The Euroleague's 50 best players: 50-41

The Euroleague’s 50 best players: 50-41

BELGRADE, SERBIA - MAY 20: Rudy Fernandez, #5 of Real Madrid and Pablo Laso, Head Coach celebrates after the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague F4 Championship Game between Real Madrid v Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul at Stark Arena on May 20, 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Rodolfo Molina/EB via Getty Images) /

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WIZINK CENTER, MADRID, SPAIN – 2018/06/03: Dino Radoncic (L) and Anzejs Pasecniks (R) during Real Madrid victory over Herbalife Gran Canaria (88 – 70) in Liga Endesa playoff semifinals (game 1) celebrated in Madrid at Wizink Center. June 3rd 2018. (Photo by Juan Carlos García Mate/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

49. Anzejs Pasecniks, C, Gran Canaria

Nationality/College: Latvian

Career synopsis: Drafted with the 25th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, who retain his stash rights. In Europe, he started out with VEF Riga in Latvia, but has been with Gran Canaria for the past three years. This is his first Euroleague season.

2017-18 stats: 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds per game

Representative Highlight Play:

What’s his skill set?: Offensive-focused 5. Pasecniks is primarily used as a dive man, although he can step out to the three-point line as well on occasion. His ability to set screens along with the catch radius of being 7-foot-2 and very mobile makes him a killer lob target.

What makes him special?: Euroleague big men usually break out between the ages of 23 and 24, as their bodies finally mature and things start to click in terms of speed of the game. Gran Canaria, and the 76ers, are banking on that happening as he gets more chances in Euroleague this year. He’s an incredibly fun player to watch, because with one step he can migrate from the free throw line at the start of a lob to finishing at the rim in a powerful dunk. If his defense finally turns the corner and he becomes the rim protector that his size makes him out to be, he should be another breakout candidate.

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