The Euroleague's 50 best players: 20-11

The Euroleague’s 50 best players: 20-11

BELGRADE, SERBIA - MAY 18, 2018: Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul's Marko Guduric (L), Jan Vesely (2nd R) and Zalgiris Kaunas' Beno Udrih (2nd L) and Antanas Kavaliauskas (R) in action in their 2017/2018 Euroleague Final Four Semifinal B basketball match at Stark Arena. Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS (Photo by Stanislav KrasilnikovTASS via Getty Images) /

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ATHENS, GREECE – APRIL 20: Georgios Printezis, #15 of Olympiacos Piraeus competes with during the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Play Offs Game 2 between Olympiacos Piraeus v Zalgiris Kaunas at Peace and Friendship Stadium on April 20, 2018 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Nikos Paraschos/EB via Getty Images)Aaron White, #30 of Zalgiris Kaunas /

15. Georgios Printezis, PF, Olympiacos

Nationality/College: Greek

2017-18 stats: 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists per game (Olympiacos)

Career synopsis: Another Euroleague legend, Printezis has been at Olympiacos since 2011, after taking a two-year hiatus at Unicaja Malaga. He hasn’t been as noteworthy as his partner in crime, Vassilis Spanoulis, but that partnership has been a marriage made in heaven since the beginning. Printezis has two Euroleague titles and was All-Euroleague First Team in 2017. The San Antonio Spurs still own his NBA rights, but he appears perfectly happy claiming the crown as the best Euroleague power forward of the 2010s.

Representative Highlight Play:

What’s his skill set?: Printezis has done it all at the four for Olympiacos. He’s a solid post scorer, and also thrives in the pick-and-roll, where he’s able to finish through contact and presents a very conflicting defensive situation for teams trying to account for him rolling to the rim as Spanoulis drives. Defensively he’s not a singular imposing threat, but Olympiacos has nearly always had a solid defense while he’s been around because he’s a skilled team defender who can snuff out post opportunities and contains well in the pick-and-roll.

What makes him special?: Spanoulis may be fading, but Printezis is still going strong in year-14 in Euroleague. The Stockton/Malone comparison for these two is made a lot, but Printezis is about as close as you can get to Malone’s consistency throughout the years. He’s going to give you roughly 12 and five on a nightly basis, and presents the conundrum of putting back any shots that Kill Bill happens to miss late in games. Even if he starts to drop off due to age, he’s probably still a top-20 Euroleague player at minimum this year, and his reliability as a number two option of offense is fascinating.

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