By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The last day of 2016 is almost over and as we are about to enter 2017 it’s time to reflect upon the things that will be remembered from this past year.
With Rio being the last stand of a generation of stars and the global basketball landscape changing because of the new financial data in the NBA, 2016 leaves us and takes away many things that were taken for granted.
It’s was the end of an era in the sport with many legends retiring, but on the other hand it’s also the start of a brave new world on both sides of the Atlantic.
Here are the 10 most important events under a European perspective.
CSKA Moscow on its throne
Euroleague trophy no7 is a fact for the “Army Team” which restored its former glory from the Sixties at the start of this century. It was a night to remember with many subplots. The student Dimitris Itoudis beat his old master Zeljko Obradovic, Milos Teodosic proved that he is more mature than ever in crunch time and captain Victor Khryapa saved the day with his put back. Love them or hate them, CSKA Moscow was and still is the team to beat in Europe.
Silver Serbia
Speaking about Teodosic, the Silver medal in Rio is one more proof about his personal dominance on the basketball court. While Serbia has not reached the level of Gasol’s Spain, it’s obvious that the “Eagles” are the most crafty team in the world outside the USA. The players of coach Djordjevic reached one more final against the Americans, but couldn’t scare them the way the Spaniards did in the past. That’s the next goal of Milos and company as the US turns the page with coach Popovich sitting on the bench.
MVN
Nobody in recent history had a better season on personal level than Nando De Colo. It’s unexpected but the best French player of 2016 does not play in the NBA. He got every possible title on club level with CSKA Moscow, winning also the MVP trophy of the Euroleague, being the top scorer and also the MVP of the VTB United League and the MVP of the pre-olympic tournament in which France got the ticket to Rio. With Tony Parker retiring from the French national team, he is the next leader.
The new EuroLeague
This year was the start of a ten-year project in Europe that can help basketball reached unprecedented levels of financial growth. The new EuroLeague – notice the capital L – is already a success, but the rest of European club competitions are still in crisis. The idea of the Champions League already came at a dead end, it hurts the Eurocup and there’s no sign that FIBA and Euroleague can come to an agreement any time soon. Still the fact that the EuroLeague is monopolising the interest of the general basketball audience can’t be denied.
The unicorns
Eurohoops had to honor to work with them together upclose in the Athens “Antetokounbros” event, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis have capture the basketball world by storm in any corner of the planet. They are products of international basketball, they are hybrids by any possible definition and they are the future of the sport. And the future can’t get better than this.
LeBron giving it to Cleveland
Finally LeBron James delivered a championship to Cleveland, he did by returning from a 3-1 hole and he proved beyond any doubt that he is the best player of his generation in the world. A phenomenal athlete with high basketball IQ, a name that will be mentioned among the best of all time and also a prodigal son story. Can’t wait to see the movie with Timofey Mozgov playing himself…
The shot
Dimitris Diamantidis will go down as one of the all time greats, he won the Euroleague three times and there’s an open debate in Greece about him being probably the best ever. Panathinaikos fans worship him, Olympiacos fans hate him and in the end it came down to this. In an iconic moment Diamantidis tried to block Vasilis Spanoulis in the three pointer that decided the Greek championship title. It was a duel for the ages and even if Diamantidis this time did not prevail with Spanoulis making the shot and lifting the trophy, it was a fitting end to a guy that – as he said – wanted everyone to remember this about him: “Every time I did my best when I stepped on the court”.
The Turks in the final
Fenerbahce did not get the EuroLeague trophy, but for the first time ever a Turkish team played in the EuroLeague final. This is not a small feat and it’s one more indications about the Turkish basketball’s boom. With the country being prepared to host both the EuroLeague Final Four and Eurobasket 2017, things can only get better on the basketball front.
The new CBA
This is not something new, but it’s now official. With money pouring in, the salary cup of the NBA teams is bound to skyrocket and nobody wants to hurt good business. The downside for Europe is obvious. An NBA team can offer with ease a contract that Europeans can’t match, like it happened with the Sixers and the 8 million deal to Sergio Rodriguez. This trend will not stop.
Duncan and Kobe left the building
Nobody can beat time, even if Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan did a pretty good effort to achieve even this. Both standed the test of time and retired as icons, the ying and the yang of the NBA, the players who connected the legacy of the 90s with a new dynamic era for the best league in the world. Even the way they retired, the one with a farewell tour and the other with just a good bye, proves that the mold of great players can be unique and totally different, depending the case. The next stop for them is the hall of fame.