Sportando Assigns the Euroleague Season Awards

FIRST TEAM

MVP - Sergio Rodriguez (Real Madrid)

In this season Rodriguez has played at the highest level in his career on both ends of the court. By far the best passer in Europe, he has done an incredible job in controlling the tempo of his team and has shown excellent decision making and shot selection, shooting at a really high percentage and displaying a wide array of moves. Overall he's surely the player which influences the most this great Real Madrid team.

Carlos Arroyo (Galatasaray)

If Galatasaray has been able to get to the Playoffs despite being depleted by many injuries, that's mainly because of Arroyo, who has led his team on offense while playing a high amount of possessions. He's sure one of the best pick and roll players in Euroleague, almost unguardable due to his ability to both pull up off the dribble and get to the rim, and has also shown an impressive leadership in the clutch.

Keith Langford (EA7 Milan)

The Alphonso Ford Trophy winner has scored at an incredible rate, leading a sometimes stagnant offense until a minor injury slowed him down. Probably the most efficient guard in isolation plays, his versatility has made him hardly stoppable by opponent's defense.

Bryant Dunston (Olympiacos)

His physicality and toughness in the paint have destroyed many opposing frontcourts. His defensive effort has brought to him the Best Defender Trophy, but he has done also an outstanding job on the offensive end, relentlessly fighting for position and showing great hands to catch the entry pass, great awareness on the pick and roll and an uncanny attitude to play through contacts.

Ante Tomic (FC Barcelona)

Surely the best big man in Europe, on offense Tomic has been almost unguardable in single coverage, hitting from the low post as well as off pick and roll plays, and has been a centerpiece in Barcelona offense also thanks to his passing ability and high-level court vision, particularly off double-teams. He has also had a key defensive role, at times maybe overlooked, particularly thanks to his timing in helps and defensive movements.

SECOND TEAM

Malcolm Delaney (FC Bayern Munich)

The American guard has been one of the most unguardable players in this Euroleague season, playing both guard position and using his astonishing speed to beat his man with ridiculous ease, doing a great job in running in transition, getting to the basket and drawing fouls. He has also displayed great leadership on the court, taking many responsibilities in the clutch and showing a really improved decision making, has shot really well from deep and has also played good defense on average.

Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid)

Fernandez has played with impressive offensive efficiency, making him one of the best scoring wing of the season: his versatility and craftiness are hardly matchable, and his creativity off the dribble, pick and roll execution and court vision have given to him a key role in the backcourt, particularly when playing at the 3 next to two other ball-handlers. He has also played good defense, despite as usual an excessive tendency to flop.

Sonny Weems (CSKA Moscow)

Not always assertive as someone would expect, nonetheless Weems has always step up in the clutch, giving a good number of key wins to his team. Hardly matchable in the backcourt due to his above average athleticism and as always unstoppable in transition, he also seems to be more comfortable in creating out of pick and roll plays,

Andres Nocioni (Laboral Kutxa)

In a young Spanish team, often lacking awareness on both ends of the floor and also depleted by a lot of injuries, Nocioni has taken a key leadership role. He has played at both forward position, bringing an excellent all-around contribution and being always aggressive on the court: his versatility on defense and rebounding presence have been essential in a thin frontcourt, and on offense he has also shot really well from three point range.

Derrick Brown (Lokomotiv Kuban)

This excellent Lokomotiv Kuban season starts with the huge work of coach Pashutin. In the roster Brown has emerged thanks to his astonishing athleticism and quickness, which have made him a key player to his team on both ends of the floor.

RISING STAR

Bogdan Bogdanovic (Partizan Belgrade)

There's no doubt that the Serbian guard has been the most impressive youngster in this Euroleague season. He has displayed incredible leadership and maturity, leading his team with his versatile and fundamentally sound game on offense, playing also at the point because of Westermann's injury, making some huge plays in the clutch and showing excellent effort on defense, sometimes even despite some foul trouble.

BEST DEFENDER

Kyle Hines (CSKA Moscow)

Hines has been a defensive factor for CSKA thanks to his versatility and ability to constantly switch on different players, and he's for sure one of the best big men in Europe in defending the pick and roll. He has also done an outstanding job in getting rebounds, often outrebounding bigger players, and has made a lot of clutch defensive plays in this Euroleague season.

COACH OF THE YEAR

David Blatt (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

Bringing this Maccabi Tel Aviv team to the Final Four has been a really impressive achievement. Blatt has done a great job with a team severely limited, basically without Shawn James and while playing the most part of the preseason without a single power forward. With a team so light in the frontcourt the key adjustment on offense has been an almost perfect spacing, with a superb use of the corners and a wide open paint, which has been perfectly used on pick and roll plays, with at least two high-level ball-handlers always on the court. On the other end he has built a suffocating defense thanks to impressive rotations and perfect timing on double-teams, despite a slightly undersized roster.

Written by P. Villa