10. Kevin Pangos, PG, Barcelona
Nationality/College: Canadian (Gonzaga)
2017-18 stats: 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists per game (Zalgiris)
Career synopsis: Since graduating from Gonzaga, Pangos has been a consistent winner at the Euroleague level, first with Gran Canaria in Spain and then with Zalgiris, where he was All-Euroleague Second Team this past season. He also has made three Summer League appearances, last with Washington in 2017.
Representative Highlight Play:
What’s his skill set?: Pangos combines one of the craftiest handles in Euroleague with 40 percent 3-point shooting to allow him to be one of the league’s best point guards. He unlocked a lot of Sarunas Jasikevicius’s more complex plays last year because of his ability to snake through a pick-and-roll, and then provide a decoy threat off-ball once the secondary action started. He is one of the best in the business at flipping from probing the lane himself to acting as a complimentary offensive player within the same offensive set.
What makes him special?: Pangos was one of the main reasons Zalgiris shocked everyone last year by making the Final Four. As an encore, he now gets the keys to a Barcelona offense that stagnated frequently under the command of a player with a similar skill set in Thomas Heurtel. The difference will likely come in terms of command of the game, where Pangos is a much more controlled and judicious distributor, and that should be exciting given the weapons placed around him. Pangos-to-Chris Singleton might be one of the most exciting pick-and-roll combos in the league this year, and his command of the game should decrease the volatility we’ve seen from Barca over the past two years.