The guard led his team to victory as he surpassed 2,500 career points
Wade Baldwin shined on milestone evening as Fenerbahce took Game 1
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Wade Baldwin surpassed a personal milestone of 2,500 points as he totalled a team-high 15 in Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul’s 83-78 Game 1 victory over Paris Basketball in Tuesday night’s playoff opener, also sending another reminder that he is one of the most dangerous scorers in the continent.
Baldwin has now netted 2,514 points in his 180 games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. And although that might rank him only 40th (and rising) in the all-time scoring list, his average of 14.0 points is up there with the very best: all-time greats Vassilis Spanoulis (12.44) and Juan Carlos Navarro (12.18) both averaged lower than Baldwin’s per night score.
Showcasing another of his qualities, many of Baldwin’s baskets on Tuesday night came at important times: the former Olympiacos, Bayern, Baskonia and Maccabi guard twice broke long scoring droughts to get his team back on the scoreboard when they needed it the most, once in the first quarter and again in the third. He also finished the first half strong with the last two baskets before the break, including an ice-cool long two to beat the halftime buzzer.
Most importantly, Baldwin's propensity to seize the big moments in his hands saw him strike the evening’s decisive blow with another long two-point conversion with just 10 seconds left on the clock, giving Fenerbahce a two-possession lead which ultimately proved enough for a hard-fought victory.
This hasn’t been the easiest year for the 29-year-old, who had to endure two separate spells on the sidelines through injury, including a nine-game absence between Rounds 17 and 27.
But he’s now back and arguably in his best shape of the season, reaching double digits in scoring in four consecutive games following his heroics off the bench against Paris on Tuesday.
That might not be enough to earn him a spot in the starting five for Thursday’s Game 2, however. As coach Saras Jasikevicius somewhat enigmatically explained after the action: “We always say that our bench players are not exactly bench players. This is a luxury we have at Fenerbahce and we’re trying to use it to the best.
“For me, there are no starters or bench players. The starters are the guys who finish the game. So you can see the starting line-up at the end of the fourth.”
That might sound a little confusing, but one thing is crystal clear: Wade Baldwin is a major factor in Fenerbahce’s push for the EuroLeague crown.