By Stelios Toromanidis/ info@eurohoops.net
We’re talking about Nick Calathes and Luka Doncic, who are having their best season in the competition so far, but who still haven’t been able to “break” an almost “haunted” achievement, one that has lasted a little less than 11 years. Back then, Maccabi’s center and current general manager of the “People’s Team,” Nikola Vujcic, finished a game with double-digits in three different statistical categories for the second time.
The calendar was marked November 30, 2006, when the Croatian “playmaker” of the low post tallied 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his team’s 110-87 win over Olimpija Ljubljana. As a result, he doubled his “triple” nights in the top club competition in Europe (the first one was on November 3, 2005, with 11 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists), at a time when no one else had ever attained that particular performance before.
Obviously, not even the player himself would have imagined that after 297 rounds in the EuroLeague (!) there wouldn’t be a single player who would manage to get another triple-double. And yet… Many got close to the target, almost reached this achievement, but the “spell” still hasn’t been broken.
This season’s race for two
If there are certain players who have the most chances of… breaking Vujcic’s “curse” this season, those are the two best all-around guards in the competition: Luka Doncic and Nick Calathes.
They have attempted to do it in the past, with the latest attempt so far coming just the previous round.
On Friday night (21/11) they will come face to face and it makes sense that the matchup between the two players is drawing a lot of attention from the Old Continent’s basketball fans.
The attempts of the 18-year-old leader and Laso’s role
The boy wonder of European basketball, who – in the absence of Sergio Llull – has been anointed the Whites’ leader while still a teenager, is the best basketball player in the EuroLeague this season based on the ranking (a PIR of 28 per game), as well as the top scorer with 19,8 points per game.
The 18-year-old European champion with Slovenia has gotten very close to getting a triple-double three times, two last season and the latest a few days ago in Real’s win over Malaga.
It’s worth mentioning that in all three games, Pablo Laso took him out of the game relatively early on and, as a result, deprived him of some chances. If, for example, in the Madrilenos’ win over Maccabi on January 13, he played 35 minutes instead of 25, he might have dished the two assists that he was missing for a triple-double.
In any case, his huge talent will definitely provide him with more opportunities, starting from the game against Panathinaikos, perhaps. Just as long as the Whites’ coach… forgets him on the court.
In detail, the times Luka Doncic got very close to a triple-double
|
Date |
Phase |
Game |
Playing time |
Doncic’s Performance |
|
January 13 2017 |
Regular Season |
Real-Maccabi 80-75 |
25’56” |
10p., 8as., 11reb. |
|
March 2 2017 |
Regular Season |
Galatasaray-Real 87-84 |
22’08” |
13p., 8as., 8reb. |
|
November 16 2017 |
Regular Season |
Real–Malaga 89-57 |
25’09” |
13p., 6as., 10reb. |
The man who does everything and always forgets something
On the other – Green – side, we come across the amazing Nick Calathes, who is having an excellent season and is the main reason for Panathinaikos’s three consecutive wins. The top passer in the competition with 7,4 assists and fifth in the ranking (an average PIR of 17,6), he’s one of the best players in the competition.
In the Abdi Ipekci against Efes he put up the best performance of his career in the competition, but couldn’t get the coveted triple-double for a single rebound. In fact, after the game his brother, Pat, joked about this fact in social media.
It was not the first time the Greek guard came within… striking distance of a triple double-digit gathering in the stats. Almost a year ago, he was one assist away from achieving this in Bamberg, while in three other cases he came close but wasn’t able to get it.
In detail, the times Nick Calathes got very close to a triple-double
|
Date |
Phase |
Game |
Playing Time |
Calathes’s Performance |
|
April 7 2016 |
Top 16 |
Efes-Panathinaikos 91-86 |
32’31” |
14p., 10as. 8reb., |
|
October 21 2016 |
Regular Season |
CSKA-Panathinaikos 81-77 |
32’50” |
10p., 8as., 9reb. |
|
October 26 2016 |
Regular Season |
Bamberg-Panathinaikos 83-84 |
32’35” |
13p., 9as., 11reb. |
|
December 16 2016 |
Regular Season |
Panathinaikos-Fener 81-70 |
31’18” |
16p., 11as., 8reb. |
|
November 16 2017 |
Regular Season |
Efes-Panathinaikos 81-82 |
35’54” |
29p., 10as., 9reb. |
So, who will be the first to repeat Vujcic’s mythical, as it has turned out, performance? Will it be either Doncic or Calathes, who are looking like the big favorites right now or will someone else manage to squeeze through? Until then, the former player of Maccabi, Olympiacos and Efes can boast that he’s the only “triple” basketball player in the modern era of the EuroLeague, as the “legend” of the… cursed triple-double gets bigger and bigger.