Top 10 European players in the NBA: An advanced breakdown / News - Basketnews.com

The NBA regular season has finished, which means it's time to give out awards and pick the strongest in different categories. Augustas Suliauskas from BasketNews decided to make the Top-10 list of the league's best European players judging by advanced stats.

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Team:Atlanta HawksPosition:SGAge:29Height:198 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:Belgrade, SerbiaProfileNewsStatistics

Let's go over the methodology used while making the list.

Aside from the simplest basketball stats that you see on a regular basis, we looked at their net plus-minus and how efficiently they shot the basketball by looking at their true shooting percentage. To finish it off, we also looked at the LEBRON metric - Luck-adjusted player Estimate using a Box prior Regularized ON-off.

According to the creators of the metric, LEBRON evaluates a player’s contributions using the box score and advanced on/off calculations for a holistic evaluation of player impact per 100 possessions on-court.

Last but definitely not least, we considered their capabilities to be the difference-maker on the court in any given situation, whether that meant creating and making their own shots or changing the game’s course through the outstanding defense.

#10 Bogdan Bogdanovic

The Serbian guard is an important rotational player in Atlanta with clear tasks on the court, with the most obvious one being converting on catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Bogdanovic is a perfect companion for the superstar point guard Trae Young as he's at 43% on catch-and-shoot tries this season. Head coach Nate McMillan enjoys using the Serbian as an after-timeout set-play target.

Occasionally, Bogdan would run some pick-and-rolls as well, where he likes to pull up driving to the left. He's a wonderful shooter and a great fit for the Atlanta team as the scorer from the bench who is usually included in the game-finishing lineups.

#9 Nikola Vucevic

In his first full season in Chicago, Vucevic is scoring a bit less than during his years with the Orland Magic, but the Bulls are back to being legit.

Domantas Sabonis

MIN:34.45PTS:18.89 (62.24%)REB:12.15As:5.21ST:0.95BL:0.44TO:3.13GM:62ProfileNBA2021/2022

He does a little bit of everything - he stretches the floor in the center position when popping out after setting a pick, converts on the rolls with his soft touch in the painted area, and he's a threat in the post-ups. He's equally good in the post with both hands, which makes him harder to guard.

Vucevic is a full package offensively as he's also a willing passer, especially after receiving the ball on pick-and-rolls. He could be even higher up this list, but he wasn't that efficient shooting the ball this year as he arrived at the averages having a sub-par 53% true shooting percentage.

#8 Bojan Bogdanovic

Bojan is a great shooter making 43% of catch-and-shoot tries. With Donovan Mitchell penetrating and Rudy Gobert attracting help defenses inside, he has plenty of chances to shoot wide open. The Croatian is great at creating his own opportunities by using various screens his teammates set.

Bogdanovic loves to curl inside after a screen and look for scoring opportunities near the basket. He has been a solid starting player in Utah and could even be considered a bit underrated because of his teammates' bright shadow.

#7 Kristaps Porzingis

Here things get a little spicy. The Latvian is a tough case to judge because of his injury history. This year again, he played in only 62% of the games. In the last 5 years combined, he has missed every second game there was. If not for that, he could've easily been in the Top-5.

After being traded to Washington from Dallas, he regained the status of being the main player on the team. His stats in the capital looked exactly the same as he had in New York.

Porzingis is an unreal weapon on offense where being 7'3, he can shoot anyone in the post, especially when the teams switch. He also has a nice mid-range faceup game and can stretch the floor with deep threes and pick-and-pop situations.

The Wizards even ran a nice wrinkle of the famous Spain pick-and-roll for the Latvian where the back screener flipped the screen, opening a wide-open shot for Porzingis.

If he can stay healthy, he might get back to the All-Star next season.

#6 Jonas Valanciunas

The Lithuanian finished the season with a double-double average for the third year in a row. The Pelicans center is a beast down low. He will try to bully-ball the opponents in the post until they're under the rim.

However, even his game has developed throughout the years, dictated by the new trends of basketball. Once a traditional big man, JV added a turnaround jumper in the post and has developed a consistent three-point shot.

At one point during this season, he was tied with Stephen Curry for the No. 1 spot in the league in the three-point percentage category.

He's not the fastest pick-and-roll roller in the league, but his strength lies in his touch in the paint and in the quickness of releasing the shot.

Last but not least, he's a nightmare for his opponents on the offensive glass, consistently crashing the rim and earning second chances to score where he is in the Top-10 in the entire NBA.

#5 Domantas Sabonis

One of the best playmaking bigs in the league, Sabonis, was sent to the Kings during the trade deadline. His ways of keeping the game flowing a rare and unique, and he makes it extremely fun to play with Domas.

He will find you on cuts in tiny spaces, he will create space for the shooters with passing and great screens. Sabonis is also a superb pick&roll roller due to his great mobility and understanding of screen angles.

Offensively, he's a threat on post-ups as well, where he has a couple of different ways to get to his strong left hand. Every night, the Lithuanian is a triple-double threat, and Sacramento fans quickly fell in love with his playmaking skills.

#4 Rudy Gobert

The Frenchman actually has the highest true shooting percentage and the third-highest LEBRON score out of the Top-10 due to his defensive impact. His offensive liabilities, though, are too much to consider him for the Top-3.

However, he's one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, ranking 5th in blocks per game.

He can change the trajectory of many shots with his insane wingspan, including quick midrange jumpers that quickly become contested with him extending his hands.

He's undeniable in the regular season, but other teams unlock the Gobert system in the playoffs, which diminishes Gobert's defensive influence. With five-out lineups where Jazz guards cannot contain their matchups in front, Rudy has to help, leaving the big man in the middle of nowhere.

The three-pointers then start to rain, and the Frenchman cannot respond on the other side of the court.

#3 Luka Doncic

He is a one-man show everywhere he goes. He's able to create plays possession after possession and pick out teammates in their best spots. We all know about Luka's unstoppable stepback, incredible footwork to break down defenders off the dribble, and the ability to stop in the paint, use the pivot foot, and make rainbow shots go in.

The Slovenian is an offensive genius who makes the right read 99% of the time, leaving his opponents in shambles and making them try every possible defensive system there is.

With his elite size and strength, he can post up smaller players too. Combine all that with the clutch gene Doncic possesses, and you have one of the most unstoppable offensive players in the game right now.

#2 Nikola Jokic

Yes, Nikola put up historic all-time numbers this year where not only was he scoring 27, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists, he also had an insane lead against everyone on all advanced metrics.

His true shooting was at 66%, his LEBRON impact at +7.8, real plus-minus at almost +12. All these metrics will win him the MVP award, but Denver didn't have their second and third-best players for almost the entire season, which impeded Jokic from carrying his team to the playoffs.

Even though he had much better numbers on defense this season, he's not a difference-maker as Giannis is. Denver has simply designed the right defense around Jokic, which compels us to put Nikola at #2.

#1 Giannis Antetokounmpo

Despite the title last year, the Greek Freak did not stop improving as we saw new moves in his arsenal this year. We all know how unfair he is in transition with his long strides and incredible strength, but he's starting to add fadeaway and turnaround jumpers.

It's something that we never saw him do before. If these start to go in on a regular basis, how is anyone going to stop it?

Defensively, he's obviously more capable than Jokic both as a perimeter defender and as a rim protector.

The way he plays basketball might not be as satisfying as watching Jokic, but the freakish physical abilities combined with elite skills make him the best European player in the NBA at this moment.

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