BasketNews Players Survey: EuroLeague GOAT, new rule, and best offseason signing / News

The results of the BasketNews players' survey show that the majority of players would like to team up with Nikola Mirotic, while the introduction of new rules, such as live ball timeouts and an increase in personal fouls, has the potential to improve the overall EuroLeague experience.

Credit: AP - Scanpix, Vangelis Stolis, L.Sgamellotti - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration/A.Zaikauskas (edited)

For the very first time, BasketNews proudly presents the EuroLeague Players Survey.

23 EuroLeague players shared their candid thoughts anonymously on various aspects of the league, including the best EuroLeague players, predictions for the 2023-24 season, potential changes to improve the EuroLeague product, and even aspects they are not particularly fond of.

Please keep in mind that because we received responses from only a relatively small number of players, this survey doesn't try to represent the views of all EuroLeague players.

Instead, it provides a space for players to share their thoughts, express their desires, and spark entertaining and quality basketball discussions among EuroLeague fans.

In this initial survey segment, we will delve into the offseason, the best EuroLeague players, and the introduction of new rules and changes to improve the EuroLeague product.

In future editions of the BasketNews GM survey, we will explore predictions for the 2023-24 season and further insights into what players appreciate and might not about the EuroLeague.

We also encourage you to take a look at the BasketNews GM Survey.

• Part I: best EuroLeague signing and next NBA player
  Part II: EuroLeague winners and best NBA newcomer
  Part III: Dubai plans and biggest EuroLeague's threat

The best off-season signing

The offseason witnessed a group of significant and unexpected player transfers. Interestingly, EuroLeague players and GMs held the same opinion regarding the standout signing of the offseason.

Players displayed even stronger conviction than GMs, collectively declaring that Real Madrid's acquisition of Facundo Campazzo was the best offseason move, with one-third of respondents selecting him as their top choice.

Although none of the GMs mentioned him in the survey, Nikola Milutinov earned recognition among his peers, securing the second spot in this category with nearly 22% of the votes.

Kemba Walker was the final player to receive multiple votes in the poll.

Additionally, the list of notable mentions included Willy Hernangomez (FC Barcelona), Sterling Brown (ALBA), Nikola Mirotic (EA7 Emporio Armani), Darius Thompson (Anadolu Efes), Georgios Papagiannis (Fenerbahce), and Kostas Sloukas (Panathinaikos).

A team that had the best off-season

According to the players, two teams stood out in the 2023 offseason, with Panathinaikos Athens and Crvena Zvezda Belgrade earning recognition as the most successful teams in free agency.

They each garnered an impressive 34.8% of the votes, collectively dominating two-thirds of the poll.

Olympiacos Piraeus was the sole other team to secure multiple votes in this category.

Panathinaikos made waves by appointing the iconic EuroLeague head coach Ergin Ataman and adding 11 new players to their roster.

Notable additions include former Olympiacos Piraeus floor general Kostas Sloukas, Mathias Lessort, the second-best player in efficiency last year, and Juancho Hernangomez from the NBA.

Red Star, who acquired one of the league's top point guards in Shabazz Napier and the legendary Serbian playmaker Milos Teodosic, have assembled one of the deepest squads in the league. They also have set a clear goal of reaching the Final Four.

Player you wish to team up

This poll generated many mentions, yet only three players secured multiple votes.

Nikola Mirotic emerged as the player of choice for other EuroLeague players, albeit by a narrow margin, with 17.4% of the votes.

The question was open-ended, considering not just skills but also personality and the overall image of an ideal teammate.

Edy Tavares and Jan Vesely shared the honors in the second position, each collecting 13% of the votes.

Notable mentions in the survey included Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas, Georgios Papagiannis, Cory Higgins, Shavon Shields, Juancho Hernangomez, Facundo Campazzo, Codi Miller-McIntyre, Wade Baldwin, Kevin Punter, Rokas Jokubaitis, and Milos Teodosic.

Best EuroLeague player

Edy Tavares and Nikola Mirotic have emerged as frontrunners for this unofficial best EuroLeague player honor, with both receiving an equal number of votes, resulting in a tie at 31.8%.

Because assessing the best player is highly subjective, some voters considered Edy Tavares the most dominant player.

Mike James secured the third spot with 18% of the votes, and Kevin Punter was the last player to garner multiple votes.

Interestingly, EuroLeague general managers gave Edy Tavares a clear first-place ranking, with Facundo Campazzo coming in second. However, Campazzo did not receive a single vote in the players' survey.

EuroLeague GOAT

While Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the GOAT in the NBA (and in basketball in general), the EuroLeague landscape didn't have a clear frontrunner for this title. 

With so many outstanding players having played in the EuroLeague, it begs the question: who do our players think is the all-time best?

As per the players' survey results, there was a notable consensus, with no substantial competition.

40.1% of the respondents selected Vassilis Spanoulis as their EuroLeague GOAT.

Nando De Colo claimed the second spot with 13.7% of the votes. Dimitris Diamantidis, Dejan Bodiroga, and Sarunas Jasikevicius also garnered multiple votes.

Additional mentions included Kyle Hines, Nick Calathes, Georgios Printezis, Manu Ginobili, and Arvydas Sabonis.

One change in the EuroLeague

Sometimes, EuroLeague players feel left out regarding essential decisions clubs and executives make. What if they had the power to influence change? What would be at the top of their priority list?

BasketNews posed this question to EuroLeague players, asking, "If you could make one change in the EuroLeague as the CEO, what would it be?"

Since it was an open-ended question, there were various responses, but a few key themes emerged, with most relating to travel and the calendar.

A 27.3% of the votes mentioned the need for a more favorable schedule. A specific idea was to have two games on the road or two games at home during double weeks, providing players with additional rest.

Another 18.2% of the votes emphasized improvements in traveling conditions. Players advocated for "an agreement with flight companies to have charter planes the same for all teams."

Additional ideas included:

• Fewer games
• Expansion
• Elimination of the Final Four, instead opting for semifinals and a final series
• Salary cap
• All-Star Game
• Christmas breaks
• A single jersey sponsor for the league
• Higher salaries

New rule

Another question prompted many responses centered on new rules players would like to see introduced in the EuroLeague.

Multiple players echoed a few ideas.

Approximately 16.7% of the votes supported the introduction of live ball timeouts. Some players even specified the use of this rule in Europe, advocating for live ball timeouts only in the second half, fourth quarters, or the last two minutes of the game.

This change could make the end of games more captivating, preventing intentional missed free throws from running out of the shot clock and encouraging more game-winning shots or buzzer-beaters.

Another 16.7% desired an increase in personal fouls from 5 to 6, mirroring the NBA's rule. 

Introducing the defensive 3-second violation in Europe, akin to the NBA, also garnered multiple votes (11.1%).

A wish to allow challenging fouls with the potential to overturn a call was voiced by 11.1% of players.

There were some lighthearted suggestions as well, including one player humorously proposing that referees should apologize after making bad calls during games.

• Reducing the stops/pauses in the game
• Treating a foul in a fast break before the shooting motion as an unsportsmanlike foul
• Implementing mandatory reviews in the final two minutes of a game
• Introducing a rule where in the last two minutes, a single free throw is taken, and it counts as two points
• Adapting traveling violation rules similar to the NBA
• Applying the ACB out-of-bounds/live play rule
• Allowing the continued use of a challenge as long as it remains successful