MIES (Switzerland) -It's NBA All-Star Weekend, and then we have an international break in the Basketball Champions League. As many of our stars head of to represent their countries, let's have a look at what an All-Star Game would look like in the BCL if everyone had the week off to entertain us.
Instead of a West vs. East ASG, a la the NBA, or even a North vs. South game, it has always made more sense to us to look at the makeup of the playing squads in the BCL and pick Team Europe and Team World squads.
So, without delay, here are our 10 All-Stars for Season X, powered by Amaresco SUNEL.
Team Europe
Ricky Rubio (Asisa Joventut) Jack Kayil (ALBA BERLIN) Hugo Besson (Tofas Bursa) Arturas Guadaitis (Rytas Vilnius) Aleksander Balcerowski (Unicaja)
We take a lot of pride in being a league that platforms homegrown talents and as such, seeing a starting five with the talent and quality that you see above is especially satisfying.
Just in the first two guard positions, with the legend Ricky Rubio, and the future of the continent, Jack Kayil, we see the generations of generational talent that Europe produces in full effect.
Both players found spots in our latest MVP Race, with Rubio's surgical efficiency landing him at #6, and Kayil's killer instinct and growth since the start of the season putting him up in the #2 spot in the rankings.
If the purpose of the All-Star game is to entertain then how could we leave out the BCL's very own dance instructor. Frenchman Hugo Besson has put up 15+ points in all four of his Round of 16 games thus far and if we want to watch ankle breakers and impossible shots, Besson is the man for the job.
In the frontcourt we have a pair of battle-hardened beasts.
Arturas Gudaitis is putting up 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and swatting 2 shots every contest, whilst Olek Balcerowski will represent the champions, Unicaja in the ASG having shot 71 percent from two-point range and averaged 9 points in just 16 minutes of action.
Team World
Johnny Berhanemeskel (Le Mans Sarthe Basket) James Palmer Jr (Galatasaray MCT Technic) Chris Duarte (Unicaja) RaiQuan Gray (AEK BC) Mady Sissoko (Pallacanestro Triste)
Kicking us off for team world is breakout start Johnny Berhanemeskal who is even harder to guard than his name is to pronounce.
Le Mans Canadian scoring machine has 51-54-97 shooting splits whilst putting up 15 points in 21 minutes of burn.
Next up is Galatasaray's Mr Do It All, James Palmer Jr. If you want someone to guard four positions, rebound the ball, push it in transition or create in the pick-and-roll, JPJ is your man.
The champs Unicaja have another man in the BCL All-Star game with the Dominican swingman Chris Duarte. The Pacers 13th pick in the 2021 Draft is putting up 10 points on 73 percent shooting inside the arc and churns out highlights like they are going out of style.
AEK's captain and two-way leader RaiQuan Gray takes the power forward position for Team World.
The fact that Gray can guard all five positions is the reason he's one of the hot favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year in May, but don't let that distract you from the fact that he's also one of the toughest matchups to guard on the offensive end in the BCL.
And last but far from least we have Trieste's Mady Sissoko.
The Malian monster may have missed some games through injury this season, but we need dunks in our ASG and Sissoko guarantees those. In the seven games he has played, Sissoko put up 14 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks on 72 percent shooting.
Assuming he's healthy, Sissoko has to make Team World.
Bench Stars
Now you've met the starters, who are the reserves that are ready to step in and drop 50 points like Karl-Anthony Towns in 2024, or T-Mac's 34 point explosion in 2006?
For Team Europe, we have Tofas Bursa's Furkan Korkmaz and Rytas' Ignas Sargiunas ready to step in and light it up in a minutes notice.
And Team World have an embarrassment of riches to call from the bench, headlined by Elan Chalon's Jeremiah Hill and Tenerife's Uruguayan playmaker Bruno Fitipaldo.
Wow, just thinking about all those names made us wonder. Who would win this one?
Tricky Ricky with his elite IQ and showtime passes feeding Balcerowski and Gudaitis those alley-oops, while Kayil and Besson put defenders in blenders, that sounds like Europe would be unstoppable.
Until, of course, you see all these elite ballhandlers and scorers on the other end, with RaiQuan running the offense as the point forward, Duarte and Palmer igniting the crowd with highlight crossovers, Berhanemeskel knocking down impossible long range shots and Mady protecting the paint.
It sounds like a close call. Who you got then?