By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
It was eleven years ago when Arvydas Macijiauskas notched 41 PIR in an Olympiacos‘ win over Prokom to tie a franchise record in evaluation previously set by Andrija Zizic early in 2006 (in a loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv on the road). Since then, no other player of the Greek club had managed to surpass or even tie this number.
Never, until Friday’s (30/11) Olympiacos’ blowout victory Buducnost. That was the game in which Zach LeDay finished with 42 ranking points to become the Olympiacos player with the highest PIR in a single game during the modern (post-2000) EuroLeague era.
“Oh, that’s crazy. I didn’t know that.” LeDay told Eurohoops when he was informed about his achievement. “I was out there just playing hard. Just doing whatever I can do to help the team win.”
There have been many great, legendary players (which LeDay admits that he’s too young to be aware of most of them) in the history of Olympiacos, but none of them has had such a magnificent individual performance (according to what stats sheet shows) like the one LeDay registered vs. Buducnost. The American forward/center scored 28 points on excellent shooting (7/8 2-pointers, 2/3 3-pointers, 7/8 free throws), grabbed eight rebounds, stole the ball twice, dished out an assist and forced his opponents to foul him eight times to accumulate 42 in PIR.
What is perhaps more impressive, is the fact that LeDay produced so much while staying on the court for just 21:16 minutes. Per EuroLeague, there had previously never been a player with a PIR number of 42 in less than 26 minutes.
“It’s cool of course,” LeDay reacted to Eurohoops when hearing a detailed account of his record numbers. “But I don’t really care about personal records and stuff like that. It’s all about winning and I’m focused on that. You talked about legendary players. Well, that’s how you get to be a legend. You become a legend if you win.”
LeDay already had nine points in the first half against Buducnost but it wasn’t until the third quarter that he went berserk on his opponents. The 24-year-old player came off the bench like a blitz in the second half to make baskets in any way imaginable: Tough lay-ups, back-to-back 3-pointers, and transition slams that resulted to 13 consecutive points in a bit more than two minutes.
While letting his bucket-making prowess fully unfold, LeDay also delivered a serious amount of defensive intensity, helping the Reds get many stops and, subsequently multiply their scoring opportunities, during the period he spent on the floor.
“Every time I get in, I want to do that. I want to bring my team energy, I want to get stops, help, do everything and be versatile. That’s what I do. I’m a versatile player who brings energy,” LeDay said to Eurohoops.
While a player with an obvious knack for sending the ball through the hoop, LeDay has been trying to model his game after someone who is best known for his defensive expertise: Golden State Warriors star and three-time NBA champion Draymond Green.
Given the two-way impact he had against Buducnost, does LeDay think that he played like his idol in the game?
“I think I did,” was LeDay’s answer to Eurohoop’s question. “I think I brought energy on both ends. That’s what I have to do every night. I got to keep working on that and keep it going.”
Last night’s match was the third in a row during which LeDay scored in double figures. Over the last weeks, the Olympiacos‘ big has averaged 17.3 points plus 8.3 rebounds over approximately 24 minutes per game while the Reds have got three straight wins vs. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Buducnost to bounce back following a three-game skid to CSKA Moscow, Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce.
“We had a hard part of our schedule early. We went through that,” LeDay said. “We stayed together. We talked to each other. We kept our chemistry, kept our faith. Kept working. We made some adjustments. Now we’re on a winning streak, we got to keep it going to stay close to the top spots of the standings.”
LeDay himself has elevated the levels of his performance since Olympiacos head coach David Blatt began using him in both the power forward and center positions. He’s been “clicking” as a pair with the other pillars of the Greek team’s frontline, such as center Nikola Milutinov and forward Giorgos Printezis and thinks that not being restricted in operating as a “5” has seriously benefited his game.
“I’m a ‘4’ man that can play as ‘5’ but whatever. My position doesn’t matter,” LeDay said to Eurohoops. “I’ve been positionless for a long time. Everybody’s been telling me that I don’t have a position. That’s good and coach Blatt has been using me in that way. It has helped. I can play both positions and I play both positions when I’m on the floor more.”
Speaking of coach Blatt, did he had anything special to say to LeDay after seeing his player having his top game in the season so far?
“He told me ‘good job’, ‘keep working’ and that this is just the beginning.”