The second set of honorees on the All-25 EuroLeague Team includes five EuroLeague MVPs! Dimitris Diamantidis, Mike James, Vasilije Micic, Anthony Parker and Sergio Rodriguez were selected to be enshrined among the 25 biggest stars of the competition’s first quarter-century. They join Nando De Colo, Sergio Llull, Ramunas Siskauskas, Vassilis Spanoulis and Nikola Vujcic, who were named last week in the first beat of players to be released.
The selection process combined the votes of EuroLeague head coaches who had won a championship, past All-Decade Team members and MVPs, media representatives and fans. The coaches and playing greats each made up 40% of the final vote, and the media and fans were each 10%.
Dimitris Diamantidis
The ultimate leader on and off the floor, Dimitris Diamantidis was the cornerstone of Panathinaikos Athens’s dynasty. A three-time EuroLeague champion with the Greens and the 2010-11 EuroLeague MVP, Diamantidis was an elite defender who could also be counted on to have the ball in his hands on offense at crunch time. He was the only player voted to both the 2000-10 and 2010-20 EuroLeague All-Decade teams
Diamantidis led Panathinaikos to EuroLeague titles in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and was the Final Four MVP in the first and the last of the three. He is still considered the EuroLeague gold standard for defense, having won the EuroLeague Best Defender Award a record six times, including five straight between 2005 and 2009. In 2011 he became the only player to win the EuroLeague championship, EuroLeague MVP and Best Defender trophies in the same season. Diamantidis led Panathinaikos to five Final Fours in his first eight EuroLeague seasons. His four All-EuroLeague First Team selections are the second-most in competition history.
Mike James
The EuroLeague’s all-time leader in points scored and the only player to have poured in more than 5,000 career points, Mike James has certainly made a lasting impression across his 11 seasons in the competition. From showing promise at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and Panathinaikos Athens to securing the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy and his first All-EuroLeague selection at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, James went to new heights after joining AS Monaco from CSKA Moscow in the summer of 2022.
James has earned three straight All-EuroLeague selections as a Monaco player and took home the EuroLeague MVP award in 2023-24. The 34-year-old has been the EuroLeague MVP of the Month five times, the second most of any player in history. He also ranks in the top 10 all-time in minutes played, two-pointers made, three-pointers made, free throws made, assists, steals and PIR. Already a bona fide EuroLeague legend, don’t be surprised to see James further add to his legacy in the coming years.
Vasilije Micic
A floor general and a scorer who gradually grew into the ultimate winner with Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Vasilije Micic won just about everything on the EuroLeague hardwoods. Micic led Efes to back-to-back EuroLeague titles as the Final Four MVP in 2021 and 2022. He was the 2020-21 EuroLeague MVP and the EuroLeague Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Award winner, averaging 18.2 points in the 2021-22.
Micic’s role grew through his years with FC Bayern Munich, Crvena Zvezda Belgrade and Zalgiris Kaunas, which he helped to a Final Four appearance in 2018. But it was with Efes where Micic broke through as a star, leading the club to three consecutive championship game appearances. He is a three-time All-EuroLeague selection and 10-time winner of MVP of the Round honors. Micic is one of just 10 players with at least 3,000 points and 1,000 assists in EuroLeague history – and the one with the fewest minutes and games played in that select group.
Anthony Parker
Anthony Parker cemented himself as one of the premier two-way players in EuroLeague history during his time with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He was the go-to guy on the Maccabi dynasty that won back-to-back EuroLeague championships in 2004 and 2005 and reached the championship game the following season. Parker is the only two-time EuroLeague MVP; he captured the honors the first two times the award was presented (2005, 2006). He was also the 2004 Final Four MVP.
Parker was a dynamic scorer, elite defender, and outstanding leader. His athleticism and efficiency set a new standard for perimeter players in Europe. In fact, Parker’s career PIR average of 21.4 over 90 games is the highest in EuroLeague history and his scoring average of 16.3 points per game is likewise the most of any player who appeared in more than three seasons. But perhaps more than anything else, Parker was a winner. He led Maccabi to the Final Four in each of his four EuroLeague seasons and he influenced future generations of players with his professionalism and skill set.
Sergio Rodriguez
One of the most creative point guards and ballhandlers ever seen in European basketball, Sergio Rodriguez was a fan favorite everywhere he played. Nicknamed “El Chacho”, he combined elite playmaking, exceptional court vision, and clutch shot-making to become a dominant force in European basketball. Rodriguez suited up for four clubs in his 14 EuroLeague seasons and is best known for his accomplishments with Real Madrid, where he played eight of those seasons. He helped Real reach a golden age with four Final Fours, three championship games appearances and the 2015 EuroLeague crown and 2014 MVP trophy in his first six seasons with the club. Moreover, Chacho did it as a “supersub”, coming off the bench to change games for Los Blancos.
Rodriguez won his second EuroLeague championship with CSKA Moscow in 2018 and in 2021 helped EA7 Emporio Armani Milan reach the Final Four for the first team in 29 years. Two years later, he led Real to another EuroLeague triumph in epic, come-from-behind fashion. Rodriguez retired with nine Final Four appearances and three EuroLeague championships.
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