The veteran center's game continues to evolve, as he showed against Baskonia
Jan Vesely is still adding more strings to his bow at 34
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Regular Season
Round 8 of 34
Group Regular Season
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For fans of FC Barcelona, there were perhaps a few gasps on Friday night Jan Vesely as showed what he can do from long range in a 91-68 win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, a result that improved the Azulgrana to a 6-2 record.
Vesely was focused from the early going, hitting a pair of his trademark mid-range jumpers before adding a three-pointer in a 13-0 lead that allowed Barcelona to control the game from start to finish. The 34-year-old big man later buried two more three-pointers in the fourth quarter to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.
In other words, Vesely has officially extended his range beyond the three-point line, adding another string to his bow in the process.
Before this season, Vesely had hit 31 of the 111 shots he has attempted from three-point land (27.9% 3FG). As many as 23 of those three-pointers came in his first three EuroLeague seasons with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, when he played small forward. Since then, Vesely went 8 of 35 from beyond the arc (22.9% 3FG)
This season, he has hit all of his four three-point shots (100%). Friday night was also the second time that Vesely has hit 3-of-3 three-pointers in the EuroLeague game, having previously achieved this feat on December 23, 2010, almost 14 years ago, against – curiously enough – Baskonia.
"Not bad! I am working on it. I was open, I felt it so I shot them," Vesely told EuroLeague TV after the game. "I try to play for the team.
"Today, I had open shots and I was making them, so I am happy. I try to help the team as much as I can. Today, it was points and rebounds, and the next game it can be different"
Vesely finished the game with 17 points and season highs of 10 rebounds and a 28 PIR, all in less than 25 minutes.
His three-point accuracy should not surprise EuroLeague fans and experts, as Vesely has improved in many aspects of his game throughout his career. He transitioned to being a center when he returned to the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, coached at the time by Zeljko Obradovic.
In his first two seasons with Fenerbahce, Vesely hit just 96-of-203 free-throw attempts (47.2%), notably going 1 of 10 in the 2016 championship game against CSKA Moscow which his team lost in overtime. In his three seasons with Barcelona, Vesely has made 176-of-220 free throw attempts (80.0% FT).
In other words, Vesely keeps proving that age in just a number and a player can keep improving throughout his career. He is definitely a way more effective player than he was before, very different from the explosive big man that we saw with Partizan and Fenerbahce, but definitely still able to throw it down with authority.
With Vesely continuing to surprise fans with his progression, he is helping his longevity in the long run, which is certainly good news for EuroLeague viewers.