EuroLeague Signature moves: Vasilije Micic, Efes

Standing at 1.96 meters, Vasilije Micic is certainly among the taller point guards to have appeared in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in recent seasons. And although the Anadolu Efes Istanbul star is blessed with a wide range of talents, there is no better example of Micic putting his physique to good use than when he spots a gap in the defense, lowers his shoulder and drives powerfully to the basket.

In addition to the innate advantage provided by his sheer physical presence, Micic’s ability to penetrate was honed in an extremely different environment: on the piste. He grew up in the central Serbian mountains and was an extremely talented skier during his youth, to the extent that he might now be a professional skier had he not opted to focus on basketball instead. Although he has now temporarily hung up his skis, the skills that Micic developed on the snow are extremely useful in allowing him to aggressively exploit holes in opposing defenses on the hardwood.

“I managed to keep the coordination [from skiing], despite growing to the height where I am at right now,” he once explained in an interview with Euroleague.net. “My biggest advantage was the feeling that I have to change my rhythm. It is something that comes from skiing, getting low to approach the gates. And that was the immediate positive comment I received [in basketball], when a coach told me how naturally I manage to change direction and change the rhythm. I could not understand it, because it comes, well, natural to me.”

Micic’s slope-inspired balance and low center of gravity when squeezing through small spaces at top speed is a big part of the reason he can drive to the basket as well as any other guard in Europe. Equally important is what happens next, when he actually gets close to the rim.

At that critical moment, when breaking through the first defensive line and approaching the hoop must be turned into an efficient end product, Micic is hugely effective in two ways. Firstly, he has the athleticism and skill to score in a variety of ways, either with delicately placed pull-ups or with thunderous dunks – perhaps best seen with a huge slam he exploded against Olympiacos Piraeus in December 2018. He changed speeds to accelerate past Janis Strelnieks on the perimeter before leaping high to finish over opposing big man Zach LeDay.

Micic’s drives to the basket not only result in his own points, though. Another string to his bow is having the court awareness to make kick-out passes to teammates who have often been left wide open – often due to defenses shifting to stop Micic’s drives – on the perimeter. A recent highlight-reel example came in Efes’s dramatic road win over CSKA Moscow in February: Micic took out four defenders by dribbling with fierce intent to the basket, but at the last split-second he pulled out of the shot and unloaded a perfect pass to the corner, where Rodrigue Beaubois gratefully knocked down a three.

Those twin virtues have seen Micic compile impressive averages of 14.5 points and 5.8 assists per game during the current season. The way he attracts defenders during his downhill slaloms towards the basket is a major plus to his teammates, undoubtedly helping to give Shane Larkin more room to play with confidence in his record-breaking run of form. With his unique blend of speed, power, balance and vision, Micic is one of the deadliest offensive weapons in the EuroLeague.