One week before the decisive games of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season tip off at the Final Four in Madrid, Euroleague Basketball congratulates the 10 stars who have earned selection to the 2014-15 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams. The selection process for the All-Euroleague teams and the 2015 bwin MVP saw tens of thousands of fans from around the globe cast votes for their favorite players, as did media members from each of the countries with Euroleague teams. The voting is made without regard to player positions. The 10 players chosen come from seven different Euroleague teams. Six of them are first-time All-Euroleague selections. The All-Euroleague First Team is comprised of players from five different teams: guards Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos Piraeus and Milos Teodosic of CSKA Moscow; forwards Nemanja Bjelica of Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul and Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid; and center Boban Marjanovic of Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade. The All-Euroleague Second Team features Nando De Colo of CSKA, Andrew Goudelock of Fenerbahce, Rudy Fernandez of Madrid, Devin Smith of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv and Ante Tomic of FC Barcelona. Spanoulis has now been named to one of the All-Euroleague teams for the fifth season in a row and seventh time overall, which ties him with scoring king Juan Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona for the most selections in competition history. Teodosic is selected to his fourth All-Euroleague team, while Fernandez and Tomic are each honored for the third time.
2014-15 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams announced
Vassilis Spanoulis, Olympiacos Piraeus
A three-time Euroleague champion and three-time Final Four MVP, Spanoulis is now an All-Euroleague First-Team choice for the third time in the past four seasons. In both of those previous instances, he went on to lead Olympiacos to the title. Spanoulis shined early this season with a career-best scoring effort – 34 points – in an overtime road win against Neptunas Klaipeda, after which he ws named bwin MVP for October. Spanoulis finished as his team’s leader in playing time (28 mpg.), scoring (14.9 ppg.), assists (5.7 apg.), fouls drawn (5.8 per game) and performance index rating (15.5 per game). He led the 2014-15 Euroleague in fouls drawn, ranked seventh in both scoring and assists and was 13th in average index rating. Spanoulis was the Euroleague MVP for the 2011-12 season.
Milos Teodosic, CSKA Moscow
Despite coming off the bench most of the season, Milos Teodosic played some of his best basketball ever in leading CSKA Moscow to a competition-best 25-3 record with 7.1 assists per game, the second-highest average in Euroleague history. He also ranked first in three-pointers made, with 69, and heads to the Final four within striking distance of the Euroleague single-season record of 74. Teodosic ranked fourth in scoring (15 ppg.) and ninth in performance index rating (16.6 per game). He also set a Top 16 single-game assists record of 14 that was subsequently broken. Teodosic posted career-high numbers in scoring, rebounding (2.8 rpg.) and assists. This is the second All-Euroleague First Team selection for Teodosic, who was also the 2009-10 Euroleague MVP.
Nemanja Bjelica, Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
Nemanja Bjelica's tremendous all-around basketball skills were evident all season long as he led Fenerbahce to its first Final Four. Bjelica was seemingly everywhere while leading Fenerbahce in performance index rating (18.3 per game), rebounding (8.6 rpg.) and steals (1.2 spg.). He was also second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg.), blocks (0.7 bpg.) and fouls drawn (3.2 per game). Bjelica led all Euroleague players in defensive rebounds (180) and ranked second in index rating (494) and total rebounds (231). He posted career high numbers in points, rebounds, steals and blocks, and posted the rebounding average in the playoffs (11 rpg.) in 14 years. Bjelica, who was bwin MVP for March, makes his first All-Euroleague appearance in his fifth season in the competition.
Felipe Reyes, Real Madrid
Some players age like fine wine and Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid is definitely one of them. At age 35, Reyes played less than 20 minutes per game this season, but it was enough to average 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and a performance index rating of 14.5. On a per-minute basis, his stats show that Reyes was dominant. He ranked first in offensive rebounds per 40 minutes (5.4), third in index rating (29.9) and fouls drawn (8.6), fifth in scoring (23.4), sixth in two-pointers made (7.8) and 10th in rebounds (11.2). Reyes also became the competition's all-time leader in total rebounds midway through the season. His go-ahead triple late in Game 2 of the playoffs proved that he keeps adding to his game late in a stellar career that now includes the distinction of his first All-Euroleague selection.
Boban Marjanovic, Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
More than just a dominant force, center Boban Marjanovic produced a record-breaking season in leading Crvena Zvezda to new Euroleague heights. The Euroleague's tallest player at 2.20 meters, Marjanovic set new Euroleague marks for the most rebounds (256) and double-doubles (16) in a season. His 25.7 performance index rating average was the competition's highest in 10 years, as were his 10.7 rebounds. Marjanovic was the Euroleague's runner-up in scoring with 16.6 points in 24 games. He earned weekly MVP honors three times and posted six of this season's top 20 performances based on index rating. Marjanovic also ranked fourth in fouls drawn (4.6) and free throws made (4.2). He scored in double digits in 23 of 24 games. This is his first All-Euroleague selection.
Nando De Colo, CSKA Moscow
A newcomer who came off CSKA's bench, combo guard Nando De Colo was nonetheless a leader in returning the team to the Final Four. De Colo led CSKA in performance index ranking (16.8 per game), steals (1.38 spg.) and fouls drawn (4.3 per game). He was also the team's second-best scorer (14.2 ppg.) and dished its third-most assists (3.2 apg.). De Colo had the Euroleague's second-best free throw accuracy (91.2%) and fourth-most free throws made (93). He ranked second in total steals (36), fifth in fouls drawn (113) and index rating (438), and sixth in three-point accuracy (46.0%). De Colo earned weekly MVP honors twice and was chosen as the bwin MVP for January. This marks the first All-Euroleague selection of De Colo's career.
Rudy Fernandez, Real Madrid
Once again, Rudy Fernandez was all over the place – providing steals, blocks, alley-oop slams, defense and rebounds – to help Real Madrid reach its third consecutive Final Four. Among all Euroleague players, he ranked second in steals (1.57 spg.), eighth in free throw accuracy (60 of 68, 88.2%) and 10th in performance index rating (16.4 per game). Madrid had a 19-4 record with him on court and was just 3-2 when Fernandez was sidelined. Fernandez led the team in index rating, scoring (13 ppg.) and steals while ranking second in fouls drawn (3.9) and third in assists (3.4 apg.). On the way to being chosen bwin MVP for February, Fernandez had career-high index rating of 38 against archrivals FC Barcelona. This is the third consecutive All-Euroleague selection for Fernandez.
Andrew Goudelock, Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
Andrew Goudelock's masterful shot-making proved tailor-made for the Euroleague stage as he led Fenerbahce and ranked third in the competition in scoring (16.4 ppg.). Goudelock served notice to everyone when he set a Euroleague record by making 10 of 13 three-point shots in an early-season road win against FC Bayern Munich. Goudelock would proceed to finish second among all Euroleague players in three-pointers made (69) and eighth in accuracy from the arc (45.5%). He was second on Fenerbahce in performance index rating (13.7 per game) and hit the game-winning layup when Fenerbahce dethroned Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv in overtime in Game 3 of the playoffs. Goudelock's first All-Euroleague selection comes one year after he was named 2013-14 Eurocup MVP.
Devin Smith, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Whenever Maccabi has needed a go-to guy, Devin Smith always stepped up - and this season was no different. Smith led Maccabi in performance index rating (16.1 per game), scoring (15 ppg.) and rebounding (6.1 rpg.) and ranked third in assists (2.5 apg.), steals (1 spg.), blocks (0.6 bpg.) and fouls drawn (2.7 per game). Among all Euroleague players, he ranked eighth in index ranking, fourth in scoring, ninth in total rebounds and sixth in defensive rebounds (5.1 drpg.). Smith was also chosen bwin MVP for November. With his team's title defense at stake in a do-or-die Top 16 finale at ALBA Berlin, Smith tied a club record with 7 three-pointers and scored a career-best 28 points to lead Maccabi into the playoffs. This is his first All-Euroleague honor.
Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona
The most consistently dominant big man in the Euroleague this decade, Tomic led Barcelona on another playoffs run with his well-known mix of skills. Tomic led Barcelona in performance index rating (18 per game), scoring (11.5 ppg.), rebounds (7.1 rpg.), blocks (0.8 bpg.) and fouls drawn (4 per game). He also posted career-high numbers in free throw percentage (68.8%) and assists (2.3 apg.). Tomic ranked second in the competition in total index rating (503), third in total rebounds (200) and fifth in two-pointers made (117). His great season can also be seen in per-minute statistics, where he was fourth in index rating (29.7 prorated to 40 minutes) and sixth in rebounding (11.8 rpg.). Tomic has now been selected to the All-Euroleague team for three seasons in a row.