Top 10 all-time best Euroleague point guards

European basketball differs from the NBA in that it is more cerebral. It is slower, more thoughtful, more structured… and much less physical or instinctive than its American counterpart. Having a skilled point guard is literally essential to winning the EuroLeague.

Here is our Top 10 list of the best playmakers in the modern era of the EuroLeague, based on the following criteria: impact on the game, intrinsic talent, presence in big moments, ability to perform over time, and statistics.

We have also chosen not to include combo guards such as Milos Teodosic. We’ll save them for our guards.

10) Luka Doncic : Every phenomenon deserves a small exception. This 10th place is our wild card. The Slovenian’s ‘intrinsic talent’ slider was sooooo high that all questions about his lack of longevity at the highest level are overlooked. Because yes, Luka Dončić reached this ranking at less than 20 years of age with just over 100 EuroLeague games under his belt. He started to find his feet during his rookie season in 2016. Then, in his sophomore year, ‘El Matador’ won his first Rising Star title. Yes, his ‘first title,’ because he achieved a back-to-back the following season. Let’s look back at the 2017-2018 season. At 19, he was THE leader of the biggest club in the world. La Casa Blanca had a stellar regular season, at the end of which Luka became the youngest MVP in EuroLeague history. In the playoffs, the Blancos ship stayed steady thanks to its captain. And in the final, the Balkan genius defeated Fenerbahçe and clinched the long-awaited Decima. He also won the Final Four MVP award. This is unprecedented and is unlikely to happen again anytime soon. Of course, the fact that Luka Doncic has only played two full seasons in Europe’s premier competition prevents us from ranking him higher.

9) Theódoros Papaloukás : Out of 252 EuroLeague games played throughout his career, Théo Papaloukas only started in 20. And there are plenty of unusual facts about this player. The point guard is over 2 metres tall, and when he was eligible for the 1999 draft, he was still playing in the Greek second division. It was only at the age of 24 that he made his EuroLeague debut. There are no two players like Théo, especially when you consider how he has performed on the continent. Although he had more than enough talent to be the star point guard on any team, he accepted without complaint the role of sixth man. It’s a very specific category in which he is the undisputed GOAT. The Athenian has elevated this ‘dirty’ role to an art form. There’s no need to score a lot when you can dominate your opponent through control. In fact, he only occasionally scored more than 10 points. On the other hand, his knowledge of the game was such that he constantly improved the roster on the court. Arriving in the early 2000s at the Moscow giant, which had been dormant for too long, Theo Papaloukas immediately woke up this huge institution. Wearing the red and blue colours, the point guard played in eight consecutive Final Fours and lifted two trophies. All this was accompanied by one regular season MVP title and one EuroLeague Final Four MVP title. His lack of impressive statistics and truly remarkable performances keeps him firmly in ninth place.

8) Sergio Rodríguez Gómez : ‘El Chacho’ did not earn this nickname by chance. This direct reference to his Canarian origins literally translates as ‘The Kid’. And with good reason, as Sergio Rodriguez was a ray of sunshine on the court, lighting up the game with his creative style and elite vision. He was entertainment personified. It was as if he had managed to extract that touch of childlike madness and apply it at the highest level. The Spaniard remains a winner nonetheless. Whether playing for CSKA Moscow or Real Madrid, he has won. His three EuroLeague titles reflect his innovative champion’s character. As a point guard, he mastered the basics, such as pick and roll quality and tailor-made passing. But unlike many of his counterparts at the time, he imposed a fast tempo when it was not yet the norm as it is today. Add to that an outside shooting ability as clinical as his drives and attempts in crunch time. Despite spending only five years in the NBA, Sergio Rodriguez was among the top three most prolific passers and three-point shooters in the league at the time of his retirement. What’s more, much like Theódoros Papaloukás, he also won his only regular season MVP award as a luxury sixth man.

7) Šarūnas Jasikevičius : General Jasikevičius takes centre stage. This versatile leader has a plethora of roles. He is a master chef who knows the recipe for winning the EuroLeague inside out. He is a general because of his ability to lead an entire team in his wake. And finally, an actor thanks to his unparalleled charisma. Before becoming a legendary coach, Šarūnas Jasikevičius was a cerebral point guard. He did not possess outstanding physical qualities, but at the same time, he did not need them too much. His basketball IQ was so high that it completely compensated for his lack of explosiveness. When we think of the archetypal European point guard, we think of Šarūnas Jasikevičius. This is somewhat paradoxical for someone who spent much of his training in the United States. His legacy lies in his almost mystical ability to win again and again… with teams that could not be more different from one another. This apostle of teamwork led almost all of his teams to victory. First in 2003 with Barcelona, then back-to-back with Maccabi, before concluding his winning streak with Panathinaikos. In the space of six years, the Lithuanian won more than half of the EuroLeague titles with three different clubs. A unique achievement, crowned by an MVP title in the Final Four. It’s a shame he doesn’t have a few more performances and individual awards to his name.

6) Mike James : Let’s open the Mike James file. Like Luka, talent takes precedence over collective achievements here. Among the big questions surrounding the EuroLeague, the failure of its most prolific shooter to win a title remains an unsolved mystery. Yet it’s not for lack of trying. Baskonia, Panathinaikos, Milan, CSKA Moscow and now Monaco. Nowhere has the American managed to reach even the final. At least, until 2025, when he unfortunately lost to Fenerbahçe’s Šarūnas Jasikevičius (him again)! At 36, the uncrowned king has never seemed so close to the Holy Grail. If he wins, the 2024 regular season MVP will instantly be propelled into the GOAT discussion. But unfortunately for him, basketball remains a team sport where individual performance will always take a back seat to a championship ring (James Harden knows this all too well). He is surely aware of this, because behind his rather nonchalant façade lies an absolute fan of the orange ball. You can see it on the court. His knowledge of the game is extraordinary, and in terms of offensive talent, let’s not mince words: he is the GOAT! But it is impossible to include him in our Top 5 for the reasons mentioned above.

5) Vasilije Micić : There was no indication that Vasilije Micić would become one of the most dominant point guards of his generation. At Bayern and Red Star, he rarely played more than 18 minutes per game. Then, the first signs of the Micić phenomenon began to emerge during the 2017–2018 season in Kaunas. He finally exploded onto the scene the following year when he arrived at Anadolu Efes, where he became the franchise player of the last dynasty the EuroLeague has seen. There, he achieved back-to-back titles after failing for the first time against the great CSKA Moscow in 2019. We would probably be talking about a three-peat if COVID hadn’t come along. During this period of domination, when the Serbian became one of the few players to win two consecutive Final Four MVP titles, he dominated in a strange way. Everything was both very fast and very slow. It felt as if he was creating a kind of time warp in which it was impossible for anyone to take the ball from him. Already particularly robust (1.96m), the point guard was always in control of the situation. At the same time, when you can literally do everything with the ball in your hands, it helps. We are speaking in the past tense here because this was his prime, but even today at Hapoel he continues to mesmerise his opponents. His style, which is the antithesis of flashiness, proves to be incredibly effective. At this stage of the rankings, everything comes down to details. And in this case, it is his lack of longevity that lets him down. Especially given his success.

4) Sergio Llull : It’s hard to do better in terms of longevity. Sergio Llull alone is an open book on the modern era of the EuroLeague. He simply has the most games in the competition. We often (and rightly so) praise a player’s ability to remain at the highest level while wearing several different jerseys. However, we often forget how difficult it is to maintain elite standards within the same club for 20 years. This is especially true when it comes to Real Madrid, the biggest institution in European basketball, where competition and standards are constantly increasing. In Madrid, the club changes but Lull stays! There are many reasons for this extraordinary phenomenon. For sure, there is a dose of talent. His game, based above all on pure technique and vision, allows him to navigate the changing times more easily. However, we must not overlook the significant behind-the-scenes work undertaken by the Spaniard. At first glance, he may not seem as impressive as some of his peers. But he is much more resilient than most of his competitors, which allows him to remain clear-headed throughout a match and thus be clutch. These factors explain how he managed to win three EuroLeagues, win the 2017 MVP award and be named one of the top five players of the last decade. Although he has always been a leader, Real Madrid has never really revolved around him, which pushes him off our podium.

3) Nando De Colo 🥉 : The Professor is in the house! Why this nickname? Because Nando De Colo is fair, competent, skilful and a connoisseur of his favourite subject. For nearly seven years, our Frenchman has remained in the extremely exclusive club of 50-40-90 (percentages for 2-point shots, 3-point shots and free throws). It’s simple: no one else has even come close to this enormous achievement. These statistics reflect the player himself: a technically skilled point guard with an ability to read the game and a clarity of mind that no amount of pressure can stifle. These fundamentals are complemented by superb shooting, exceptional tactical flexibility, precise dribbling, clinical passing, numerous steals and a totally crazy clutch mentality. He is THE personification of Olympian calm. Like a fine wine, Nando De Colo seems to improve with age. At 38, he was recruited by the reigning European champions to give them every chance of achieving back-to-back titles. This follows an exceptional career, filled with two EuroLeague titles, one regular season MVP and a Final Four appearance in the same year. Let’s talk about the 2015-2016 season. Playing for Moscow, the northern Frenchman had one of the best seasons ever. Ahead of him are just two Greeks who raised the bar to the maximum with their uniqueness.

2) Dimitris Diamantidis 🥈 : For him, sacrifice for the team was practically built into his DNA. This robot named Diamantidis shone not for his offensive talent, but for his defence. As mentioned in our ranking of the best EuroLeague players of all time, ‘The Octopus’ was a wall all by himself. His combination of mobility, wingspan, speed, anticipation and pinpoint positioning made him a force to be reckoned with, the likes of which the Old Continent had never seen before. Six DPOY awards! Dimitris Diamantidis won the EuroLeague’s best defender award six times. This statistic ranks high on the list of unbreakable records. And be careful not to fall into the trap of caricaturing him as an elite defender incapable of scoring from beyond the three-point line. This player definitely operated in a completely different way from all other players. The more the clock ticked down, the tighter the defence became, the more the pressure increased… the better Dimitris Diamantidis played! This facilitator by nature did not hide when the jersey weighed a ton and the ball burned his hands. Loyal to Panathinaikos throughout his European career, he has won 1 regular season MVP, 2 Final Four MVPs and 3 EuroLeague titles. Almost too altruistic for the 21st century and indifferent to his statistics, he became the ultimate winner thanks to his constant activity. He clearly has the shoulders of the GOAT. But ours has that little bit of extra talent that makes him stand out.

1) Vassilis Spanoulis 🥇 : The best air conditioner installer on the Old Continent is Vassilis Spanoulis. Of course, when Dimitris Diamantidis is mentioned, his former teammate inevitably comes up in the conversation. From iconic duo to fierce rivals, this long-distance duel between the two point guards left its mark on the EuroLeague. The world of soccer had the Ronaldo-Messi duel, and we had Diamantidis-Spanoulis. Teammates for five years, they won the EuroLeague together in 2009. And a year later, Vassilis Spanoulis achieved the impossible: he joined Olympiacos! A betrayal for one part of Athens, but a blessing for the other. Because in Piraeus, the Greek player achieved a back-to-back victory that was as unexpected as it was exceptional. And “Kill Bill,” as he is nicknamed, had a lot to do with it. A lot. Vassilis Spanoulis is surely the worst player on this list in terms of physical quality. Even for the EuroLeague, his athletic abilities were well below average. Nevertheless, he is the ultimate proof that technique will always surpass strength. The point guard gave the impression of being a coach on the court. Setting up systems and adapting to the match-up in front of him to destroy his opponent was his daily routine. But Spanoulis is best known and recognized for having air-conditioned every arena on the continent. He also holds the all-time record for Final Four MVP (3) and has 1 regular season MVP to his credit. The GOAT, period.