Euroscar

The Euroscar European Player of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given to the year's best male European basketball player. Its name is a portmanteau of Europe and Oscar, and the award is often referred to as "European basketball’s Oscar”.[1]

Euroscar
SportBasketball
History
First award1979
Editions36
First winnerSoviet Union Vladimir Tkachenko
Most winsGermany Dirk Nowitzki
Lithuania Arvydas Sabonis (6 awards)
Most recentSlovenia Luka Dončić (1st award)
Dirk Nowitzki, seated, wearing a green Nike shirt
German-born power forward Dirk Nowitzki has won six Euroscar Awards.

Any player with European citizenship is eligible for the award, regardless of his current club. The award is judged on the basis of both sports club and national team performances and accomplishments. The honor is presented the January after the calendar year it is awarded for, i.e. the 2011 award was presented in 2012.[1] It was first given out in 1979 to Soviet center Vladimir Tkachenko, and has since then been routinely given to players who fared well in international competitions such as the EuroBasket, FIBA World Cup or Olympic Games. As of 2020, the most recent winner is Slovenian player Luka Dončić. Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis and German power forward Dirk Nowitzki hold the record for most wins with six each.

The Euroscar is decided upon by a committee composed of general managers,[2] coaches, players, sportswriters from 33 different countries.[3] The award is presented by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. It is one of the two main player of the year awards that any European basketball player can currently receive, along with Eurobasket.com's All-Europe Player of the Year. Previously, there was also the official FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year Award (2005–2014), and Italian magazine's Superbasket Mr. Europa Award (1976–2010).

History and distinctions

The Euroscar was first awarded in 1979, and 21 of the first 23 winners were born in the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia. Thereafter, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany and Pau Gasol of Spain won ten times between them, and as of 2022 an Eastern European has won the award only four times in the past twenty years.

Arvydas Sabonis shooting a free throw for the Portland Trail Blazers
Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis won six Euroscar Awards between 1984 and 1999.

The early winners of the Euroscar played primarily for EuroLeague clubs. Since Dražen Petrović won his third award in 1992, while playing for the New Jersey Nets, only four Euroscar winners (Sabonis in 1995, Gregor Fučka in 2000, Kirilenko in 2012, and Teodosić in 2016) played in a European league during the year they won the award, and only Fučka and Teodosić did not play in the NBA for any part of their award-winning years.[4][5]

As of 2015, three players have won five or more Euroscars: Sabonis (six), Nowitzki (six), and Toni Kukoč (five). Nowitzki holds the record for most consecutive wins with five. Seven Euroscar winners have been inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame: Tkachenko, Sabonis, Petrović, Dražen Dalipagić, Dino Meneghin, Dragan Kićanović and Nikos Galis.[6] Sabonis, Petrović, Dalipagić, Galis and Meneghin are also in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[7] One pair of brothers have each won the award: the Spaniards Pau and Marc Gasol. As of the 2019–20 basketball season, the Gasols, Antetokounmpo, Goran Dragić and Dončić are the only award winners still active in the NBA.[8] As of 2020, Nowitzki and Antetokounmpo are also the only players to win the Euroscar Award and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, albeit in different seasons.[9][10] Kukoč (1996, 1998), Nowitzki (2011), Parker (2007) and Pau Gasol (200910) all won NBA titles in their Euroscar-winning years; Kukoč and Gasol are the only players to do so more than once.[1][10][11][12][13] Dalipagić (1980) and Sabonis (1988) won Olympic gold medals and a Euroscar in the same year.

Award winners

Toni Kukoč playing basketball for the Milwaukee Bucks
Croatian player Toni Kukoč won five Euroscar Awards between 1990 and 1998.
Pau Gasol wearing a brown T-shirt
Spanish forward/center Pau Gasol won three straight awards between 2008 and 2010. His brother Marc won the award in 2014.
Tony Parker playing for the French national team
French point guard Tony Parker won the award in 2007 and 2013.
Tony Parker playing for the French national team
Serbian point guard Miloš Teodosić, 2016

When a winner has played for more than one club team in the calendar year of his award, all are listed.

^ Denotes player who is still active
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
** Inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame
*** Inducted into both the Naismith and FIBA Halls of Fame
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player won the Euroscar Award
Year Winner Country Club(s) Ref.
1979
Vladimir Tkachenko** Soviet UnionStroitel[1]
1980
Dražen Dalipagić*** YugoslaviaPartizan
1981
Dragan Kićanović** YugoslaviaPartizan and
Scavolini Pesaro
1982
Dragan Kićanović** (2) YugoslaviaScavolini Pesaro
1983
Dino Meneghin*** ItalyBilly / Simac Milano
1984
Arvydas Sabonis*** Soviet UnionŽalgiris
1985
Arvydas Sabonis*** (2) Soviet UnionŽalgiris
1986
Dražen Petrović*** YugoslaviaCibona
1987
Nikos Galis*** GreeceAris
1988
Arvydas Sabonis*** (3) Soviet UnionŽalgiris
1989
Dražen Petrović*** (2) YugoslaviaReal Madrid and
Portland Trail Blazers
1990
Toni Kukoč** YugoslaviaJugoplastika / POP 84
1991
Toni Kukoč** (2) Yugoslavia
 Croatia
POP 84 and
Benetton Treviso
1992
Dražen Petrović*** (3) CroatiaNew Jersey Nets
1993
Dražen Petrović*** (4) CroatiaNew Jersey Nets
1994
Toni Kukoč** (3) CroatiaChicago Bulls
1995
Arvydas Sabonis*** (4) LithuaniaReal Madrid Teka and
Portland Trail Blazers
1996
Toni Kukoč** (4) CroatiaChicago Bulls
1997
Arvydas Sabonis*** (5) LithuaniaPortland Trail Blazers
1998
Toni Kukoč** (5) CroatiaChicago Bulls
1999
Arvydas Sabonis*** (6) LithuaniaPortland Trail Blazers
2000
Gregor Fučka ItalyPaf Wennington Bologna
2001
Peja Stojaković FR YugoslaviaSacramento Kings
2002
Dirk Nowitzki GermanyDallas Mavericks
2003
Dirk Nowitzki (2) GermanyDallas Mavericks
2004
Dirk Nowitzki (3) GermanyDallas Mavericks
2005
Dirk Nowitzki (4) GermanyDallas Mavericks
2006
Dirk Nowitzki (5) GermanyDallas Mavericks
2007
Tony Parker FranceSan Antonio Spurs
2008
Pau Gasol^ SpainMemphis Grizzlies and
Los Angeles Lakers
2009
Pau Gasol^ (2) SpainLos Angeles Lakers
2010
Pau Gasol^ (3) SpainLos Angeles Lakers
2011
Dirk Nowitzki (6) GermanyDallas Mavericks
2012
Andrei Kirilenko RussiaCSKA Moscow and
Minnesota Timberwolves
2013
Tony Parker (2) FranceSan Antonio Spurs
2014
Marc Gasol^ SpainMemphis Grizzlies
2015
Pau Gasol^ (4) SpainChicago Bulls
2016
Miloš Teodosić^ SerbiaCSKA Moscow
2017
Goran Dragić^ SloveniaMiami Heat
2018
Giannis Antetokounmpo^ GreeceMilwaukee Bucks
2019
Luka Dončić^ SloveniaDallas Mavericks

References

General

  • "Pau Gasol is 2008 European Player of the Year". Interbasket.net. Archived from the original on 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  • Bob Bergum. Ms.Tats and Mr.Wards. Basketball All Greats (e-book). pp. 142–143. ISBN 605032977X.

Specific

  1. "Predrag Stojakovic Wins Euroscar 2001". nba.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  2. Milos Teodosic wins “Gazzetta Dello Sport” European player of the year award.
  3. "El Barça, contra Spanoulis". Mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish).
  4. Mark Remme. "Kirilenko Honored With Euroscar European Player of the Year Award". NBA.com. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  5. "Pau Gasol is 2008 European Player of the Year". Interbasket.net. Archived from the original on 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  6. "FIBA Hall of Fame Players List". FIBA. Archived from the original on 2011-05-08. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  7. "Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  8. "NBA & ABA Active Leaders and Records for Hall of Fame Probability". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  9. "Dirk Nowitzki". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  10. "Dirk Nowitzki: "Angela Merkel is nice"; "I want to top Sabonis."". Ballin' Europe. 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  11. "Toni Kukoc". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  12. "Europlayer Gazzetta Pau Gasol". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  13. "Gasol Europlayer Gazzetta 2010". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  14. "Wauters Lands Top Award". FIBAEurope.com. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  15. "10 NBA Players from Around the World (01/09)". Interbasket.net. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  16. "Pau Gasol is 2008 European Player of the Year". Interbasket.net. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  17. "Gasol Wins Euroscar (2008)". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  18. "Kirilenko king The Russian is voted Europlayer 2012". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2013-01-03. Archived from the original on 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  19. "Europlayer 2013 a Parker Bissato il successo del 2007". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  20. "Basket, Europlayer: il numero 1 è Marc Gasol". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  21. "Pau Gasol Europlayer Gazzetta". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  22. "Basket, Euro Player 2016 a Teodosic: Nba battuta dopo 16 anni". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  23. "Doncic EuroPlayer 2019: è lui il miglior europeo secondo la Gazzetta". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 2020-01-07. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.