By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The First Team of the 2025-26 BKT EuroCup season features Kyle Allman Jr., Malachi Flynn, Jared Harper, DeVante’ Jones, and Ante Zizic.
Euroleague Basketball confirmed the standouts on Tuesday.
Per the press release: “As the countdown to the 2026 BKT EuroCup Finals continues, attention turns to honoring the standout performers of the 2025–26 season. The All‑EuroCup First Team has been chosen by fans (10%), media (20%), head coaches (35%) and team captains (35%), celebrate the players whose impact, consistency and leadership shaped the competition from opening tip to the final rounds. Among the honorees are one repeat star and two newcomers.
Kyle Allman provided one of the highlights of the season by burying a game-winning three-pointer to lift Turk Telekom Ankara over top-ranked Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem, 90-91, in the quarterfinals. He had 25 points and 8 assists in that do-or-die game to earn quarterfinals MVP honors. Allman led Turk Telekom to a 12-6 regular-season record and ultimately to a spot in the semifinals. He was led the team in scoring (14.3 ppg.) and PIR (16.1) and was second in assists (3.6 apg.). Allam ranked third in the competition in three-point shooting percentage (48.0% 3FG), was seventh in fouls drawn (5.6 per night) and third in free throws attempted (7.2). Allman also posted a fantastic all-around effort against Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse in the semifinals.
Bahcesehir College Istanbul’s Malachi Flynn produced 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in his first-ever game in the competition and remained a force going forward. Flynn stood out most as a scorer and ranked fifth in scoring with 17.7 points per game. He was second on the competition with 1.7 steals per game and led Bahcesehir with 3.8 assists per game. Flynn led Bahcesehir to a 12-6 regular season record and second place in Group A before roaring for 16 points and 10 rebounds in the quarterfinals against U-BT Cluj-Napoca. He scored 31 points against Umana Reyer Venice in Round 11 and earned Round 16 MVP honors when he went for 19 points, 7 boards and 6 assists for a PIR of 35 in a come-from-behind win over Aris Thessaloniki Betsson.
Jared Harper has been selected to the All-EuroCup First Team for the second consecutive season after leading Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem to the best regular season record, 13-5. The playmaker was second in the competition in scoring and PIR with 19.5 and 22.2, respectively. Harper was the only player to score in double-digits in every game he played. He led the competition in free throws made (7.8) and attempted (9.0), was second in fouls drawn (6.6) and fifth in assists (5.2 apg.) and led Jerusalem in steals (1.3 apg.). His three MVP of the Round honors this season (Rounds 5, 6 and 17) were the most in the competition. Harper joins Marko Banic, Devin Smith, Justin Doellman, Mardy Collins and Milos Teodosic as the only players to earn back-to-back All-EuroCup First Team nods.
DeVante’ Jones led Dolomiti Energia Trento in an impressive comeback season in which the team reached the EuroCup Playoffs for the first time since 2016. Jones was at the center of it all, leading the competition in PIR (23.2) and ranking third in scoring (18.6 ppg.) with great shooting percentages (60.6% 2FG, 39.0% 3FG, 85.5% FT). He also led Trento in assists (4.5 apg.). Jones posted PIR of at least 25 in nine regular season games, peaking in a 93-94 road win over Lietkabelis Panevezys with 24 points, 10 assists and 3 steals for a PIR of 43 to earn Round 15 MVP honors. He was also red-hot in the single-game eighthfinals when Jones scored 11 points in overtime and 38 overall to eliminate Umana Reyer Venice.
Ante Zizic was the most effective big man in the competition in leading Besiktas GAIN Istanbul to the EuroCup Finals. He ranks third in the competition in PIR (21.1), fifth in rebounds (7.4 rpg.) and eighth in two-point shots made (4.6) despite playing less than 24 minutes per night. Zizic is Besiktas’s second-best scorer with 12.6 points per game. He had six double-doubles during the regular season and amassed PIRs of at least 30 four times, peaking at 36 against NINERS Chemnitz when he posted 23 points on 7-of-9 two-point shooting plus 10 rebounds for a PIR of 36. Zizic earned MVP of the Round honors twice: in Round 9 against Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens and in Round 14 against Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse.”
Anthony Brown, Mitch Creek, Both Gach, Darius McGhee, and Daron Russell made the All-EuroCup Second Team, as announced later Tuesday.
Per the press release: “As the 2026 BKT EuroCup Finals draw closer, recognition also belongs to the players whose performances shaped the competition just beyond the very top tier. The All‑EuroCup Second Team for the 2025-26 season was selected by fans (10%), media (20%), head coaches (35%) and team captains (35%) and honors five standout contributors who delivered consistently across the campaign and played vital roles in their teams’ success during a highly competitive season.
Anthony Brown earns All-EuroCup Second Team honors for the third time after another reliable and impactful season, this time with Besiktas GAIN Istanbul. Brown averaged 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and delivered when it mattered most, scoring 16 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in the quarterfinal victory over Dolomiti Energia Trento. With this selection, Brown becomes just the third player in competition history to receive three All-EuroCup nods – and first to do so with three different teams, joining Bojan Dubljevic (five) and Kyle Kuric (three). He was previously being named to the Second Team in 2020–21 with Metropolitans 92 and again last season with Turk Telekom Ankara.
Mitchell Creek made an immediate and powerful impression in his first EuroCup season, emerging as one of the competition’s most explosive scorers. The Australian forward ranked sixth in scoring with 17.7 points per game, seventh in three-point accuracy at 46.8%, and fifth overall in PIR at 19.8. Creek etched his name into EuroCup history in Round 11 by pouring in a club-record 40 points against Neptunas Klaipeda, becoming just the seventh player ever to reach that mark and earning MVP of the Round honors. He recorded PIRs of at least 34 on four occasions and posted double-digit PIRs in 16 of his 17 regular season appearances, underlining his remarkable consistency.
Both Gach was the picture of reliability for Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse, starting every game and leading the team in scoring (14.0 ppg.), PIR (15.3) and three-point accuracy (42.7%), to lead the team to the finals in his first season in the competition. His influence carried into the postseason, where he topped Bourg in the semifinals with 17.0 points and a PIR of 17.7 per game, while also contributing 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per outing. Gach scored a season-high 22 points twice and produced his best all-around performance in Round 9 against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, when he posted a season-high PIR of 30.
Darius McGhee showcased one of the most dangerous shooting profiles in the EuroCup, leading the competition with 2.8 three-pointers made per game while averaging 13.0 points for Bourg across the season. He also led his team and ranked eighth in the league in assists (4.9 apg.) and ninth in steals (1.4 spg.), highlighting his two-way impact. McGhee made multiple three-pointers in 15 of 17 regular season games, opened the campaign by draining 6 triples against Dolomiti Energia Trento in Round 1, scored a season-high 25 points against Besiktas GAIN Istanbul in Round 14, and dished a season-best 9 assists in Round 17 against London Lions.
Daron “Fatts” Russell delivered one of the most statistically dominant seasons in recent EuroCup history for U-BT Cluj-Napoca, finishing as the competition’s top scorer with 19.8 points per game. He ranked fourth in PIR (20.5), second in assists (6.2 apg.), second in three-pointers made (2.5 per game), and fifth in steals (1.4 spg.), showcasing a complete offensive profile. Russell exploded for a season-high 37 points against Neptunas Klaipeda in Round 2 when he drilled 7 three-pointers — the most by any player all season — and later set a club record with 15 assists against Slask Wroclaw in Round 3, also the highest assist total of the 2025-26 EuroCup. His Round 12 performance of 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists against Slask earned him MVP of the Round honors.”