By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
European basketball has made a lot of strides and faces everyday new challenges as the sport continues to grow and the old continent is one of the hotbeds of talents, competitions, and storylines.
That became more evident than ever during the last ten years. The rise of European talent on a global level can’t be denied, the interest for the sport has reached new highs and European players are getting more respect than ever on the other side of the Atlantic.
Things were no exactly like that back in January 2010, but here’s what happened since then and left a mark in the history of the sport. Here’s the countdown of the events and the moments that shaped this decade’s landscape in European basketball
10. A record number of European players in the NBA
While the official record on opening night remains 65 European players on active NBA rosters at the start of the 2018-19 season, according to our calculations – which include players of dual citizenship and also some rookies who started the season in the G-League – back in the 2017-18 season a total of 74 European players were NBA bound. Both numbers are huge, considering the fact that a basketball team roster consists of 12 players. European players are no longer a novelty, but valid contributors for every NBA team. It was a process that started at the turn of the century, but with the numbers constantly rising and European players becoming international stars, the whole perception about European talent totally changed in the last ten years.
9. Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker retired
While a new generation of European stars is taking the NBA by storm, some of the most successful European players ever called it a day. Out of the “holy trinity” of modern-day European NBA stars, only Pau Gasol remains active in theory, despite his recent injury. Nowitzki and Parker are enjoying their retirement, their jerseys are hung on the rafters and their legacy of success with their national teams along with five NBA rings among a tone of other titles and individual accolades created the bar with which the next generation has to measure up.
8. The FIBA windows and Basketball Champions League
FIBA decided to bring back national team qualifiers during the season and also created the Basketball Champions League. Both competitions have a very specific upside, despite the hiccups created especially by the windows. They give the chance to countries in which basketball is not a marquee sport to expand its exposure and in BCL case, it gives clubs and champions from the “small” basketball countries of Europe the chance to measure themselves against better opponents. If you want to grow the sport and include everyone, that’s the recipe. And the response might end up being huge, as it happened last year in Antwerp’s Final Four.
7. EuroLeague’s new format
For the first time ever in the 2016-17 season, EuroLeague became a “real league”. No more group phases, no more draws. All the top European teams would face each other, the regular season transformed from a walk to the park for the big guns to a marathon in which anything could happen and making the playoffs was not a small feat. A competition that is constantly evolving finally came into a format that justifies the word “league” and without a doubt is offering the best basketball outside the NBA.
6. Olympiacos wins the 2012 EuroLeague and then gets back-to-back titles
It started with a big shot by Giorgos Printezis in Istanbul and ended with a dominant performance in London. Winning back-to-back EuroLeague titles is not easy and usually, it happens once a decade. Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv did it in 2004 and 2005 and Olympiacos was next in 2012 and 2013. Plus, the Reds kick-started a revolution that created the necessity for undersized athletic big men, a must since then for every EuroLeague contender, and names like Spanoulis, Printezis, Kyle Hines have created a legacy, even if Olympiacos also missed the chance to emerge as a dynasty.
5. Fenerbahce becomes the first Turkish team to win the EuroLeague
It took a coaching legend, a future NBA star, a dominant big man and a roster full of talent for Fenerbahce to finally become the first Turkish team to win the EuroLeague. The year was 2017, the Final Four was held in Istanbul and it was their year. Zeljko Obradovic managed to elevate the club status to the European elite, Bogdan Bogdanovic won the EuroLeague trophy before moving to the NBA, Ekpe Udoh had a season for the record books and a country that loves basketball finally emerged to the European summit.
