Nick Kalathis overtakes Spanoulis to become king of assists

Nick Kalathis is now aiming for six assists and one more to surpass Vassilis Spanoulis and become the all-time best passer in the EuroLeague. The classic with Real, today Friday (11/2) in Madrid, can put him at the top instead of the former Olympiacos captain who gave in the last game of his career (Olympiacos-Khimki 82-75, last year on 9 ) 9 last passes and reached a total of 1607 in his career.

Kalathis, however, has six fewer, with nearly a hundred matchsticks fewer. Spanoulis has 358 games to his name while Nick has 266. The truth is the 33-year-old Greek-American has long had the highest average of any past and current Ace. EuroLeague. Kalathis shares six assists per game, who has an individual record of 18 passes (twice, against Budosnost in 2019 when he made a triple double with 11p and 12p, but also against CSKA in 2010). In a total of seven games, he has given at least 15 assists, no other has so many games with so many passes.

Nick Kalathis overtakes Vassilis Spanoulis in absolute numbers to become the king of assists and with the ball in a friendly company of inspired guards we’ve admired over the past few decades. At the head of a team with a strong Greek personality, because the all-time top ten includes Spanoulis and Kalathis as well as Dimitris Diamantidis (5th with 1255 assists), Costas Sloukas (6th with 1220) and Thodoris Papaloukas (9th with 977 ). And in 11th place Nikos Zisis (885).

A testament to the dominance of “Greek thought” in basketball. The fortunate circumstance of coexistence of four top guards (Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Papaloukas, Zisis) launched the national team, their successors (Kalathis-Sloukas) hope that one day they will repeat the miracles of their predecessors.

Overall, the ten best passers in the EuroLeague:

1. Vassilis Spanoulis358 games, 1607 assists
2. Nick Kalathis, 266, 1601
3. Sergio Rodriguez, 322, 1518
4. Thomas Hertel246, 1316
5. Dimitris Diamantidis278, 1255
6. Costas Sloukas, 302, 1220
7. Sergio Jul,332, 1211
8. Milos Teodosic237, 1126
9. Thodoris Papaloukas252, 977
10. Marcelino Huerta, 228, 892

Kalathis has the best average in the Greek championship (6.6), where he managed to surpass 1,000 assists (1,006, to be precise) in 154 games, which puts him 5th in the history of the professional championship . What he did with Panathinaikos in Greece, he is continuing in Spain with Barcelona. Saronas Yassikevitsios chose him as the leader of the Blaugrana from the start and the intelligent Nick is still a playmaker who, in his eyes, is the pass first.

Giorgos Limniatis agrees, who analyzed the top passers on behalf of Sportish and remembered his youth when he developed into a second passer, especially when he switched to Papagos after Olympiakos. In a Korats Cup match, he had a record 15 assists (and 13 in the league against Sporting) at a time when statistics counted finishing passes differently.

“Nick is what we call Pass First. His first choice is the pass he designs in his head before the others understand. It’s not taught, it comes straight from the player’s talent. It’s an innate one Advantage.” says the 50-year-old coach, who notes: “Playmakers like Kalathis can make the pass that nobody else has imagined. They are painters on the floor like Teodosic, Sergio Rodriguez and Nick’s coach who of course was superb in execution…”

– Something Kalathis doesn’t have.

“Yes, only that makes it even more difficult to create in the following sense. Most of his defenses let go of the shot, underplay, challenge him, and want to interrupt his creation. “Any coach will choose to lose the game if Kalathis scores 30 points than give him suitable ground to take advantage of his teammates…”

– Do you mean they don’t refer to him as, say, Spanoulis?

“Exactly. The defense in a terrible hangman like Spanoulis was preset on him, with high, short, with auxiliary traps to cut him off from the part of the score. However, such a defense usually set his teammates free, which Vassilis, especially the big ones, found with championship. That’s how Sloukas is treated, who, like Spanoulis, has the advantage of playing flawlessly (and with great speed) after a dribble…”

– During Kalathis?

“They offer him the injection and seduce him. It’s not easy to… hold back. Nick, on the other hand, now has the knowledge to read what opposing defenses are telling him and insist on his own play as a first-pass playmaker. We said. He sees the template before even his teammate goes to him. It’s usually a stage ahead. Obviously working with the teammates he has developed each time to bring his collaboration over the basket. With Gist for example. Or Papagiannis at Panathinaikos. With Davis and Sunley in Barcelona. Of course, the quality of the teams also plays a role. If he didn’t have good teammates, some of his passes might not have hit the target, especially if we’re talking about three-point shots. However, he is an authentic passer and certainly the best in this field that we have seen in all these years.

– Better than Diamantidis?

“Dimitris had a multifaceted offer on the floor. His thoughts were certainly so focused on creation that Obradovic yelled at him to… shoot. His size helped him see the field, he had a great repertoire and certainly nobody underplayed him because he was a very reliable shooter among us. Great player and not just a great passer”

– papaloukas?

“I would put him on the same level as Nick. His mind was working on how to fit. Like Kalathis, he had a very easy pass in surprise. Especially when we’re talking about authentic passers-by…”

– I think you’ve had it from one end of the field to the other and in your repertoire…

“ONEsaid Ioannidis (laughs). I didn’t start thinking about the pass, it came about over time. Especially when I was playing for Papagos and setting the records…”

– Fifteen assists so it says today…25 since the statistical count has changed.

“Correctly. The pass to the three also counts. In my day, the statistics were stricter. It had to be a basket pass, mostly even at the head of the team. “Obviously it’s an assist if you take an unmarked player and score a three-pointer, but overdoing it counts as a pass while the recipient dribbles the first two and then shoots the basket is great.”

– Who were the best passers when you were playing basketball?

“Certainly Angelos Koronios, but he was also a terrible executioner. Also Andreas Vetoulas. That’s what I said from the start: Pass first…”

– Did you get ideas from the elders?

“Giannakis made impressive passes, especially since he went to Aris, where he didn’t have to keep scoring like he did with Ionikos. Galis was also a brilliant passer, especially towards the end of his career. And that wasn’t brilliant, Nick…”

– Someone we forgot?

” Of those who have recently played in the Euroleague, they definitely areand Cabasso. Amazing passer, very fast, also with clarity in the pass before…he executes it. Even though he’s smaller than everyone else, he’s so fast they can’t catch him, even in the NBA.”

Yes, that Facudo Cabasso. He also shares the record for most assists (19) in a night. He managed to do this in Real’s game against Alba (06/02/2020), while the record holder is none other than Stefan Jovic when he was still playing for Roter Stern (12/11/2015, against Bayern).

PS: We would add a pass mage to all of them. Ricky Rubio who, if he lived in Europe, there would be no player who could compete with him in inspiration and execution of an assist…