The 19th edition of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament will tip-off in western Spain on Sunday with the ANGT Valencia the first of three qualifying tournaments in the 2020-21 season of Europe’s top U18 club competition. Two former continental champions are among the eight-team field at the ANGT Valencia, which will determine the first of three direct qualifying spots for the ANGT Finals to be played at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four from May 28-30, 2021 in Cologne, Germany.

The ANGT Valencia will be hosted by U18 Valencia Basket with the 2013 champion U18 Joventut Badalona and 2016 title-winner U18 FC Barcelona also among the teams. The other clubs are fellow Spanish sides U18 Herbalife Gran Canaria and U18 Unicaja Malaga, U18 ratiopharm Ulm of Germany and French clubs U18 Nanterre 92 and U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. The games will be played at L’Aqueria del Basket from December 27-29, 2020.

Barcelona tops Group A, which also includes Ulm, Nanterre and Gran Canaria. Barcelona, which also reached the ANGT Championship Game in 2008 and 2015, is playing at the ANGT Valencia for the third time. Last season, Barcelona won its first two games and then lost to Gran Canaria to miss out on the game for first place and ended up fourth. Ulm is appearing in the ANGT for the fourth time with all three previous showings at the ANGT Munich. The German side lost all four games last season in the event and took eighth place. Nanterre debuted last season at the ANGT Kaunas and went 2-1 to finish fourth overall. Gran Canaria returns to the ANGT Valencia, where it finished first last season in undefeated fashion and secured its second trip to the ANGT Finals following 2009.

Group B is made up of Valencia, Joventut, Unicaja and ASVEL. Valencia defended its home court in 2018-19 and won all four games and then won its first two games last season before losing to Unicaja and finishing third. Joventut was selected as the replacement for U18 Umana Reyer Venice, which pulled out of the competition. Joventut was 1-2 in the group stage at the ANGT Kaunas last season and finished third. Unicaja reached the ANGT Valencia first place game last season, but lost to Gran Canaria. The only non-Spanish team in Group B is ASVEL, which is competing in its fourth straight season. The French club was 2-1 in the ANGT Valencia group stage - including beating Gran Canaria - but ended up taking fifth place.

The other two qualifying tournaments are the ANGT Munich in southern Germany from January 22 to 24, 2021, and the ANGT Belgrade in the Serbian capital from February 21 to 23, 2021. The teams finishing first in those events will also book a direct ticket to the ANGT Finals. The other five teams will be chosen via wild cards.

Two former champs highlight ANGT Valencia field

agustin-ubal-u18-fc-barcelona-angt-valencia-2019-20-photo-isaac-ferrera-jt19.jpg

Many of Europe's top players over the last 18 years have gotten the chance to measure their game against the rest of the continent's best at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament. And Valencia Basket is thrilled to once again give its top young talents that opportunity with the upcoming ANGT Valencia.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague club will be the host of the U18 tournament for the third straight season as Valencia will compete with seven other teams from December 27 to 29, 2020 for a spot at ANGT Finals, which will be played at the EuroLeague Final Four in Cologne, Germany, from May 28 to 30, 2021.

Valencia's youngsters from the 2018-19 season – players born in 2001 and 2002 – played at the ANGT Finals in 2019 and got the chance to experience first-hand the 2019 EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz after the team finished first at the first-ever ANGT event at the L'Aqueria del Basket in December 2018.

"To think that they have played [in the ANGT Finals] and reached the elite... It is a real stimulus for them," Valencia youth coach Xavi Albert said about his players seeing Europe's best players up close at the Final Four.

Albert hopes he can get his current generation to Cologne next spring. But the main thing is giving them the chance to develop.

"It's a very nice tournament and it's great to have one of the venues here, having the best clubs in Europe here and the boys being able to measure themselves against the highest level that we have in the junior category," Albert said.

Valencia in 2018 returned to the competition for the first time since 2010. And Albert said the club was excited about being back in the event.

"We entered with great enthusiasm without any pretensions other than competing to the fullest. We were taking part in one of the best tournaments that we can play in and were able to win it at home," said Albert, who led his team to first place in the 2018-19 ANGT Valencia, winning all three group games and then knocking off U18 Virtus Bologna in the first-place game.

In last season's ANGT Valencia, the host side won its first two games but then lost to U18 Unicaja Malaga to miss out on a chance for the ANGT Finals and ended up beating U18 FC Barcelona in the third-place game.

This time around, Albert is happy that the event will even take place during the pandemic, which has kept the Spanish youth championships on hold.

Given the few competitive situations that we are seeing this year, it will be a success just to be able to play it," said Albert.

Valencia will play in Group B with U18 Unicaja Malaga, U18 Joventut Badalona and U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne while U18 ratiopharm Ulm, U18 Nanterre 92, U18 FC Barcelona and 2019-20 ANGT Valencia first place team U18 Herbalife Gran Canaria compete in Group A.

The goal will be to finish first in the tournament, but in the end, Albert is just happy that his players will get a chance to play.

"The important thing is that we can celebrate it, that we are lucky enough to do it here, and that generation after generation of the juniors that we have in the club have the opportunity to play," he said.

Valencia relishes opportunity to host ANGT qualifier

guillem-ferrando-u18-valencia-basket-angt-valencia-2019-20-photo-isaac-ferrera-jt19-aacuovttx3iw5ntm.jpg

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to announce the identities of the 24 teams that will compete this season in the 2020-21 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament. This season will be the 19th edition of the annual event, which boasts clubs and academies representing 13 different countries. They will clash to be the last one standing when the continental junior club champion is crowned on May 30, 2021, in parallel with the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Cologne, Germany.

To reach the ANGT Finals in Cologne, teams will first compete in three-day Qualifiers held in Valencia, Spain; Munich, Germany; and Belgrade, Serbia. Each Qualifier will feature eight teams, of which the first placed team earns an automatic berth to the Finals. Five additional teams – including some of the best performers in the qualifiers - will receive wildcard invitations to challenge for the U18 continental crown. The 24 sides include the U18 squads from eight EuroLeague and nine EuroCup participants.

The first qualifier – in Valencia, Spain, from December 27 to 29, 2020 – will feature host Valencia Basket, 2016 ANGT champion FC Barcelona, 2013 ANGT champion Joventut Badalona, Herbalife Gran Canaria and Unicaja Malaga, all from Spain, as well as LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Nanterre 92 from France, plus ratiopharm Ulm from Germany.

The second qualifier – in Munich, Germany, from January 22 to 24, 2021 – includes 2015 and 2019 ANGT champion Real Madrid and Casademont Zaragoza, both from Spain, as well as Basket Brno from the Czech Republic, 2010 and 2017 ANGT champion CFBB Paris from France, hosts FC Bayern Munich from Germany, Promitheas Patras from Greece, Stellazzurra Rome from Italy, and 2003 and 2007 ANGT champion Zalgiris Kaunas from Lithuania.

The capital of Serbia will host the third qualifier from February 19 to 21, 2021. Partizan NIS Belgrade, 2014 ANGT champion Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and fellow Serbian side Mega SoccerBet Belgrade, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica from Montenegro, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana from Slovenia, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar from Russian Federation, Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel and U-BT Cluj Napoca from Romania make up the slate for the Belgrade event.

The nearly two decades of the ANGT has seen a host of tomorrow's biggest and brightest stars pass through. Among the players currently on EuroLeague rosters who previously dazzled in the ANGT are Marcus Eriksson and Niels Giffey (ALBA Berlin), Vasilije Micic (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Luigi Datome (AX Armani Exchange Milan), Borisa Simanic and Branko Lazic (Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade), Nikita Kurbanov (CSKA Moscow), Nikola Mirotic, Sergi Martinez and Thomas Heurtel (FC Barcelona), Diego Flaccadori, Leon Radosevic, Nihad Dedovic and Sasha Grant (FC Bayern Munich), Alexey Shved (Khimki Moscow Region), Yovel Zoosman (Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv), Livio Jean-Charles (Olympiacos Piraeus), Nemanja Nedovic (Panathinaikos OPAP Athens), Alberto Abalde and Usman Garuba (Real Madrid),  Klemen Prepelic, Vanja Marinkovic and Guillem Vives (Valencia Basket) and Arturas Gudaitis (Zenit St Petersburg).

2020-21 ANGT Qualifiers hosts, dates, participants announced

The EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has developed into one of the world's most prestigious stops for future stars in basketball. From 2003 onwards, more and more players have used the ANGT to showcase their talents at a young age and gain experience in international club competition. One player who showed via the ANGT that his future would be bright is Livio Jean-Charles, who carried U18 INSEP Paris (which would later be known as CFBB Paris) to the ANGT crown in 2010. The 2009-10 campaign was the first of two for Jean-Charles in the ANGT. All told, he averaged 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 rebounds in 17 games. His 276 total points rank seventh all-time in ANGT history.

INSEP played at the 2009-10 ANGT Belgrade qualifier and won its first four games before losing to two-time reigning U18 continental champion U18 FMP Belgrade in the first-place game 77-69. Jean-Charles was limited to 7 points and 8 rebounds and finished the tournament averaging 10.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. INSEP's performance was impressive enough that it was given a wildcard for the 2010 ANGT Finals played alongside the EuroLeague Final Four in Paris. The native of Cayenne in French Guiana shined for the French side with 13 points and 3 rebounds in the opening loss to U18 Union Olimpija. He followed with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a win over U18 Cajasol and 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in beating U18 Zalgiris Kaunas. INSEP finished in a three-way tie and reached the ANGT Championship Game via a tiebreaker. There it would meet up again with FMP. After losing in Belgrade, Jean-Charles tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists as INSEP won 83-73 for the team’s first continental trophy.

In the 2010-11 ANGT Belgrade qualifier, Jean-Charles's numbers jumped to 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals for an index rating of 23.1. But the team finished only third, losing to U18 Crvena Zvezda and FMP. INSEP was invited back to the ANGT Finals at the 2011 EuroLeague Final Four in Barcelona with a wildcard and Jean-Charles stepped up his performance with 22.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1 steal and 0.7 blocks for an index rating of 24.3. But INSEP lost to eventual champion U18 KK Zagreb and FMP in the group phase.

The 2.05-meter forward joined ASVEL in 2011 and returned to the European stage straight away, playing 10 games in the 7DAYS EuroCup in 2011-12, during which he averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds. Jean-Charles, who helped France win the silver medal at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2012, suffered a torn ACL at the 2013 U20 European Championship and missed the entire 2013-14 season. He returned in 2014 and averaged 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in the EuroCup and 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in the French league. Those numbers increased to 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2015-16.

Jean-Charles, who had been selected by San Antonio in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft, started the 2016-17 season in the D-League with the Spurs' farm team before finishing the season with ASVEL. He returned to Austin for the start of the 2017-18 campaign and ended it with Spanish side Unicaja Malaga. Jean-Charles returned to the European stage in 2018-19, playing again in the EuroCup with ASVEL and averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in helping the team reach the quarterfinals.

Jean-Charles went into the 2019-20 season at age 26 and began to show the promise from when he starred in winning the ANGT title, making his EuroLeague debut with ASVEL. He picked up 10 points and 5 rebounds in his first game against Olympiacos Piraeus. In the first half of November, Jean-Charles had his best stretch as he poured in 20 points with a 24 index rating in Round 6 at Valencia Basket and tallied 20 points and a 28 index rating in Round 8 at Crvena Zvezda. In 27 games for the season - 19 of them as a starter - Jean-Charles averaged 9.1 points and 3.7 rebounds with an average index rating of 8.9. Next season Jean-Charles will be back in the EuroLeague, but in different colors after signing a multi-year deal with Olympiacos Piraeus.



ANGT alumni: Livio Jean-Charles, Olympiacos Piraeus

The EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has developed into one of the world's most prestigious stops for future stars in basketball. From 2003 onwards, more and more players have used the ANGT to showcase their talents at a young age and gain experience in international club competition. Omri Casspi was the star of his generation in the Maccabi youth system and showed why over two seasons in the ANGT before his career as a professional took off.

Casspi was the youngest player on the U18 Maccabi roster when the team came together for the tournament in Tel Aviv during the 2004 Final Four. The squad was a talented one from which Niv Berkowitz, the youngest son of Israeli basketball legend Miki Berkowitz, and Yoni Nir would go on to have successful professional careers. Nevertheless, it was Casspi who stood out with a game-high 22 points in the opening game against U18 Montepaschi Siena, which featured stars-in-the-making Luigi Datome and Luca Vitali. It would be a short tournament for Maccabi, which lost to Siena and to a stacked U18 FMP Belgrade squad that featured Milos Teodosic, Miroslav Raduljica and Milan Macvan.

A year later, Maccabi was back at the ANGT Finals, this time in Moscow, and there was no doubt who the stars were. Casspi dominated alongside Gal Mekel as Maccabi finished a tiebreaker short of reaching the championship game. Casspi posted 25 points and 7 rebounds to lead Maccabi over U18 Zalgiris Kaunas 92-91 in the opener, but his 28 and 11 were not enough to prevent a 97-94 loss at the hands of Siena in Game 2. The forward posted 28 and 10 in a 58-80 pounding of U18 Prokom Trefl Sopot to give Maccabi a 2-1 record. Zalgiris won the tiebreaker to reach the championship game and send Maccabi home.

That tournament would be the end of Casspi's international junior career. He became a part of the Maccabi rotation in domestic action in 2005-06 and even made his EuroLeague debut with 6 minutes and 1 point in a 66-94 rout of Cibona Zagreb in the Croatian capital. Casspi took a big step forward during a season on loan at Hapoel Galil Elyon and returned to Maccabi to eventually carve out a spot in the starting lineup on a team that played in the 2008 championship game. He remained a key player for Maccabi in 2008-09 before heading overseas for a decade in the NBA. One year ago, Casspi made his long-awaited return to his boyhood club and helped Maccabi get off to a strong start before injuries ended his season in December. If all goes well, a healthy Casspi will be back in the Maccabi lineup next season.

ANGT alumni: Omri Casspi, Maccabi Tel Aviv

The EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has developed into one of the world's most prestigious stops for future stars in basketball. From 2003 onwards, more and more players have used the ANGT to showcase their talents at a young age and gain experience in international club competition. One player who gave fans a taste of his future success in the ANGT is Alberto Abalde, who led U18 Joventut Badalona to the continental crown in 2013 in London, England. It was Abalde's only appearance at the ANGT Finals, and he made sure Joventut went all the way to the title, averaging 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in four games, showing everyone a glimpse of what was to come.

Abalde did not have a bad game at the ANGT Finals in London, and his solid performance kept Joventut competitive at all times. He started the tournament with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in a convincing 65-77 win against U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. The biggest game in Joventut's group was against U18 Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade, featuring Marko Guduric and Nikola Rebic. Joventut took off early in the fourth quarter to get a critical 77-67 win behind 16 points and 6 rebounds from Abalde. That result left Joventut still alive for a spot in the ANGT Championship Game, but it needed a victory over U18 Team China to get there. Abalde delivered again, collecting 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Joventut to a 62-75 triumph. Once in the title game, Joventut gave arch-rival FC Barcelona Regal no chance. Joventut thrashed Barcelona 82-59 and Abalde led the way with 18 points and 9 rebounds, earning tournament MVP honors.

Slowly but surely, Abalde became a full-time member of Joventut's first roster, after several seasons of splitting time with the main team and its vinculated second-division side Prat. In 2016, Abalde signed a long-term deal with Valencia Basket which included playing the 2016-17 season for Joventut on loan. He averaged 10.1 points in 31 Spanish League games before joining Valencia. Abalde made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in the 2017-18 campaign, and a series of point guard injuries gave him an opportunity to play several times during the season. Abalde was far from intimidated, becoming a more versatile player and performing well in his maiden EuroLeague season. He averaged 7.6 points and nailed 28-of-54 three-pointers for a 51.9% clip, which ranked third in the competition. Abalde went on to help Valencia win the 2019 7DAYS EuroCup title in 2019 and returned to the EuroLeague last season. The guard was one of the leaders of Valencia's second unit and averaged 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds. He has also made the jump to Spain’s senior national team after winning several international medals at the youth ranks for Spain. At 24, Abalde is set to keep improving and has all it takes - athleticism, ballhandling, winning mentality, size and versatility - to be a really solid player for a long, long time. And starting in 2020-21, he will get the chance with Real Madrid, signing with the Spanish powerhouse for the next five seasons.



ANGT alumni: Alberto Abalde

The EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has developed into one of the world's most prestigious stops for future stars in basketball. From 2003 onwards, more and more players have used the ANGT to showcase their talents at a young age and gain experience in international club competition. Count Yovel Zoosman of Maccabi Tel Aviv among the many who used the ANGT to propel his career, however, he is among the very few who played in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague before he traveled to his first ANGT game.

Zoosman joined the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team in the summer of 2015 and also started to play sparingly for the senior team in Israel League games. A series of injuries depleted the Maccabi squad and set the stage for him to suit up for a EuroLeague game. On December 10, 2015, Maccabi was wrapping up an 85-65 rout of Brose Bamberg at Menorah Mivtachim Arena when Coach Zan Tabak signaled to the 17-year-old to take the floor for the final 3 minutes. Zoosman took the floor alongside Taylor Rochestie, Sylven Landesberg, Dragan Bender and Itay Segev to finish out the Maccabi victory.

Less than a month later, Zoosman got the chance to shine against players his age when U18 Maccabi Teddy Tel Aviv flew to Spain for the Torneig de Bàsquet Junior Ciutat de L'Hospitalet, one of the 2015-16 season's ANGT qualifying events. He was more than ready and took charge to the tune of 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks against U18 Joventut Badalona in their first game. In a tense showdown, Joventut took the lead with 44 seconds remaining and Zoosman missed twice after that as Maccabi fell 80-79. U18 Real Madrid walloped Maccabi 69-49 in the second game despite another monster effort from Zoosman with 18 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, 7 rebounds and 6 steals.

Despite the two losses, Maccabi had a shot to reach the semifinals if it could handle U18 Union Olimpija Ljubljana in the final group stage game. Zoosman put together 19 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 8 steals and 2 blocks as Maccabi won 82-75 to finish 1-2 and second in the group via tiebreaker. The opponent in the semifinal was a tough U18 FC Barcelona, which would go on to win the ANGT that season. Zoosman was smothered and held to 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals as Barcelona won 62-89 to win the game and reach the final. Zoosman finished his lone ANGT tournament as a member of the all-tournament team. He was the tournament leader in scoring (18.0 ppg.), steals (5.3 spg.) and performance index rating (22.8), tied for fourth in blocks (1.3 bpg.) and placed seventh in rebounds (7.5 rpg.).

Maccabi was well aware of the ace it had in its hands and sent Zoosman out on loan for the 2016-17 season to get more playing time. He returned in the summer of 2017 and has been a part of the team's rotation ever since, with his role growing from year to year. Zoosman also shined in international competitions for Israel; he led the team to the silver medal at the European U20 Championship in 2017 and a year later was the MVP when Israel took the gold medal at the same event. Last season, he broke into the Maccabi starting lineup and used his long arms and defensive mindset to frustrate opposing teams' top backcourt scorers. With his all-around game and excellent defensive attributes, Zoosman figures to be a mainstay for Maccabi for years to come and a player that the club's junior teams and future entries into ANGT events can look to as a role model.

ANGT alumni: Yovel Zoosman, Maccabi Tel Aviv

The EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has developed into one of the world's most prestigious stops for future stars in basketball. From 2003 onwards, more and more players have used the ANGT to showcase their talents at a young age and gain experience in international club competition.

One of the first stars to emerge from the ANGT, then known as the International Junior Tournament, was Nikita Kurbanov, who played in the first two editions of the event with U18 CSKA Moscow. He started in one of his three appearances as a 16-year-old in 2003 in Barcelona, where he averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. CSKA lost its final regular-season game against U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv and thus missed a chance to reach the championship game.

The following year in Tel Aviv, Kurbanov shined on a stacked CSKA side that won all of its games to take the crown. He averaged 14.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.0 block in Tel Aviv, including a 17-point, 11-rebound and 2-steal effort in a 90-62 rout of U18 Montepaschi Siena in the championship game. It was his second double-double of the weekend after posting 10 points, 13 boards and 3 blocks against U18 Hapoel Jerusalem. Among his teammates then were Anatoly Kashirov, Nikita Shabalkin and Vasily Zavourev, who were all on the CSKA roster when it won the EuroLeague in 2006, as well as future EuroCup champion Valerii Likhodei.

Kurbanov was promoted to the CSKA senior squad for the next season, 2004-05, in which he played limited minutes in 17 games. He cracked the rotation in EuroLeague games in 2005-06. Kurbanov's debut came in Round 3 against Unicaja Malaga and he scored his first points in Round 6 at Ulker Istanbul. His first big game saw Kurbanov score 11 points in 33 minutes in a 71-80 victory at Real Madrid. His defense and never-ending hustle led to Coach Ettore Messina leaning on Kurbanov for 11 minutes in the EuroLeague semifinal victory FC Barcelona in Prague before topping Maccabi for the championship.

He would remain with CSKA through the 2007-08 campaign and then spent half a season with UNICS Kazan and a full one with Spartak St Petersburg. Kurbanov was back with his boyhood club in 2009 and stayed for three seasons before he went searching for a bigger role and moved back to Spartak for one season, UNICS for another and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar for a third. Since his return to CSKA in 2015, he has been a mainstay and a force as it captured EuroLeague championships in 2016 and 2019. Kurbanov has made 49 consecutive starts for CSKA and since 2015 he has missed only two games. His 162 games in that time lead the league and he ranks among the top 25 for the period in both steals (101) and blocked shots (54). In 228 career EuroLeague games, Kurbanov has amassed 1,065 points and 709 rebounds.



ANGT alumni: Nikita Kurbanov, CSKA Moscow

The EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament has developed into one of the world's most prestigious stops for future stars in basketball. From 2003 onwards, more and more players have used the ANGT to showcase their talents at a young age and gain experience in international club competition. After taking his first steps in basketball in his native city of Podgorica in Montenegro, it did not take long for Nikola Mirotic’s talents to catch the eye of the continent’s heavyweights and he duly signed for Real Madrid in 2005 at the age of 14.

Mirotic continued to make rapid progress within Real’s youth system and in May 2008 he made his first appearance in the ANGT against Zalgiris Kaunas in Madrid. The Lithuanian team won comfortably, 92-66, but a stunning individual performance from Mirotic left no doubt that he was a star in the making. In his tournament debut, he recorded a double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds) plus 5 steals and 3 blocked shots in 34 minutes on the floor.

If his debut was good, Mirotic’s next game was even better. Leading his team to a thumping 96-73 victory over Maccabi Teddy Tel Aviv, Mirotic had another double-double with 25 points on 9-of-12 from two-point shooting plus and 10 rebounds. He added 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots for a performance index rating of 36, proving that this young man was already capable of doing pretty much anything on a basketball court. Mirotic was held to a quieter game (9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block) as Real exited the tournament by losing its final group game, 100-76, against eventual champion FMP.

A few months later he was back at the ANGT to further build his blossoming reputation in a hard-to-believe fashion. The group opener of the qualifying tournament in L’Hospitalet, Barcelona, against ASVEL Basket saw Mirotic – still only 17 years old – score 24 points on 9-of-11 two-point shooting along with 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in an 89-80 victory. Then came a haul of 26 points (10-of-13 two-point shooting) plus 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots in a 65-94 defeat to Lietuvos Rytas. Not bad at all…but absolutely nothing in comparison with Mirotic’s legendary performance in the final group game against FMP, which goes down – without any exaggeration – as one of the finest individual displays ever seen at any level of European basketball.

Although Real lost 84-96 and therefore suffered elimination, the game went down in history thanks to Mirotic’s outrageous performance. He scored 35 points without missing a shot: 9-of-9 two-pointers, 1 triple and all 14 of his free throws. Then came no less than 23 rebounds (8 offensive, 15 defensive), along with 2 assists, 9 steals and 6 blocked shots. That all added up to a PIR of 84 (yes, EIGHTY-FOUR), unsurprisingly a tournament record that still stands. His 23 rebounds were also a tournament record at the time and his performances in the continent’s top youth event made Mirotic the hottest young prospect in European basketball – a status he has more than lived up to in the years that followed.