BasketNews EuroLeague players ranking: 30-21 places / News - Basketnews.com

Zach Leday, Shabazz Napier, and Scottie Wilbekin took the highest spots on the 30-21st places list in the BasketNews EuroLeague players ranking.

Credit: IMAGO/Seskim Photo-Scanpix, Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic, EuroLeague | BasketNews illustration Credit IMAGO/Seskim Photo-Scanpix, Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic, EuroLeague | BasketNews illustration

For the second year in a row, BasketNews presents its EuroLeague players ranking, in which 38 head coaches, scouts, general managers, and media members from Europe ranked the best players in the competition.

The survey participants were given a list of around 100 EuroLeague players, and after combining all the results, we present you the BasketNews Top 30 EuroLeague players ranking.

The respondents were given such ranking scale:

9-10: EuroLeague MVP contender 7-8: All-EuroLeague 1st Team-caliber player 5-6: All-EuroLeague 2nd Team-caliber player 3-4:He would be a starter on a Top 4-caliber team 1-2: The best of the rest

We begin our EuroLeague players ranking by presenting 30-21 places, while the rest of the list will be published in the upcoming days.

30. Jordan Loyd – 186 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking: tied for 38th-41st

After making his move from Zenit to Monaco, Jordan Loyd didn't disappear even though he joined a stacked backcourt that already had Mike James and Elie Okobo.

His 21-point performance was crucial in a 97-86 win against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague playoffs Game 5.

Now, Loyd is sidelined and will miss the start of the season due to back surgery he's had, but the 30-year-old remains optimistic.

"I feel better already, and the recovery's been super solid so far since I've been back with the team, been doing great rehab with all the staff here, and yeah, so I just look forward to coming back," Loyd said in September.

29. Jan Vesely – 189 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking:14th

After 8 seasons with Fenerbahce, Jan Vesely made the move to Barca and cemented his place in the starting 5.

Vesely was crucial in the playoffs series against Zalgiris, averaging 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 26.5 PIR per game in the last two games that helped Barca to clinch a 3-0 victory.

The Czech center bounced back in the ACB Finals, where he had a very solid series, leading Barca to a 3-0 sweep and getting revenge against Real.

28. Tomas Satoransky – 191 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking:tied for 12th-13th

Straight after Vesely, we have his Barca and Czech Republic NT teammate Tomas Satoransky.

Just like Vesely, Sato joined Barca last summer and proved why he's still one of the best points guards in Europe, despite not finding a significant role in the NBA for a couple of years.

Satoransky was the 2nd-most efficient player in last year's Barcelona team, being behind only Nikola Mirotic.

27. Markus Howard – 192 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking: N/A

Howard entered the EuroLeague with a bang. He had a good warmup in his debut game against Valencia, scoring 12 points, before dropping 33 and 30 points in the next two games against Partizan and Crvena Zvezda, respectively.

The 1.80-meter guard instantly earned the scoring machine reputation, and he backed it up throughout the whole season – Howard had ten 20+ points performances and was 12th in scoring last season.

He also made nine 3-pointers in Baskonia's win against Gran Canaria, breaking an all-time record by Velimir Perasovic (who made 8 in 1994).

26. Nicolas Laprovittola – 193 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking: 26th

We have the third Barca member on the list. Looking at last year, it seemed that whenever Barca had any issues on the court, Laprovittola was the one who came to the rescue.

In a strict Sarunas Jasikevicius system, Laprovittola also enjoyed some sort of freedom, having a green light to release a 3-pointer with 18 seconds on the 24-second shot clock left.

And for most of the time, it paid dividends. The Argentinian flashy plays always made the fans gasp, so it's not difficult to understand why Lapro made the Top 30 list.

Laprovittola already proved his value this season by forcing overtime against Palencia in an ACB game that Barca eventually won.

25. Johnathan Motley – 194 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking: 37th

Before Motley made his EuroLeague debut, everyone saw him as the next big thing after his spectacular EuroCup campaign with Lokomotiv.

Fair to say Motley delivered. The 28-year-old averaged 14.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 16 PIR per game in 36 appearances.

"I just know people were wondering if I could play in the EuroLeague, and that rubbed me the wrong way. I've been a good player for a long time. But now, I feel like I got to prove myself here," Motley told BasketNews in April.

24. Elie Okobo – 195 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking: tied for 38th-41st

Another Monaco backcourt member that found his place despite a competition in the guard positions.

After a solid debut season with ASVEL, Okobo quickly adapted to a much better team in Monaco and was one of the team's key members.

Averaging 12.5 points per game, Okobo was one of the leading scorers among the bench players in the EuroLeague. His all-around 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists performance in Game 5 against Maccabi was also crucial to Monaco's trip to the Final Four.

Elie OkoboCredit Rokas Snarskis

"I feel like it's all about experience, learning to read the game, learning to set a certain pace, learning when to play for your teammates and when to play for yourself, to know when it's the right time to do this and that," Okobo told BasketNews about his development.

"In the games that I played, I've learned through my mistakes and everything. I had a chance to have a bigger room for error because I was the leader of my team with ASVEL last year. I didn't go back on the bench after one turnover, I still got to play, I was just learning and growing," he added.

23. Scottie Wilbekin – 197 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking:18th

After four seasons in Tel Aviv, Wilbekin moved to Turkey, and probably it wasn't the debut season he wanted or expected simply because of how injury-plagued it was.

Nevertheless, for most of the time when he was healthy, Wilbekin showed why Fenerbahce signed him.

It's fair to expect an improvement from Wilbekin, knowing it will be his second season with the same team and coach, which should make the transition from the offseason easier.

22. Shabazz Napier – 201 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking:N/A

Napier becomes the first player on the list who reached the 200-point mark. After Napier signed with Zenit, he was supposed to be the next big thing in the EuroLeague, and his pre-season performances in 2021 showed that it will be exactly the case.

However, the mysterious ankle injury and Russia's war on Ukraine led to the fact that Napier never played for Zenit, while his next EuroLeague opportunity came only in January this year.

Many teams were unsure about his health status, but Milan took the risk, and as time has shown, the 32-year-old guard was the only light in a dark season for the Italian team.

In 12 games, Napier averaged 15.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 16.4 PIR per game, guiding Milan to 9 victories.

Now, Napier joins Crvena Zvezda, a team that wanted him for quite some time.

"Along with Milos Teodosic, the most notable reinforcement is Shabazz Napier, whom we chased the whole previous summer," revealed Crvena Zvezda sports director Milan Dozet.

21. Zach LeDay – 212 points

Place in the previous EuroLeague players ranking:N/A

We wrap the first EuroLeague players ranking part with the Partizan key member Zach LeDay.

There's no surprise why Zeljko Obradovic wanted LeDay to stay on his team. The American forward has a strong game in the post and, at the same time, can stretch the floor.

During the playoff series against Real Madrid, LeDay was one of the leading players, averaging 15.4 points (53.8% 3P, 44.4% 2P), 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 15.6 PIR per game.

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