Fansided

The Euroleague’s 50 best players: 30-21

By Trevor Magnotti

BELGRADE, SERBIA - MAY 18: dLuigi Datome, #70 of Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul in action during the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague F4 Semifinal B game between Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul v Zalgiris Kaunas at Stark Arena on May 18, 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Francesco Richieri/EB via Getty Images)
BELGRADE, SERBIA - MAY 18: dLuigi Datome, #70 of Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul in action during the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague F4 Semifinal B game between Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul v Zalgiris Kaunas at Stark Arena on May 18, 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Francesco Richieri/EB via Getty Images) /
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MESTRE, ITALY – MAY 09: Mindaugas Kuzminskas (R) of EA7 competes with Paul Stephan Biligha (L) of Umana during the LBA LegaBasket match between Reyer Umana Venezia and Olimpia EA7 Armani Milano at Palasport Taliercio on May 9, 2018 in Mestre, Italy. (Photo by Arturo Presotto – Iguana Press/Getty Images)
MESTRE, ITALY – MAY 09: Mindaugas Kuzminskas (R) of EA7 competes with Paul Stephan Biligha (L) of Umana during the LBA LegaBasket match between Reyer Umana Venezia and Olimpia EA7 Armani Milano at Palasport Taliercio on May 9, 2018 in Mestre, Italy. (Photo by Arturo Presotto – Iguana Press/Getty Images) /

Mindaugas Kuzminskas, SF, AX Olimpia Milano

Nationality/College: Lithuanian

2017-18 stats: 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists (AX Milano)

Career synopsis: Kuzminskas has been a Euroleague staple since 2011, when he broke in with Zalgiris. He played three seasons with Unicaja Malaga as well, playing well enough to earn a contract from the New York Knicks in 2016. He was a bench player for them for one season, and was waived early into last year before returning to Europe with Olimpia Milano. He’s also been a staple on the Lithuanian national team, and was one of the team’s leading scorers at 2017 Eurobasket.

Representative Highlight Play:

What’s his skill set?: A deceptive athlete that can take pretty much anyone in Europe off the dribble. Kuzminskas is a strong playmaker at the three, able to get to the rim with ease. He’s also a strong open-court player who can be a deceptive transition weapon. Defensively his consistency has never been where you’d like it to be for him to be a true star, but he’s serviceable.

What makes him special?: In the European game, Kuzminskas’s athleticism shines, and he’s such a fluid athlete that he glides around the court. He is a great fit with the rest of Milano’s roster, which is loaded with playmakers and will allow him to capitalize on advantage situations against a broken defense. He also fits well into their colorful cast of characters, as he’s a fiery personality that gets along pretty well with everyone. His camaraderie could be the difference that pushes Milano into the playoff picture.

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