The Euroleague’s 50 best players: 10-1
6. Nicolo Melli, PF, Fenerbahce
Nationality/College: Italian
2017-18 stats: 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals per game (Fenerbahce)
Career synopsis: Melli’s Euroleague career enters its ninth season at just 27-years old. He came up through development with Olimpia Milano, but really cut his teeth as a budding star with Brose Bamberg, where he was All-Euroleague Second Team in 2017. His first season with Fenerbahce was a strong one, as he helped them make the title game for the third straight year.
Representative Highlight Play:
What’s his skill set?: Melli has an aesthetic similar to Blake Griffin, leveraging his passing and rebounding abilities to supplement a very strong face-up game. He has very strong vision, particularly from the elbow, and a great nose for the ball. The difference is that Melli is a killer 3-point shooter, hitting above 40 percent for the past three seasons and shooting 44.1 percent last year.
What makes him special?: Melli struggled early in his transition from Bamberg to Fenerbahce, but by the end of the season, Fener’s offense was humming whenever the 6-foot-9 Italian was in the game. It stands to reason that year two could be even more fruitful, as Melli will likely get more of a creation load early on as Tyler Ennis and Marko Guduric figure out how to take over for Bradley Wanamaker. The pairing of Melli and Jan Vesely is a deadly frontcourt to deal with — you need to have big men ready to throw bodies at Vesely rolling to the rim, but also quick and agile enough to chase Melli off screens. Fenerbahce seems like a strong bet to make a fourth straight title game, and it’ll be on the back of Melli if it happens.