Icing on the cake: a week to remember in Daniel Hackett's career / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Last week was quite the fun for the Italian point guard Daniel Hackett.

Points this season

45%80,7Points made:80,7Accuracy:45,2%Place in standings:5Record max:100Record min:65Best scorer:Will ClyburnTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

CSKA Moscow veteran won two EuroLeague MVP awards in a row for Round 20 and Round 21. It's something unusual for Hackett, who never won an MVP of the week award in his previous 10 years in the competition.

It was a dream week because Hackett has now scored more than 2000 points in EuroLeague, an achievement that only two other Italian players had reached before: Gianluca Basile and Luigi Datome.

In a big win in Round 20 against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, Hackett had 17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1 block. In a much closer win against ASVEL in Round 21, Hackett finished with 27 points, just two points shy from his career-high in EuroLeague, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

At the end of the game, Hackett shared a very emotional moment with his father, Rudy, a former basketball player himself. Now 34, Hackett has come a long way in his career, becoming one of the most reliable players in the EuroLeague.

In his fourth season with CSKA, Hackett has become a team's leader, earning the trust of coach Dimitris Itoudis. With these last two wins, CSKA now sit in fifth place with 12 wins and 7 losses.

They still need to play two postponed games against Olympiacos Piraeus and FC Barcelona. Still, it looks like CSKA are slowly finding their groove again after the first part of the season being filled with injuries and other issues.

Hackett has been a key part of this recovery process that the Russian team is going through. Aside from his mere numbers, the Italian point guard is averaging 7.7 points per game with 2.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds, Hackett has a clear offensive impact.

CSKA Moscow / Schedule

Panathinaikos Athens CSKA Moscow74-98 CSKA Moscow LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne90-83 CSKA Moscow AX Armani Exchange MilanFri17:00

When he's on the court, CSKA Moscow have a 120.4 offensive rating (among the best in the EuroLeague) and 112.0 defensive rating, for a net rating of 8.4.

With all the talks about CSKA not having a real star in the backcourt and Alexey Shved not providing the same offensive firepower as in his recent years with Khimki, Hackett has filled that hole, providing leadership, scoring, and quality on both ends of the court.

"My role now is to be the extension of the coach on the court," Hackett said in an interview with Backdoor Podcast. "Letting his message reach the others and trying to do the best for the team. Itoudis did a huge job with me day after day to help me become the player that I'm today".

The ability to be a leader, especially in key moments, is another quality that Hackett has always seen in himself since the beginning of his career.

In another recent interview, Hackett revealed that already during his days in the youth system in Pesaro, the coaches saw in him the signs of a floor general.

"I was only 11-12 years old at that time, my two coaches in Pesaro's youth system, Riccardo Biondi and Riccardo Badioli, they used to tell me that I had a pronounced personality and the tendency to be a leader", the CSKA Moscow point guard said during an interview with Twitch show 'Area 52'.

"That tendency increased even more in college, at USC, when coach Floyd, already in my freshman year, gave me the responsibility to be the starting point guard of the team with players like Taj Gibson and Nick Young on the roster. I learned early how to make my voice heard in the locker room", Hackett added.

But Hackett's leadership has also been put in question at times in the past. For example, during his tenure with AX Armani Exchange Milan, many fans complained about his attitude and his alleged lack of commitment to the team.

Hackett joined Milan during the 2013-14 season from rival team Mens Sana Siena. The point guard was in his second season with Siena and wanted to remain until the end of his contract. But in that period, Siena was already in financial difficulties, and Hackett was one of the most coveted players on the market.

Hackett had reached an agreement with the management of Siena, if the team had reached the Top 16 of the EuroLeague, he'd have stayed for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, in the last game of the first phase, Siena lost place in the Top 16 after a last-second shot from Jayson Granger.

That day was Daniel's birthday, and at that point, he knew that he had to leave. He joined Milan and won the first 'Scudetto' of the Armani ownership, but that spark with the fans never really shined.

In the summer of 2014, another story came up, which still bothers Hackett today (he posted a series of stories on Instagram on the matter just a few weeks ago), risked compromising Daniel's reputation. According to the Italian federation, Hackett left the national team training camp without permission.

The player and the national team's medical staff had different views on how to treat an injury that the player was dealing with. Hackett criticized the federation, and he was suspended for 6 months. He could only play in EuroLeague during that period but not in the Italian League.

Hackett retired from the national team after the 2019 FIBA World Cup, but he has never forgotten the injustice that, in his opinion, he suffered from the federation.

However, Hackett rose above all the critics and controversies in the following years. He joined Olympiacos, played alongside legendary Vasilis Spanoulis, and won a Greek league title.

After one season in Germany with Bamberg, he joined CSKA and won his first EuroLeague title in his first season with the club.

Despite being 34-year-old, Hackett is still a very effective player. However, he had to make some changes to his body and training routine, as he explained during a Twitch interview.

"Today's basketball is faster; players are faster and more powerful. When I played for Olympiacos, I weighed around 98-99 kg, and now I always try to stay at 92-93 kg. I lost some physicality, but I prefer to feel lighter and more dynamic," the Italian point guard said.

Often nicknamed 'Danny boy' in the past, Daniel has now become 'Mr. Reliable' for CSKA. A constant and trustworthy presence, on and off the court, always ready to provide whatever the team needs from him: defense, scoring, leadership.

A potential contract extension with the Russian club has been discussed, as it was initially reported by Emiliano Carchia and confirmed to BasketNews. Whatever will happen in the upcoming future, Hackett has already cemented his status as one of the most reliable and efficient players in the EuroLeague.

Last week's performances and accolades were only the icings on the cake of a beautiful and successful career, which, hopefully, will continue for some more years before coming to an end.

Hackett is that type of player you'd always want on your team because you know he's going to have your back no matter what.

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