Tribute to the Champs: Shane Larkin

Shane Larkin produced another special season for Anadolu Efes Istanbul in which he was chosen to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the first time and helped his team defend the title.

Larkin averaged 14.6 points and 5.3 assists in regular-season action. He scored 25 points or more four times and Efes won all four of those games - on the road against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and CSKA Moscow and at home against ALBA Berlin. Larkin had a season-high 28 points to go with 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and a PIR of 36 in Round 33 against ALBA. In short, when Larkin was at his best, Efes was even tougher to beat and with that in mind, Larkin stepped up at the crucial moments of the season.

He ranked second in the playoffs in average PIR with 18.8. He was also third in assists (4.8 apg.) and steals (1.3 spg.) during the playoffs while ranking eighth in scoring with 14.8 points and third with 2.5 triples per game. In the playoffs opener against Milan, Larkin came through with 16 points, 5 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 15 in a 48-64 road win. In Game 3, he scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, including 8 points in the last 4 minutes to lift Efes to a 77-65 victory. In Game 4's series-clinching 75-70 win, Larkin tallied 8 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals for a PIR of 17.

Larkin continued to shine at the Final Four, too. In the semifinals against Olympiacos Piraeus, Larkin led all scorers with 21 points and added 7 assists with just 1 turnover. He did a little bit of everything in the championship game against Real Madrid, finishing the most important game of the season with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 4 fouls drawn. He took the last shot of the game, deep into the shot clock, denying Real the chance to even rebound the ball in the final seconds. It was a key play that allowed Larkin to finish a fabulous season with another EuroLeague title!