2018-19 EuroLeague & EuroCup Season Calendar

The Euro Step: James Gist Is A Beast, & Other EuroLeague Round 6 Notes

The Euro Step: James Gist Is A Beast, & Other EuroLeague Round 6 Notes

Cory Higgins is the Klay Thompson of EuroLeague, James Gist won the Battle for Greece, and EuroLeague Round 6 may have been the best yet.

Nov 12, 2018 by Austin Green
The Euro Step: James Gist Is A Beast, & Other EuroLeague Round 6 Notes

Round 6 might have been the best of this EuroLeague season.

The two Greek clubs went at each other’s throats, and four road teams won by seven points or less. It was a crazy, drama-filled week and a good reminder that EuroLeague is ridiculously fun.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest and most interesting storylines from the week. 

Panathinaikos Win The Battle For Greece



When Panathinaikos and Olympiacos play, the line between basketball game and apocalypse is razor-thin. You think Cameron Indoor is wild? Try ducking batteries and coins flying on court while riot police march around an arena filled with flares and smoke.

This time around, PAO survived by dominating in the trenches. They grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and shot 61 percent on twos, including that roaring dunk above from former Maryland Terrapin James Gist. 

PAO’s star Nick Calathes had 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, backup PG Lukas Lekavicius chipped in 17, and Giannis’ older brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo brought great energy.

His heart and hustle on this putback dunk summed up the game:



Luca Vildoza Is So Damn Fun

Baskonia vs. Fenerbahce was awesome, and while Fener won the game, Luca Vildoza won my heart.



I’ve written about Vildoza here before, including him in my list of 10 EuroLeague players who could jump to the NBA. 

He’s from Argentina, and he has that Manu Ginobili DNA. He’s playful and stylish and ruthless at the same time, and I absolutely love it. He only had six points and five assists, but it was probably the coolest six and five I’ve ever seen.

Give me all the one-hand alley-oop passes, please.

Barcelona Keep Rolling 

Outside of undefeated Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow, Barcelona are the hottest team in EuroLeague. 

They’ve won four straight games to recover from a disappointing start. Their latest came on the road against leading scorer Alexey Shved and Khimki Moscow.

It was a close back-and-forth game, but whenever Barca needed a bucket, French PG Thomas Heurtel cooked up something delicious. 



Bayern Munich Shatter Records


Sometimes you make it rain, and sometimes you make a tsunami.

Bayern Munich did the latter in Round 6, flooding the Audi Dome with three-pointers in a 116-70 win vs Darussafaka.

Bayern set club records for points, threes, assists, and margin of victory. Not a bad day at the office. 

Round 6 MVP: Cory Higgins, CSKA Moscow


Cory Higgins is the Klay Thompson of EuroLeague. 

He plays with two former MVPs in Sergio Rodriguez and Nando de Colo, and they get most of the headlines offensively. He also doesn’t get as much credit for their stout defense as their switchy, do-it-all big man Kyle Hines (the Draymond before Draymond). 

But Higgins is a two-way monster — much more than just a role player —and every once in a while, he explodes. That was the case in Round 6 against red-hot Milano, as Higgins dropped 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter to lead CSKA to a 90-85 comeback win on the road.

Top 3 Games Of Round 7

Olympiacos vs Fenerbahce (Thursday, Nov. 15)

Why you should watch: Two perennial title contenders face off in what should be an epic game. Olympiacos will be a bit desperate after dropping two straight and three of their last four. This game features the top two centers in our Flo25 rankings as Nikola Milutinov and Jan Vesely go head to head.

Efes vs Panathinaikos (Friday, Nov. 16)

Why you should watch: Both teams are 4-2 and tied for fourth place. This is a great opportunity for them to get a win against a fellow playoff contender. Efes might be without Shane Larkin (injury), but former NBA PGs Roddy Beaubois and Nick Calathes will be dueling in this one.

Zalgiris vs Barcelona (Friday, Nov. 16)

Why you should watch: Former Gonzaga and Zalgiris star Kevin Pangos makes his return to Lithuania. Barcelona have won four straight, while 3-3 Zalgiris are looking for their first win at home.

Austin Green is an international journalist and scout covering EuroLeague and NBA prospects in Europe and Australia. You can follow him on Twitter @LosCrossovers.

Related Content