Despite Joventut's struggles, the Croatian big man is showing that he still has plenty left in the tank
MVP favorite at 38? Ante Tomic is showing no signs of slowing down
Trademarks
2 Mins read
If Ante Tomic and fine wine have one thing in common, it's that they get better with age.
Tomic has already well established his status as one of the best big men in Europe this century, both from his time in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and also the BKT EuroCup. And now, just a few months before turning 38 years old, the Joventut Badalona center is playing some of the best basketball in his career.
After seven regular-season games, Tomic is without a doubt one of the best players in the EuroCup, registering MVP numbers like few others and making an early case to be one of the favorites to win the award.
A starter in every game he's played so far, Tomic averages 14.9 points, a league-high tying 9.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and a PIR of 24.1 over just 25:29 minutes. The numbers are impressive enough and become even more spectacular when compared to the other players in the EuroCup and to himself, since we’re talking about career highs in both points and rebounds.
As Tomic himself admits, the most notable improvement comes in rebounding, where he is posting almost double the 5.6 boards he averaged last season. "I feel good, healthy and eager to play," Tomic tells Eurohoops. "There is a lot of talk about it being my best version, but what I see is that the biggest difference is in rebounding. The points don't matter so much, a game with a few more or less points... it doesn't matter so much. In the EuroCup above all, I have seen a big difference in rebounding. I am playing well, I am happy, but I don't see it as something so special that it is talked about so much."
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