All-time EuroLeague American five by Errick McCollum and Malcolm Delaney / News - Basketnews.com

All the URBONUS podcast participants agreed on the selection of Kyle Hines, Mike Batiste, and Anthony Parker for the all-time EuroLeague American five. However, their choices for the backcourt positions varied.

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In honor of American players' impact on the EuroLeague, the best EuroLeague American five of all time was discussed in the recent URBONUS episode.

Shane Larkin

MIN:25.64PTS:12.8 (52.54%)REB:3.8As:3.4ST:1BL:0TO:1.6GM:5ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

According to Yanis Psarakis of BNSports Greece, by scoring 23 points against Fenerbahce, Mike James surpassed Keith Langford to become the leading American scorer in the history of European Cups.

That includes all men's European cups since 1959 (EuroLeague, BCL, EuroCup, Korac Cup, Saporta Cup, etc.).

The URBONUS host Donatas Urbonas, co-host Errick McCollum, and guest Malcolm Delaney came together to share their picks for the lineup.

While they all agreed on the frontcourt players, there were some differences of opinion on the backcourt selections.

Center: Kyle Hines

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Malcolm Delaney: "I'm not the most historical person, but at the five position, it is going to have to be Kyle. On the winning side, it's undeniable what he brought as an American."

Errick McCollum: "His uniqueness. His winning. The things he brings are intangibles. Defensive player of the year. It seems like everywhere he goes, he has a winning team. He was always a winner and successful, whether it was starting off on the lower-level teams but working his way up."

Donatas Urbonas: "The only American 4-time champion in the modern EuroLeague era. He ranks second in all-time scorers coming off the United States list. Three-time defender of the year. He changed the way we understand the center position in Europe."

Power forward: Mike Batiste

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Delaney: "Batiste was the most dominant. He was a little bit different than Kyle, though."

Urbonas: "In today's EuroLeague, he would play as a center. But two decades ago, he was also used as a power forward. Especially when he was playing under Obradovic, who liked big lineups.

John Robert Holden

Position:PGAge:46Height:185 cmWeight:82 kgBirth place:Pittsburg, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

His athleticism made him a great defender, but he was also averaging at least 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 14 PIR per game for six straight years, which makes him one of the most efficient bigs that the EuroLeague had. He's also a three-time EuroLeague champion, Panathinaikos legend."

McCollum: "I consider Mike Batiste more of a center in this era. If I went back further, I had Bob McAdoo as the best four. But going 2000 and beyond, it's Mike."

Mike Batiste: 'I hope that I laid a platform down for other Americans to succeed in Europe'

Small forward: Anthony Parker

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McCollum: "His domination in the EuroLeague was crazy. The stats, the efficiency, the percentages from the three, how much he won, how he had Maccabi as a powerhouse. Obviously, they had other good players with him, but he was that driving force."

Delaney: "He was one of the first players I heard about when I came to Europe. When you heard about him somewhat when he was in the NBA, it was like, 'oh, this guy came from Europe because he did this.' But when you hear that back home, you don't really know the value of players and what they did in Europe until you get to Europe.

Because back home, we just felt like he was just a role player on the Cavs or whatever team he played on. And then you get over here, and you see the impact he had on a club.

I think it was generational, and it set the tone for a lot of guys. Because we didn't have a lot of three men who stood out in Europe. Especially back then, when he played, it was tough for wings to be dominant, especially for Americans."

Urbonas: "He is a two-time EuroLeague champ. He made three finals in four years with Maccabi. The only American who won the MVP award. The only EuroLeague player who did it in consecutive years. He could score from anywhere: from the post, beyond the arc, and pull-ups.

He was so efficient that from 2003 to 2005, he was averaging from 16 to 18 points on 56% 2-point and 49% 3-point shooting. And he was a great passer too. He was very athletic and had a great body to defend multiple positions.

All-around guy. A very smart guy. To no surprise, now he's working as assistant general manager in the Orlando Magic. I actually think he might be the best American we had in the EuroLeague."

Shooting guard

Errick McCollum: Trajan Langdon

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McCollum: "At the shooting guard position, I was going back and forth, but I had to settle on Trajan Langdon. He was a winner. He produced. I was big on having guys who not only won wherever they went, and we're extremely successful but also had a big part to do with their performance individually. He was the guy who really lit it up, who scored and made big shots."

Delaney: "Trajan is one of those guys that kind of set the tone for some of the bigger name or the bigger money clubs letting Americans do their thing. Back then, it was a very structured system. The European players genuinely felt like they could get it done without the American guys.

I felt the coaches were extremely disciplined back then. So having a guy like that caliber to score but who did it for so long... And then you just see how still, to this day, people speak about it, it's one of those names that still rings the bell in European basketball. That just shows the impact he had, so I definitely agree."

Malcolm Delaney: Keith Langford

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Delaney: "One of my favorite twos is Keith Langford. He was supposed to be on good teams. It just never panned out. He was one of those guys that performed at a high level for so long. When I think about the impact of what he did for scorers in Europe, Keith set the tone.

Personally, he was one of the guys that I looked at. He set the bar for scorers. I watched him from college and how his game translated. I always felt like he was the NBA player in Europe. Every year I've seen him play, I just always thought, why is he not in the NBA? On the talent level, I think Keith definitely was a generational talent.

McCollum: "He was special. I'm a fan of Keith as well. He just made it seem so effortless whatever he did. His movements looked really easy, even though the person guarding him was giving it all.

He never sped up. He always got to his spots. I love how he operated in the mid-range, through the fouls, and all those types of things. I tried to steal some things from him just because he's so special scoring-wise."

Donatas Urbonas: Shane Larkin

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Urbonas: "He's a back-to-back champion. During the season that was cut short due to Covid-19, Larkin was playing the MVP season. The only two other players that averaged 25 PIR were only Arvydas Sabonis and Boban Marjanovic.

Shane shows up when the game really matters. In three EuroLeague title games, he averaged 20 points, which is the second-best average in finals after Dejan Bodiroga."

Delaney: "I feel it was one of the best seasons. That was a fun year, probably the best year I've seen as a player have with Shane. It was like you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing 30 or 25. His shooting splits were crazy.

It wasn't just the numbers he was putting up. He was super efficient with what he was doing. I remember Efes was looking to try to bring in another shooting guard. They weren't sold on him yet. And then he just changed everybody's perspective on smaller shooting guards in Europe."

Urbonas: "Larkin scored 49 that Covid year..."

Delaney: "It was bad. It was like every time we checked the phones, he got 20, and the third quarter had just started. He got 25 with like 8 minutes left. He really got robbed that year."

Point guard

Errick McCollum: JR Holden

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McCollum: "I chose more of a point guard, and I went with J.R Holden. Just some of the things he did in his CSKA years... The big shots and being able to control the team... I gotta go with somebody who won a EuroLeague, and that's kind of what made me choose JR Holden. He has won a few of them, and he has always had some of the game-winning shots. He made a big impact all year leading all those types of things as well."

Donatas Urbonas: Mike James

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Urbonas: "I was looking for some other PGs, not to be biased about my pick. But at some point, I realized that I had to give credit to the guy who was averaging at least 16 points for six years in a row. That's Vassilis Spanoulis, Nando De Colo, and Juan Carlos Navarro numbers.

And he did it not only for mid-level teams but also for title contenders like CSKA. The problem was that one season was cut short due to Covid, and the following year there were other problems. But now he's doing a great job in Monaco, making them Final Four contenders.

He is so dominant that the gap between him and other more traditional point guards is just too big not to include him in this five."

Delaney: "Mike is one of my closest friends, so that would be a biased pick too. But he is one of the most misunderstood players because people see the tough shots that he makes, but Mike makes a lot of people around him better.

People hate Mike's honesty and personality, but I think when it's all said and done, he'll be one of those guys that there's no way you can't put in a conversation.

Because he has done so much. Mike played on a big team, and he ended up being a star on every team he was on, so you definitely have to throw him into that conversation at either position.

McCollum: "I was creating a list, and I was torn looking at the top. Mike's accolades are undeniable. His talent, the things he's doing on the court... He's special. There are a few guys who are must-sees on TV.

If you have the EuroLeague pass and you have time, you're going to watch him because he's going to put on the show. He's probably the most talented player in Europe right now and has been for several years.

Malcolm Delaney: Nick Calathes

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Delaney: "Do we count Nick Calathes as Greek or American? I've been playing with him since we were 10. For me, Nick is like another guy that's not talked about enough too. He is well respected.

I think he is one of the most underrated names because he got thrown into the fire at an early age. He has been doing it for so long, but he's still at a high level. When I played against Nick when I was 15, and people were talking about how good he was, I just didn't believe it until I got on the court.

He's like one of those guys when you see him, and he's like, 'Nah, he's not that good'. And then you get on the court with him... Not fast, not strong, and can't jump, but as a point guard, he's one of the smartest players I've ever seen and played against.

I think for as long as he's been doing it, his name definitely has to be up there. And especially playing for a club like Panathinaikos, with that pressure here every year, I think he fully embraced European basketball. Wherever he goes, his presence is high."

All-time EuroLeague American five picks:

Delaney McCollum Urbonas PG Nick Calathes JR Holden Mike James SG Keith Langford Trajan Langdon Shane Larkin SF Anthony Parker Anthony Parker Anthony Parker PF Mike Batiste Mike Batiste Mike Batiste C Kyle Hines Kyle Hines Kyle Hines

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