Advanced Breakdown of TOP 10 EuroLeague Players

Euroleague's regular season has finished, which means it's time to give out awards and pick the strongest in different categories. So who were the best of the best? In this video, you will see the top 10 Euroleague players of this season. Of course, the list is a subjective one like all the rankings and debates you see on social media, but let's make it clear what was taken into consideration in deciding who makes the cut. Players from banned teams weren't considered. Also, they must have played in at least 20 games, so that's why, for example, there is no chance of seeing Corey Higgins here. Apart 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 much points they score 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 wins they were directly responsible. Last, we looked and considered their capabilities to be the difference makers on the court at any given situation, whether that meant creating and making their own shots or changing the game scores through outstanding defense. The number 10 spot goes to none other than Kyle Hines. Olympia Milano 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 from the best net rating on a top four team, 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. Sometimes he takes the pressure off the guards by bringing the ball up the court and initiating the offense too. On a roster full of stars, Hines might be the least flashy but arguably with the most overall influence. Number 9, Gershon Yabuzeli Real's last summer addition successfully integrated in the team and since has become one of the best power forwards in the continent. Offensively, he fits perfectly in Lasso's system where he can show off the variety of his skills. In transition he can run, in the post he can use his elite body and strength 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 Yabuzeli's offensive power helped to diminish the problem. Moving on to number 8, Siobhan Shields The American forward would be higher on this list if not for the injury that interrupted Shields' season for good three months. Wing is such a valuable piece in Milano's puzzle since he can score from all three levels, whether that's a post up around the rim, a midrange after the closeout situation or a catch and shoot free pointer. Defensively, he often has an important task in Messina's system, guarding the opponent's best perimeter player. Siobhan's superb quickness allows him to stay in front and size plus strong body doesn't give such a huge mismatch down low for other team whenever Olympia switches on all screens. Shields' solid overall numbers and big influence to the team's success guarantees him a spot in the top 10 and makes him a viable option for a transfer to the NBA 2. Number 7, Kostas Lukas One of the smartest playmakers in all continent, pushed Olympiacos to a second place finish in the regular season and was responsible for 23 of his team's points each game, the most in Red Club. Sluka's dangerousness from anywhere on the court created many advantage situations for Olympiacos and with their unselfish style of play, it resulted in easy baskets for everyone else. Moreover, 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. At number 6, we find Sluka's teammate and the receiver of his passes, Sasha Vesenkov. He gets the nod over the playmaker because of his highest from all the top 10 28% share rate, second highest plus 29 net rating and stunning efficiency while shooting the ball with 68% inside and 39% outside the line. Vesenkov 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, crushing down the glass with sprints from outside to take offensive rebounds and knocking down long frees to give that needed space for flowing Olympiacos' offense. Amazing season for Vesenkov. Number 5, Shane Larkin. Yes, 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 fifth season in the row. Offensively, there are only two players in the league that are responsible for more points than Larkin. Guard's acceleration is second to no one in all EuroLeague and gives Shane an advantage against any opponent. American has a fancy layoff package to finish off the drives and is lethal off the dribble making him one of the hardest players to guard in all Europe. At fourth, we find a complete opposite to Larkin, Walter Tavares. Madrid's giant isn't anywhere near to being responsible for almost 30 points on offense. Usually, you can't measure center's influence with numbers. When he is 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 pick and rolls, but even more how to move him out of the area from protecting the paint. He is just behind Vesenkov in win share rate at 25% and has the highest and jaw-dropping plus 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. At three, we find the most dangerous isolation player in all EuroLeague, Mike James. The Monaco star has a unique ability to create separation easily, switch 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 Obradovich gave James the keys and complete control of the team, they started winning. 74% win rate is close to the one first place Barcelona has. James could easily be number one 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 two and we all know that defensively, he can sometimes be a weaker link. Reigning MVP Vasilje Micic occupies the number two 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 FS offense is scoring even more points in 2022, but has done it with less efficiency. Still, Micic is a master of the pick and roll, where the combination of size, speed and change of a direction allows him to find the smallest gaps of getting inside the paint, where he can serve up others or finish by himself. He wasn't that consistent from behind the arc this year, but he is someone who can on any given night knock down six or seven free pointers and win the game alone. Let's see if that will be enough to bring FS to the final four again. And finally, the best player of the regular season, Nikola Mirotic. Barca is not a one-man show, so Mirotic is not responsible for as many points as James or Micic, but his other stats are way superior. 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. 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 these mistakes. For his performance in the regular season, he is undoubtedly the best player in the Euroleague. Do you agree? Let me know your top 10 players in the comment section down below. Let's discuss it there and I'll see you in the next video.