We are into the second round of our matchups as we seek to crown the greatest All-EuroLeague First Team! This time it's 2006 against 2004!
Vote for the best All-EuroLeague First Team in history: 2006 vs. 2004
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Each season, the top five players in Europe’s premier basketball competition are recognized with All-EuroLeague First Team honors. Over the past quarter century, these elite selections have showcased a who’s who of basketball legends, from rising stars to Hall of Famers and everything in between.
This summer, we're putting them all head-to-head to answer one big question: Which All-EuroLeague First Team stands above the rest?
We seeded all 24 teams into a bracket created by our panel of in-house EuroLeague experts.
Several times a week, we’ll reveal a new matchup on the official EuroLeague Instagram account, where you can vote for your favorite. In the first round, eight teams were eliminated and now 16 remain. Who will you vote into the quarterfinals?
Right here on the official EuroLeague website, you’ll find a quick breakdown of each matchup – and which team we think deserves the edge.
Let the debates begin. Let the voting begin. Let the best team win!
2006 vs. 2004
2006
- Theo Papaloukas, CSKA Moscow (age 29)
- Juan Carlos Navarro, Barcelona (age 25)
- Anthony Parker, Maccabi (age 30)
- Luis Scola, Baskonia (age 26)
- Nikola Vujcic, Maccabi (age 27)
2004
- Sarunas Jasikevicius, Maccabi (age 28)
- Marcus Brown, CSKA (age 30)
- Anthony Parker, Maccabi (age 28)
- Mirsad Turkcan, CSKA (age 27)
- Arvydas Sabonis, Zalgiris (age 39)
This matchup is super interesting because these are all players from the same era! The 2006 team already advanced to this stage when the fans voted for it over a dangerous 2014 side. Team 2006 is perfectly balanced with a natural player at every position. Papaloukas is a team-first playmaker, Navarro an efficient scorer, Parker was at the time a wo-time reigning MVP – and still to date the only player to be named MVP twice, Scola is as dangerous a low-post scorer as there was and Vujcic is in his triple-double prime.
However, that team would surely have its work cut out for it against the 2004 version, with Parker just two years younger. Jasikevicius is a point guard who would do whatever it takes to win. Brown is one of the best scorers in the continent and Turkcan averages a double-double. The most-significant difference maker might just be Sabonis, who even at age 39 was an absolutely dominant force. Don’t believe me? Listen to what Vujcic said about him years later in the Symphony in Yellow documentary.
While on paper the matchup between these teams seems super exciting, I think that the 2004 version would walk away as the winner. I give it the advantage in the backcourt and at center, with Parker obviously a wash. The duel at power forward would be close, with Scola the better scorer and Turkcan the better rebounder. All things considered, the 2004 team is one of the strongest so far in this competition and gets my vote. Agree or disagree?