Tribute to the Champs: JaKarr Sampson

First-year center JaKarr Sampson came off the bench to provide Virtus Segafredo Bologna with a great boost all season long and played a vital role in his team lifting the 7DAYS EuroCup trophy.

Sampson gave Virtus tremendous depth at the center position as he was among the most productive players on a per-minute basis in all of the competition. He started in just five of his 19 appearances, but made the most of his minutes. Despite averaging just 13:26 minutes per game and never playing more than 19:41 minutes in any of his 19 appearances, Sampson still averaged 7.3 points, converting 63.4% on his two-point shots, and pulled down 3.4 rebounds per game. Sampson was one of EuroCup's best two-point shot-makers, ranking second with 9.2 two-pointers per-40 minutes. He also ranked 11th in defensive rebounding (7.2 per-40 minutes).

When it mattered the most is when Sampson was at his best. During Virtus's postseason run, his scoring average improved to 10.0 points per game and he also delivered a total of 5 blocks in four playoff games on the way to the title, including 3 blocked shots in the semifinal road win at Valencia Basket. In limited action during the season, Sampson had a total of seven games with 10 or more points and six games with 5 or more rebounds, including the EuroCup Final against Frutti Extra Bursaspor, which he finished with 11 points on 5-for-5 two-point shooting and 5 rebounds. In what was just his first season in Europe, Sampson can call himself a EuroCup champion.