By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The European Player of the Year award is back! Vote for the best player out of 12 candidates and Eurohoops will award him for you!
The unofficial… “assist” was given by FIBA Europe, which no longer give out the award to the best European over the last two years. So, Eurohoops made a list of 12 candidates and gives the floor to its readers.
In fact, Eurohoops is going to hand an award to the winner of the poll as chosen by you, based on his performance at a club as well as a national level in 2016.
Milos Teodosic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nando De Colo, Pau Gasol, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kristaps Porzingis, Rudy Gobert, Sergio Llull, Dario Saric, Nikola Jokic, Sergio Rodriguez or Bojan Bogdanovic?
You can vote for the player you believe he deserves of the “European Player of the Year” distinction by clicking on his picture! This is how you can also take a look at the results so far.
Check out the breakdown of the candidates and what each one did in 2016:
Milos Teodosic
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Nando De Colo
Pau Gasol
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Kristaps Porzingis
Rudy Gobert
Sergio Llull
Dario Saric
Nikola Jokic
Sergio Rodriguez
Bojan Bogdanovic
MILOS TEODOSIC
Country: Serbia
Team: CSKA Moscow
Position: Point Guard
Date of Birth: 19/3/87
He was a catalyst in CSKA Moscow’s return to the top of Europe, with 16,1 points and 5,7 assists in the EuroLeague, where he was chosen to the All-EuroLeague First Team. He kept it up in the Pre-Olympic Tournament in Belgrade, before climbing onto the second step of the podium together with the rest of the Serbian national team in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He finished the tournament as the fifth best passer (5,4 assists), and with 12,1 points.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Country: Greece
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Position: Point Forward
Date of Birth: 6/12/94
He wasn’t able to help Greece qualify to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but his return from Turin to Milwaukee found him continuing his improvement. Now, everyone can pronounce or even spell his name. His third year in the NBA saw him finishing with 16,9 points, along with 7,7 rebounds and 4,3 assists, a stat line which he has already boosted him to an All-Star level, while he has forced pundits to start including him in the candidates for the MVP award. His emergence as a starter in the coming All Star Game of the NBA is his first big individual distinction at just 22 years of age. His reward came in the form of an extension worth $100.000.000, until 2021.
NANDO DE COLO
Country: France
Team: CSKA Moscow
Position: Point Guard
Date of Birth: 23/6/87
CSKA Moscow owes him a lot for their dominance in the VTB League and especially in the EuroLeague, where he emerged as the Season MVP (just like he did in the VTB League) apart from Final Four MVP. How could it have been otherwise with 19,4 points, 5,6 assists and 3,3 rebounds? With France he managed to travel from the Pre-Olympic Tournament in the Philippines to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro but only as far as the quarterfinals, although with 14,7 points, 2,5 rebounds and 2,5 assists he deserved something better.
PAU GASOL
Country: Spain
Team: Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs
Position: Center
Date of Birth: 6/7/80
Talent and skill are timeless and the verification for that came through Gasol’s impressive presence at a club as well as a national level. His second year as a Bull saw him tally 16,(?) points, 11 rebounds and 4,1 assists and right after that Gregg Popovich trusted him with a spot on the Spurs’ roster. In the meantime he did everything he could for Spain in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he got to the third step of the podium. He finished the tournament as the fourth best scorer (19,5 points) and the best rebounder (8,9 rebounds), having also 2,2 assists.
BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC
Country: Serbia
Team: Fenerbahce
Position: Shooting Guard
Date of Birth: 18/8/92
He won everything with Fenerbahce, but only in Turkey since the comeback in the EuroLeague final remained incomplete and his pretty good year (11,7 points, 3,3 rebounds, 3 assists) didn’t have the desired impact. His disappointment didn’t last long, though, as he experienced unforgettable moments with Serbia in the Olympic Games. The trip to Rio de Janeiro was made of… silver and he was made of… gold, with 12,2 points, 3,6 rebounds and 2,6 assists. The last months of 2014 saw him being out with an injury, but he’s slowly coming back.
KRISTAPS PORZINGIS
Country: Latvia
Team: New York Knicks
Position: Power Forward
Date of Birth: 2/8/95
The 21-year-old Latvian power forward abstained from Latvia’s commitments in the Pre-Olympic Tournament and the qualifying round of the EuroBasket, but was there for almost all of the Knicks’ commitments, and through his performances he managed to make an impression and become the new hope of the New Yorkers’ demanding fans. His first year in the NBA saw him tallying 14,3 points and 7,3 rebounds and he was included in the Best Rookie Team.
RUDY GOBERT
Country: France
Team: Utah Jazz
Position: Center
Date of Birth: 26/6/92
In 4 years in the NBA he has evolved into one of the best big men around and his presence in Utah’s paint is a serious deterrent. Last season he had 9,1 points and 11 rebounds, numbers that he’s already boosted into double-doubles in the first months of the new season. His stats weren’t as good in the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro (5,7 points, 7,2 rebounds) and with the rest of the French team they had to settle for a journey that only went as far as the quarterfinals.
SERGIO LLULL
Country: Spain
Team: Real Madrid
Position: Point Guard
Date of Birth: 15/11/87
Despite his own rich stats (12,8 points, 4,6 assists), with Real Madrid he didn’t go any further than the playoffs of the EuroLeague. What followed back home was different, helping his team reach another double and also winning the title of the MVP of the Liga Endesa’s Finals. His best moment in 2016 came in the colours of his national team by winning the bronze medal in the Olympics. With 8,2 points and 2,6 assists he was among Spain’s best in Rio’s tournament.
DARIO SARIC
Country: Croatia
Team: Anadolu Efes, Philadelphia 76ers
Position: Power Forward
Date of Birth: 8/4/94
The 76ers were waiting for him for two years, but the wait was well worth it since he made the transatlantic journey full of experiences from his presence in Anadolu Efes (11,7 points, 5,8 rebounds in the EuroLeague last year) and the Croatian national team. With the latter he managed to travel from the Pre-Olympic tournament in Turin (14 points, 10 rebounds, 2,2 assists) to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he kept it up with 11,8 points, 6,7 rebounds and 3,2 assists until the quarterfinal against Serbia. Since then, as an NBAer, he tallies an almost double-digit number of points and half that in rebounds.
NIKOLA JOKIC
Country: Serbia
Team: Denver Nuggets
Position: Center
Date of Birth: 19/2/95
He was introduced to the general public somewhat abruptly, but now everyone knows who he is. With 10 points and 7 rebounds, he had an impressive rookie season and earned a spot on the All-Rookie First Team. His second year in the Nuggets is at the same level, as was his presence in the Pre-Olympic and Olympic tournaments. With 9,1 points, 6,5 rebounds, 2,4 assists and 1,5 steals, he topped the efficiency list (14,5) for Serbia, who he helped get all the way to the final.
SERGIO RODRIGUEZ
Country: Spain
Team: Real Madrid, Philadelphia 76ers
Position: Point Guard
Date of Birth: 12/6/86
He was Real Madrid’s… brain on the road to the new double in Spain and tried harder than anyone else for something better in the EuroLeague (10,9 points, 6,2 assists), where their journey came to an end in the playoffs. He fared equally well with Spain in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where with 8 points and 4,8 assists he wore the bronze medal around his neck. The 76ers had seen enough to offer him a return ticket to the NBA after 6 years and he repays the trust with commensurate stats in the first half of the regular period.