Doncic, ‘Antet’, Jokic, new ‘Big Three’ of European basketball

EuroBasket 2022 is nearing the end of the first phase of the competition and three names stand out: Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.

The three signed contracts, put in stellar performances match after match, grabbed the headlines, and most of all led their teams to lead their respective groups.

To find a domain similar to these three European NBA stars, three legends such as Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker burst onto the basketball scene and ruled European basketball at will in the early 2000s. must be traced back to almost 20 years.

Or, going back a little further, something similar happened in the 80s of the last century. Legends like Drazen Petrovich and Alvidas Sabonis (along with Toni Kucock and Sarnas Marciulionis) have written their names in gold letters in the basketball history books. European.

Luka Doncic (Slovenia)

26.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists

The Slovenian point guard started EuroBasket somewhat hesitantly, but in the last two games he has again demonstrated the level that has placed him among the world’s basketball elite and one of the NBA’s most recognizable stars. . Against Germany he added his 36 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, but his performance against France on the final day will go down in EuroBasket history: 47 points! 5 rebound assists. Doncic is practically unstoppable when he is at that level. And he’s only 23.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)

31 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists

A man in a child. From day one, the Greek national team power forward has shown that his bountiful physique allows him to overwhelm his rivals any way he pleases. In his debut against Croatia he had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 of his assists. Against Italy he scored 25, 11 and 3 goals and defended his last best after resting against Great Britain. Against Ukraine he scored 41 points. (Second highest score by a Greek player in EuroBasket after 46 achieved by Nikos Garris in 1987) and 9 rebounds. depends heavily on the performance of “Antet”. And so far, nothing from Bucks has disappointed.

Nikola Jokic (Serbia)

19.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists

A base in the body of the center. Jokic is probably the most complete player in the tournament. Not only can you sign great individual performances, but you can also let your teammates play. Unlike the case of Doncic, and most of all Antetokounmpo, the Serb has a much higher quality team around him and probably doesn’t need the Nuggets exhibition so much. Jokic found a jar of essence and had 29 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals… almost nothing.