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

Credit:

The EuroLeague’s 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 tournament's players judging by advanced stats.

Mike James

Team:Monaco BasketPosition:PG, SGAge:31Height:185 cmWeight:84 kgBirth place:Oregon, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Let's go over the methodology used while making the list. Players from banned teams were not considered in the list. Also, the player must have played in at least 20 games this season in order to qualify.

Aside from the simplest basketball stats that you see on a regular basis, we looked at their net ratings and how their team did with and without them on the court - how many points they scored and created, how efficiently they shot the basketball by looking at their true shooting percentage, and their win share rate, which describes for how many team's wins they were directly responsible.

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 outstanding defense.

Honorable Mentions

Before we start our Top-10, let’s quickly look at some players that are first outside the cut. There we find Maccabi duo Scottie Wilbekin and Ante Zizic who led Maccabi to playoffs after an up-and-down season, where Tel Aviv had long win streaks but even longer losing ones before finally recovering after changing the head coach.

Fenerbahce were probably the biggest disappointment of the season and that influenced Jan Vesely not being on the final list. Injuries played a big part in his season too and it’s very likely that next year he will be right back to the Top-10.

Other players that fell just short of getting in were Olympiakos duo Tyler Dorsey and Moustapha Fall. Oly seem to have found the path to success again arriving second in the regular season with Dorsey who had some monster performances from behind the line and Fall, whose presence on the court transferred in one of the best net ratings in all Euroleague.

Nikola Mirotic

MIN:23.78PTS:16.71 (67.53%)REB:5.13As:1.26ST:0.77BL:0.29TO:1.84GM:31ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

However, some other names on that roster were even more important in their resurgence.

#10 Kyle Hines

Nick Calathes and Vladimir Lucic also had great all-around seasons, but the #10 spot goes to none other than Kyle Hines. Olimpia Milano's big man is still the man to beat in the middle and deserves this spot not for his individual stats but for the overall influence on the game.

Besides having the best Net Rating on a Top-4 team, the American is like an insurance policy on defense - even at 35 years old, he is still a nightmare for opposing guards on perimeter, never misses a rotation and gets the right read offensively every time. On a roster full of stars, Hines might be the least flashy, but arguably with the most overall influence.

#9 Guerschon Yabusele

Real’s last summer addition successfully integrated into the team and since has become arguably the best power forward in the continent. Offensively, he fits perfectly in Laso’s system, where he can show off his transition skills, and use his elite body and strength in the post where he is stronger than most people in all Euroleague.

When off the ball, he spaces the court perfectly as he sits at an extremely solid 40% rate from behind the arc. Madrid lacked stable guards play throughout the year and Yabusele’s offensive power helped to diminish the problem.

#8 Shavon Shields

The American forward would be higher on this list if not for the injury that interrupted Shields’ season for good 3 months. The wing is such a valuable piece in Milano’s puzzle since he can score from all 3 levels: whether that’s a post up around the rim, a midrange after the closeout situation, or a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.

Defensively, he often has an important task in Messina’s system - guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player. Shavon’s superb quickness allows him to stay in front and his size coupled with his strong body doesn’t give such a huge mismatch down low for the other team whenever Olimpia switches on all screens.

Shields' solid overall numbers and a big influence on the team's success guarantee him a spot in the Top-10 and make him a viable option for a transfer to the NBA too.

#7 Kostas Sloukas

#7 belongs to Kostas Sloukas. One of the smartest playmakers in all the continent pushed Olympiakos to a second-place finish in the regular season and was responsible for 23 of his team’s points each game, the most in the red-whites club.

Sloukas’ dangerousness from anywhere on the court created many advantageous situations for Olympiakos and with their unselfish style of play, it resulted in easy baskets for everyone else.

Kostas hit daggers more than once in late-game situations this year, clutching the wins against Zalgiris, Fenerbahce, and in the most stunning fashion against the reigning champions Anadolu Efes.

#6 Sasha Vezenkov

At #6 we find Sloukas’ teammate and the receiver of his passes - Sasha Vezenkov. He gets the nod over the playmaker because of his highest from all the Top-10 28% Win Share Rate, 2nd highest +29 Net Rating, and stunning efficiency while shooting the ball with 68% inside and 39% outside the line.

Vezenkov is not someone who creates much for others, but he dominates the game by doing other things extremely well: offering himself to his teammates in open spaces by constantly moving on offense with cuts, crashing down the glass with sprints from outside to take offensive rebounds and knocking down long 3s to give that needed space for flowing Olympiacos’ offense.

#5 Shane Larkin

The performance of the reigning champions in the regular season didn’t go as smoothly as one may have planned, but Larkin continues to dominate the Euroleague for the 5th season in a row.

Offensively, there are only 2 players in the league that are responsible for more points than Larkin - the guard’s acceleration is second to no one in all Euroleague and gives Shane an advantage against any opponent. The American has a fancy layup package to finish off the drives and is lethal off the dribble making him one of the hardest players to guard in Europe.

#4 Walter Tavares

Madrid’s giant isn’t anywhere near to being responsible for almost 30 points on offense - usually, you can’t measure a center’s influence with numbers. When he’s on the court, teams are obligated to change their game plans - they have to think not only how to stop him around the rim on post ups, putbacks and on PnRs, but even more how to move him out of the area from protecting the paint.

He’s just behind Vezenkov in Win Share Rate at 25% and has the highest and jaw dropping, +36 Net Rating. This is mostly thanks to his insane defensive numbers, where Madrid allows only 91 points per 100 possessions with him on the court and you can perfectly see why.

#3 Mike James

Mike James is the most dangerous isolation player in all Euroleague. The Monaco star has a unique ability to create separation easily, swish the toughest shots and make it all look like so natural and so effortless.

Coaching change played a big role in Monaco’s season and as soon as Sasha Obradovic gave James the keys and complete control of the team, they started winning - their 74% win rate is close to the one first-placed Barcelona has.

James could easily be #1 on this list as he is responsible for the most points created in all Euroleague, but he was much less efficient in shooting the basketball than the first 2 and we all know that defensively he can sometimes be a weaker link.

#2 Vasilije Micic

The reigning MVP Vasilije Micic occupies the #2 spot. We all thought he was going to leave us after the perfect season last year, but the move to the NBA didn’t happen and we got to witness another individually dominating season from the playmaker.

The main engine of Anadolu Efes offense is scoring even more points in 2022 but has done it with less efficiency. Still, Micic is a master of the PnR where the combination of size, speed, and change of direction allows him to find the smallest gaps of getting inside the paint, where he can serve up others or finish by himself.

Micic wasn’t that consistent from behind the arc this year but he’s someone who can knock down 6 or 7 3-pointers on any given night and win the game alone.

#1 Nikola Mirotic

And finally, the best player this regular season - Nikola Mirotic. Barca is not a one-man show so Mirotic is not responsible for as many points as James and Micic, but his other stats are way superior.

The forward recovered after a poor performance in last year’s playoffs and looked way more comfortable playing against contact this season, while continuing the usual stuff - hardly stoppable post-up game with a variety of different shots, where no one can reach his release point, do something about his footwork or avoid fouling.

It was complemented by stunning shooting from deep, where he was at 47% this year and a solid defensive performance overall. Mirotic lost the MVP last year only because of his performance in the playoffs and it will be interesting to see if he has improved from the mistakes.

For his performance in the regular season, he is undoubtedly the best player in the Euroleague.

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.