by Utkan Şahin / info@eurohoops.net
Throughout Zeljko Obradovic’s storied EuroLeague career, only eleven of his players have scored over 30 points in a single contest. Just a short time in as Obradovic’s player, Nando De Colo became the eleventh on Thursday evening setting his career-high in Europe’s premier competition with 39 points in Fenerbahce Beko’s home victory versus KIROLBET Baskonia.
The Serbian head coach rarely counts on one player in particular to put up points and help his side secure the “W”. He usually relies on their all-around attributes with his teams mostly featuring balanced scoring. Many greats like Dejan Bodiroga, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Dimitris Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis, Sasha Djordjevic and Bogdan Bogdanovic never went over 30 points under Obradovic, but De Colo did inserting himself in a prestigious list.
Eleven players make out a total of sixteen 30-point showings. Our list only features these players that posted 30 or more points in a single EuroLeague affair, not any other competition.
11- Jordi Villacampa (Joventut Badalona)
Season: 1993/94
Game: Cibona Zagreb – Joventut Badalona: 74-82
Performance: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
We travel to Badalona for our first stop. Obradovic coached the local club in the 1993-94 season leading the side to its only EuroLeague title. Spanish legend Jordi Villacampa was his most important asset. He was named to the Final Four team and was the savior several times throughout the season.
At Zagreb, Villacampa scored 30 points with 12/17 from the field leading his side to the road win against Cibona. The result allowed Obradovic’s team to advance and eliminate the hosts on the tiebreaker.
10- Arvydas Sabonis (Real Madrid)
Season: 1994/95
Game: Real Madrid-Union Olimpija: 74-72
Performance: 30 points, 20 rebounds, 4 assists
Despite Arvydas Sabonis already entering legendary status, Real Madrid was without a EuroLeague title for 14 years. Obradovic, already a titleholder with Joventut Badalona and Partizan, arrived to lead the Whites and Sabonis to Europe’s top.
The Serbian head coach made defense a priority for Madrid and trusted Sabonis in offense. The Lithuanian legend did not disappoint, especially against Olimpija. He went for 30 points and 20 rebounds in 45 minutes.
9- Predrag Danilovic (Partizan)
Season: 1991/92
Game: Partizan – Olimpia Milano 86-70
Performance: 31 points, 7 rebounds
Partizan’s run to the EuroLeague title in 1992 remains among the most impressive stories in European basketball history. You could not expect much from a recently player turned head coach and a very young squad, especially when the team could not play at home. However, the club achieved greatness behind Sasha Djordjevic, Predrag Danilovic and Zeljko Obradovic.
Danilovic was a gifted scorer. For younger fans, you might say he shares similarities with Bogdan Bogdanovic. He got hot in the begging of the season versus Milan and scored 31 points with 11/14 two-pointers plus 3/4 three-pointers in 40 minutes. The interesting part of the big outing was his 0/5 free throws.
8- Zeljko Rebraca (Benetton Treviso)
Season: 1997/98
Game: Benetton Treviso – Efes Pilsen 67-57
Performance: 31 points, 5 rebounds
Obradovic headed to Benetton Treviso in the summer of 1997 aiming to lead the Italian team to the Final Four alongside Maurizio Gherardini currently with him at Fenerbahce Beko as well. In the playoffs his side collided with Efes Pilsen.
Henry Williams was seemingly the player to watch, but Zeljko Rebraca was on hand to put in the points instead of “Hi-Fly”. With 12/17 from the field, he posted 31 of his team’s 67 points for the 1-0 lead in the series.
7- Damir Mulaomerovic – Panathinaikos
Season: 2000/01
Game: Panathinaikos – CSKA Moscow 83-80
Performance: 31 points, 1 assist
Making into EuroLeague’s modern era, Damir Mulaomerovic marked the first big scoring performance stemming from Obradovic’s team. The regular season finale saw Panathinaikos set up against CSKA Moscow in Athens with the hosts already guaranteed first place in the group.
Perhaps that was the reason the Serbian head coach left the Croatian guard free. Mulaomerovic definitely took advantage of the situation with 31 points behind 5/5 threes and 4/8 inside the rainbow.
6- Jan Vesely – Fenerbahçe Beko
Season: 2017/18
Game: CSKA Moscow – Fenerbahce Beko 93-95
Performance: 31 points, 5 rebounds
CSKA Moscow features heavily on the wrong side of our list and is the victim of Jan Vesely’s 31-point performance as well. Led by Nicolo Melli and Vesely, Fenerbahce Beko grabbed the win against CSKA on the road.
The Czech forward got it going from the first half and finished with a career-high 31 points. He made 14/18 from the field in 38 minutes. However, Melli was still needed for the “W”.
5- Henry Williams – Benetton Treviso
Season: 1997/98
Game: Split – Benetton Treviso: 72-77
Performance: 33 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Obradovic success comes with the selection of effective leaders without generally preferring scorers from the USA. Henry Williams is one of the most notable exceptions.
He was the Benetton Treviso’s leader even before the Serbian’s arrival, retained his prominent role afterwards as well. In one of the Italian team’s top performances of the season, a comeback win on the road versus Split, Williams poured 33 points with 11/19 from the field.
4- Andrew Goudelock – Fenerbahçe Beko
Season: 2014/15
Game: Bayern Munich – Fenerbahce Beko 86-93
Performance: 34 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
About 17 years later, another American scored big for Obradovic. Andrew Goudelock did not carry a role similar to Williams, but certainly displayed his scoring power early in the 2014-15 season.
He went for 34 points with 10/13 three-pointers in 35 minutes. No other player in EuroLeague history has ever made ten shots beyond the arc.
3- Jaka Lakovic – Panathinaikos
Season: 2004/05
Match: Benetton Treviso – Panathinaikos: 111-101
Performance: 36 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists
Before the unpleasant breakdown, Jaka Lakovic inserted himself among the leaders of Panathinaikos. The Slovenian star was the most important offensive asset for Obradovic. The away match against Benetton in 2004-05’s Top 16 undoubtedly proved so.
The Greens did not secure the win, but Lakovic fought until the end. He ended up with 36 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for his 51 PIR, the fifth-best in EuroLeague history.
2- Nando De Colo – Fenerbahçe Beko
Season: 2019/20
Match: Fenerbahce Beko – Baskonia 87-80
Performance: 39 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Here comes Nando De Colo in second place of our list. He was unstoppable on Thursday. His 39 points led him to 44 PIR in 30 minutes of work. New personal and team records for both the points scored and performance index rating in a single contest.