague game,” former Olympiacos Piraeus and current Utah Jazz guard Nigel Williams-Goss told Eurohoops.
There have been more than 130 times in the EuroLeague this century during which players attempted 20, or more, shots in a single game. None came close to what Larkin achieved. He was just so phenomenally connected to the basket. It was as if a magnet was pulling the ball from his hands to the hoop.
“He only missed five shots during the whole game,” Kyle Hines, four-time EuroLeague champion and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, commented to Eurohoops. “I think it has to be one of the most impressive scoring efforts of all time because of that.”
“Amazing! How efficient do you have to be as a scorer in the EuroLeague to even accomplish such a thing?” pondered former All-EuroLeague First Team selection Sonny Weems to Eurohoops.
“It’s very rare that you see a player do what Shane did in Europe. I was extremely impressed, to say the least,” former All EuroLeague guard Drew Goudelock said. Goudelock was the one to set the record for most three-pointers made in a single EuroLeague game with the 10 he hit in a Fenerbahce win over Bayern Munich in 2014. It was this three-point mark that Larkin tied.
“The best part about seeing the performance was the joy that he had while doing it and his teammates being equally as happy for him,” Goudelock added.
“He’s one of the guards I like to watch play, so I really wanted to see history made, but at the same time one of my closest friends and mentors was guarding him and it was against my favorite coach,” Crvena Zvezda guard Charles Jenkins said. Larkin had named Jenkins as the toughest defender to play against in Europe, in an interview with Eurohoops. “In the beginning, I was kinda like, damn, encouraging my friend to get some stops. But the more I watched and as a fan of Larkin’s game, I couldn’t help but react and cheer as he continued to run up the score.”
There’s a reason why the basketball world was blown away in such fashion and why no one had witnessed something even remotely similar in Europe to what Larkin accomplished on the night of Friday, November 29. A day that will be remembered for a long long time, even when – and if – someone eventually tops Larkin’s record.
The only way for someone to score so many points in Europe and especially in EuroLeague isn’t simply to be aggressive but near-ridiculously effective. Players simply aren’t given the same opportunities to put on such scoring shows as they do in the NBA, where you can see the top gun of many teams attempting 20-plus shots in any given night.
Only one player (Alexey Shved of Khimki Moscow Region) averages more than 16.0 attempts per game in the EuroLeague. All others among the top 10 scorers range from 11.17 to 13.43 shot attempts. In the NBA, there are 23 players who take 16 or more shots in each match.
It’s not only because of the game duration being 40 minutes instead of 48. EuroLeague teams are averaging 80.8 possessions per game while NBA teams are running around 101 possessions on average. While the pace and tempo in EuroLeague has seen a natural rise over the last couple of years, it remains well below the NBA’s. Any record-breaking outputs require an extremely high degree of effectiveness.
“It is rare to do this [kind of performance] because the court is smaller in the EuroLeague and everything is supposed to be more defense-minded,” Larkin’s teammate and former NBA forward Chris Singleton said. He had a pretty good look on Larkin’s achievement.
“He could possibly do it again, who knows,” Singleton added.
“It [Larkin’s game] speaks to the phenomenal player he is as well as the Euroleague and its evolution,” Williams-Goss said.
Not that easy in Europe
Luka Doncic, the former EuroLeague MVP and now prospective NBA MVP, has said that it’s easier to score in the NBA than in Europe, causing various reactions. The Slovenian player mentioned the smaller court size (28.65 x 15.24 meters in the NBA vs. 28 x 15 in Europe) but also the absence of a three-second rule on defense. That is something that enormously benefits defenders and further hinders the efforts of the attacker, especially players fond of slashing their way to the basket, like Larkin.
“There aren’t so many possessions in a EuroLeague game and not many fastbreaks,” Weems said. “And, keep in mind there’s no three-seconds rule on offense, so that means guys who are above 1.98 meters can just camp and sleep in the paint all day.”
“It’s impressive because EuroLeague has fewer possessions and defenses are a little more intricate than NBA defenses. I think if you could compare, it’s like scoring in the 60-point range in the NBA,” Hines mentioned.
A regular-season game in EuroLeague matters far, far more than a regular-season game in the NBA. The EuroLeague’s regular-season format of 34 games and 10 out of the 18 teams getting eliminated from the postseason is such that each and every game is important. Coaches won’t likely tolerate forced heroics, hogging the ball or anything that resembles a “stats-padding” attitude. Such behavior is far from rewarded. It can backfire and may actually cost players a long-term vacation on the bench.
Being trigger happy isn’t enough in Europe. You have to be exceptionally accurate as well and put the “whole” ahead of the “I”.
Larkin has been playing with booming confidence, making the most out of his supersonic speed and ability to either strike from long range with sniper-like accuracy or become a lethal penetrator. He’s leading the EuroLeague in scoring with 22.2 points by shooting 54.1% on two-pointers and 53.5% on three-pointers, plus dishing out 3.9 assists.
“Man, Shane Larkin has been so underrated to me for years,” former NBA champion Dorell Wright told Eurohoops. “I think if he didn’t get hurt early in his NBA career he’s a 10-year-plus guy. He’s very talented and can score with the best of them. Watching him score 49 points in EuroLeague was crazy!”
“Shane possesses a lot of weapons in his arsenal that makes him a tough cover especially when he gets hot,” Goudelock said.