By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA G-League isn’t ‘swarming’ with players from Europe but there’s still quite a bit of talent among them and some have already started getting their chance in the NBA while some need to take a step to the next level.
To avoid confusion, the list consists of all players regardless of the type of contract as long as they have enough playing time in the league. Also, although some of them have NBA experience, it’s at most in the early stages or without a real impact and they spend much more time on the floor in the G-League.
Without further ado, here are the best European players in the G-League:
Luka Samanic
Luka Samanic started his professional career in Spain with Barcelona’s reserve team showing a glimpse of his potential from time to time. He then moved on to join Petrol Olimpija where the team counted him more as the season went by and he used the chance show off his talent, especially in Basketball Champions Leauge. It was enough to catch the eye of NBA scouts and he then further impressed the teams with his performance at the NBA Draft Combine. His rank on mock Drafts improved drastically, and in the end, he got selected 19th by the San Antonio Spurs.
They assigned him to the Austin Spurs in the G-League and the 19-year-old Croatian forward has averaged 12.9 points, 7.2 boards, and 1.4 assists so far over 19 games. Samanic’s best performance was against the Windy City Bulls when he logged 26 points on 11-17 shooting (4-8 threes), ten boards, two blocks, one steal, and one assist.
Alen Smailagic
Another 19-year-old on the list in Alen Smailagic has been having a great season in the G-League so far for the Santa Cruz Warriors averaging 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 steals. He’s the team’s leading scorer. Smailagic started his career with the Serbian club Beko where he spent one season before moving to the US. He was selected 4th at the 2018 G-League Draft by the South Bay Lakers but traded to the Warriors and became the youngest player in the history of G-League. After a solid season, Smailagic got drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans as the 39th pick but the Warriors gave up draft rights to two future second-round picks along with cash to get him.
The Warriors, who’ve been having an unlucky year with injuries, recalled him multiple times this season and he even got to make his NBA debut and play four games. He logged four points, one board, and one block in under five minutes on the floor in his debut vs the Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, his best performance in the G-League was against Agua Caliente Clippers with 29 points on 12-18 shooting (5-9 threes), six boards, three steals, and two blocks. It remains to be seen if coach Steve Kerr will count on him in the future as well and bring him in on a regular basis.
Sekou Doumbouya
After INSEP academy and playing for its CFBB team in the third French League, then 15 years old prospect moved to the second tier with Poitiers, slowly gaining experience and climbing the ladder.
Two years later, he made it to the first tier in France signing with Limoges where he also got some 7DAYS EuroCup experience. He had solid playing time every season in France and he showed more than enough to grab some spotlight from the NBA teams. Doumbouya ended up being the first-picked European prospect at the 2019 NBA Draft as the Detroit Pistons got him with the 15th pick.
He did get a chance in the NBA but with a limited playtime of around three minutes over eight games. He did, however, play 27 minutes in the Pistons‘ last game, against the Clippers, and notched a double-double ten points and 11 rebounds. As with Smailagic, we’ll still count him as a ‘G-Leaguer’ until he becomes a regular on the NBA roster.
In the G-League, however, Dombouya’s got it all figured out posting 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and one steal per game. He had some strong games but his best would probably be the one against College Park Skyhawks when he logged 27 points on 10-17 shooting including 5-10 from deep while adding eight rebounds, three steals, one assist, and one block.
Vlatko Cancar
Vlatko Cancar started off by playing for Olimpija and Skofja in Slovenia during his first three seasons before deciding to move to Serbia and Mega. A year later he entered the NBA Draft and was selected as the 49th pick by the Denver Nuggets in 2017. That year, he was also a part of the Slovenian national team which surprised the world and went all the way at the EuroBasket winning the gold medal. He stayed, however, in Serbia for one more season with Mega and then had a short stint in Spain with Burgos before finally moving to the US.
He logged four games for the Nuggets in December this season but he didn’t spend more than two minutes on the floor in each one. On the other side, he got ample playing time in the G-League where the 22-year-old Slovenian forward has posted 14.4 points, 6.3 boards and 2.7 assists over ten games. He ‘went off’ against the Wisconsin Herd for 29 points on 6-12 for three while adding seven boards, five assists, two steals and a block.
Kostas Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s younger brother, Kostas, has been around the NBA and G-League for almost two years now. He was initially a part of the Dallas Maverick and Texas Legends while this season, he has been playing for the LA Lakers and South Bay Lakers. He played two games for both NBA teams but he is yet to get a proper chance as he didn’t log more than five minutes on the floor.
Meanwhile, in the G-League he has been averaging 13.4 points, 6.4 boards, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks for the Lakers. His best was an all-around performance against the Oklahoma City Blue. Kostas filled the stats sheet with 21 points on 6-8 shooting, ten boards, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Honorable mentions
Anzejs Pasecniks spent some time in the G-League this season but has also been getting quite a chance in the NBA with the Washington Wizards and it seems as though he’s established himself on the roster He has been playing more than 20 minutes per game over nine games so far.
French prospects Adam Mokoka and Darel Poirier have been having a solid impact for the Windy City Bulls but are yet to make the necessary leap. Next season might very well be the one.