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Ranking the Top 10 NBA Players In Eurobasket 2022
September 1, 2022Ranking the Top 10 NBA Players In Eurobasket 2022
Dozens of NBA players are about to clash in one of the most underrated basketball tournaments in the world.
EuroBasket, or the European Basketball Championship, has been around since the 1930s. Over a dozen nations have secured its gold medal, with Luka Doncic and Slovenia winning the most recent tournament in 2017.
Since then, Europeans have won three Defensive Player of the Year awards (all for Rudy Gobert), four MVPs (two apiece for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic) and one Finals MVP (Giannis).
Luka, Giannis and Jokic have ascended to the top of the NBA. Others, including Gobert, aren't far behind. Now they'll all have a chance to battle against each other with national pride on the line.
For American fans, the NBA players participating in the event are the ones we're best acquainted with. Seeing them in this context should only add to our appreciation of them.
Here are the 10 best NBA players set to compete for continental dominance in EuroBasket 2022 beginning Thursday.
Honorable Mentions
But first, the honorable mentions...
Deni Avdija (Israel): The Washington Wizards' 21-year-old potential three-and-D wing will be crucial for his country's chances of getting to the medal round.
Nemanja Bjelica (Serbia): An injury may keep Bjelica out of the tournament, but his ability to space the floor could be an excellent complement to Nikola Jokic's playmaking.
Simone Fontecchio (Italy): This tournament could be Americans' introduction to the sharpshooter headed to the Utah Jazz. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, he's hit 41.1 percent of his threes while playing in European leagues.
Evan Fournier (France): Another three-point specialist who's been in the NBA since 2012-13 and has hit 38.1 percent of his career three-point attempts there.
Willy Hernangómez (Spain): One of the bruisers at this event, Hernangomez has career averages of 17.8 points and 14.2 rebounds per 75 possessions in the NBA.
Juancho Hernangómez (Spain): A three-and-D forward who's always been a little better in theory than practice, Hernangomez has made over 20 appearances with the national team and has a gold medal from 2019 World Cup.
Dario Šarić (Croatia): Šarić missed all of the 2021-22 season while recovering from a torn ACL, but he has point center potential that could make Croatia dangerous. This should be our first opportunity to see if the injury slowed him down.
Dennis Schröder (Germany): Schröder has averaged more than 20 points in 31 appearances for the national team. A standout tournament could help him get out of free agency.
Alperen Şengün (Turkey): Şengün is a playmaking big man who put up rebounding and assist numbers reminiscent of Bill Walton and Alvan Adams during his rookie campaign.
Franz Wagner (Germany): A standout for the Orlando Magic who finished fourth among rookies in 2021-22 points per game.
Moritz Wagner (Germany): Now a four-year NBA veteran, Wagner takes the majority of his shots within 10 feet of the rim or from three, and he's had an above-average true shooting percentage in each of the last three seasons because of it.
10. Ivica Zubac (Croatia)
Ivica Zubac doesn't do anything flashy. His career NBA numbers (8.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in 19.0 minutes) certainly don't leap off the screen.
But there are a few reasons why Zubac has started in 227 of his 360 NBA regular-season appearances.
First of all, at 7'0" and 240 pounds, he's huge. Although he isn't the most nimble big man in the league, he has decent feet and typically doesn't miss rotations. When you're that size and in the right spot, the mere space you take up is helpful.
Zubac is also a solid roll man with good hands and decent touch around the rim. He has an old-school back-to-the-basket repertoire that helped him average 1.02 points per post-up in limited opportunities last season, too. For the national team, he might get a few more touches in that context.
9. Jusuf Nurkić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Injuries have limited Jusuf Nurkić to only 101 games over the last three seasons. When he's available, though, he checks more boxes than most fans realize.
Since joining the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2016-17 season, Nurkic has averaged 19.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals per 75 possessions. Over the last few years, he's even started to dabble with three-point shooting. (He's 27-of-86 from deep since the start of 2020-21.)
With Nurkić's well-rounded production and consistent positional defense, Bosnia and Herzegovina should be able to go toe-to-toe with most of the other countries at EuroBasket.
8. Lauri Markkanen (Finland)
It would've been hard to predict Lauri Markkanen spending a single minute at the 3 during his NBA career, but he spent over half his time there in 2021-22 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That added versatility should serve him well at EuroBasket.
Markkanen was still mostly a catch-and-shoot floor spacer on offense last season, but he spent a lot of time defending on the perimeter. That could give Finland a few more options on that end of the floor.
His most important skill remains shooting, though. He's hit 36.4 percent of his three-point attempts throughout his five-year NBA career. That kind of accuracy commands attention from opposing bigs outside.
7. Bojan Bogdanović (Croatia)
Bojan Bogdanović has quietly become one of the more prolific three-point shooters in NBA history.
Bogdanović ranks among the top 80 all-time in career triples made. There are only 11 players in league history who match or exceed both of his career marks for threes per game (2.0) and three-point percentage (39.2).
When he plays for Croatia, he seems to feel a bit more empowered to do stuff off the dribble—and he's had some success there—but outside shooting remains his bread and butter.
As the leader of a team that includes Dario Šarić, Ivica Zubac and former NBA player Mario Hezonja, Bogdanović has a chance to make some noise.
6. Jonas Valančiūnas (Lithuania)
Serbia boasts the two-time reigning NBA MVP, but Lithuania has a very real argument for the best frontcourt at EuroBasket.
On top of two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, Lithuania features bruising center Jonas Valančiūnas, who's averaged 16.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28.3 minutes per game over his last three NBA seasons.
Since those two typically start together, Lithuania has the ability to punish opponents inside.
Valančiūnas isn't quite as versatile as some of the other bigs whom he'll be competing against, but his sheer size can cause some problems, especially if opponents have to commit a big to Sabonis as well.
5. Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania)
Lithuania's frontcourt is more "thunder and thunder" than "thunder and lightning," but Domantas Sabonis does add at least a bit of dynamism.
During his career, Sabonis has had more opportunities to attack from the perimeter than Valančiūnas. He's more comfortable facilitating for himself and others out of the post, too.
Over his last three seasons, Sabonis has averaged 19.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists, with a 60.7 true shooting percentage.
He's far from a defensive ace, and having him and Valančiūnas out there together could expose the team against faster lineups, but Sabonis more than makes up for his weaknesses with his offense.
4. Rudy Gobert (France)
Rudy Gobert became the full-time starting 5 for the Utah Jazz ahead of the 2015-16 season. Since the start of that campaign, Gobert trails only Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard in total raw plus-minus (regular season and postseason).
That impact is largely the product of Gobert's overwhelming defensive presence. Not only is he the game's best rim protector, his mere presence deters plenty of drivers from every testing the paint. He's an underrated perimeter defender on the off chance that he gets switched onto a guard or wing, too.
Gobert's game-changing defense isn't all he brings to the table, though. As perhaps the game's most dangerous rim-runner, he has averaged 15.2 points while shooting 68.5 percent from the field over the last four seasons.
The pressure that Gobert puts on the rim with his rolls and offensive rebounding drags defenses inside, which creates a little extra space for his teammates outside.
3. Luka Dončić (Slovenia)
You know this tournament is stacked with individual talent when Luka Dončić checks in at the No. 3 spot.
After leading Slovenia to a EuroBasket gold as an 18-year old in 2017 with 14.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, Doncic went on to dominate the NBA.
Over his four-year NBA career, Dončić has put up 26.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.8 threes per game. His pace-adjusted numbers are arguably better than those of LeBron James' first four seasons.
Dončić still has room to grow. He has a well-below-average three-point percentage for his career and didn't show consistent effort on defense until his Dallas Mavericks routed the Phoenix Suns in their final few playoff games this past season.
More consistency in those two areas will make it hard to have Luka behind anyone in exercises like this.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)
Giannis Antetokounmpo's game is aesthetically unique, but in terms of his production, he has essentially become the modern version of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (only with more assists and fewer blocks).
Over the last four seasons, Giannis has averaged 31.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per 75 possessions along with a 63.1 true shooting percentage. With the exception of a consistent jump shot—which he's repeatedly proven that he doesn't really need—there's nothing he can't do.
Giannis can score at will inside, dominate the glass, facilitate for teammates and legitimately guard 1 through 5. He does all of that with an unrivaled level of athleticism.
At basically any other point in the history of basketball, he'd undoubtedly be the best player in EuroBasket. He just happens to be part of the most star-laden era of the tournament's history.
1. Nikola Jokić (Serbia)
Having Nikola Jokić over Giannis Antetokounmpo may feel controversial for some, but it shouldn't be. On top of rightfully winning each of the last two MVP awards, Jokić has a comfortable edge over Giannis statistically since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Jokić tops him in rebounds, assists, steals and threes per 75 possessions, true shooting percentage and box plus/minus (they're first and second leaguewide in BPM during that span, respectively).
Beyond the numbers, Jokić is arguably the best passer in the world right now. He has a preternatural sense for where defenses are (and where they will be), and he can either pass a teammate open or find him in a perfect spot. He delivers plenty of his dimes in style, too.
Jokić is also a better shooter than Giannis. In fact, he's one of the best mid-range shooters we've seen in decades.
Since 1996-97 (as far back as Stathead's Shot Finder tracks), Jokić has taken 3,138 two-point attempts from five feet and out. His 52.3 field-goal percentage on those shots ranks first among the 893 players with at least 500 attempts. The distance between his mark and second-place Muggsy Bogues' 48.9 is the same as the distance between second and 39th.
Giannis is the better defender than Jokić, but the gap isn't as wide as many think. Jokić is a plus defender, and he has been for years. Quick hands, great steal and defensive rebounding rates and a knack for being in the right spot all help. When he matched up with Giannis in a recent World Cup qualifier, he got the better of him on several key possessions.
Like Giannis, Jokić checks every box that a basketball player possibly can. His all-around dominance has lifted his career box plus/minus all the way up to second all-time, behind only Michael Jordan.
Jokić isn't only the best player at EuroBasket 2022, he's the best player in the world. And this tournament features the two players who currently offer him the toughest competition for that title.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats courtesy of Basketball Reference, Stathead, Cleaning the Glass, NBA.com and PBPStats.com.