The Euroleague’s 50 best players: 10-1

BELGRADE, SERBIA - MAY 18: Nando de Colo, #1 of CSKA Moscow during the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague F4 Semifnal B game between Semifinal A CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid at Stark Arena on May 18, 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Luca Sgamellotti/EB via Getty Images) /

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Real Madrid Sergio Llull during Liga Endesa Finals match (4th game) between Kirolbet Baskonia and Real Madrid at Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria, Spain. June 19, 2018. (Photo by COOLMedia/Peter Sabok/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

2. Sergio Llull, SG, Real Madrid

Nationality/College: Spanish

2017-18 stats: 9.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists per game (Real Madrid)

Career Synopsis: Llull has been a regular in Madrid’s rotation since 2008, and has been a staple on four ACB champions and two Euroleague title squads. He was drafted 34th in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, and he’s been thought of as a highly coveted draft-and-stash player since, even though he’s made it clear that he’s happy being the best player in Spain. With a Euroleague MVP and two All-Euroleague team nods, Llull has made a name for himself as one of Euroleague’s best players of the 2010s.

Representative Highlight Play:

What’s his skill set?: Llull has made a career out of suffocating opponents of options. On offense, that’s meant by being basically unguardable — he isn’t as good a pull-up shooter as Shved or as brilliant a passer as Chacho, but he combines both skill sets, making him even more dangerous. Defensively, he is one of the better on-ball defenders in the league, and his intensity helps set the tone for the rest of Real’s defense. He manages his role perfectly depending on the surrounding talent, stepping back into a complimentary role next to Chacho or Luka Doncic, and then taking over scoring in years like 2017, when he won MVP.

What makes him special?: No player navigates the balance of a consistent baseline of disciplined play with over-the-top “wow” moments. Most of the time in Euroleague, you’re getting one or the other, but Llull is able to both create consistent problems for the opponent throughout a game, and then throw them through a plate-glass window with 30-foot bombs at the end of a game. Watching Llull is like watching a fireworks show — a slow buildup of methodical work, leading up to two to three minutes of the most memorable explosions you’ve ever seen. Even having missed most of last year with a torn ACL, Llull still came back in time for the playoffs, and was instrumental in helping to get Madrid into the title game and had a pair of 13-point efforts to help push Madrid into the ACB finals. He’s fully healthy again, and that should mean more fireworks this season as Real Madrid attempts to defend their title.