Barca's Vesely still going strong after 300 career appearances

Friday was a milestone night for a former EuroLeague MVP; FC Barcelona center Jan Vesely made his 300th appearance in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in a win over AS Monaco.

"We sometimes forget how many years [Vesely] has already been playing in the EuroLeague," his teammate and countryman Tomas Satoransky said after Friday's win. "It's a hell of an accomplishment and I am happy to share this with him on the court. I think he can keep going. He is playing good basketball and I am very happy for him."

While Satorasky led all scorers with 15 points against Monaco, Vesely was instrumental in Barcelona's 80-70 triumph with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He also had a game-high PIR of 20.

More importantly, Vesely scored 9 of those points in a second quarter, pacing Barcelona during its best stretch of play in this game, and helping the team open a double-digit cushion.

It is fair to say that earlier this season, Vesely was trying to find himself in his first year in Barcelona after spending the last eight with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. But Vesely seems to have found his role quite nicely over the past three months. Especially, and more consistently, in recent weeks.

Barcelona was 4-0 in the month of February to move back up the standings and looks in great shape with a 17-8 record and set to fight for the home-court advantage in the playoffs during the final stretch of the regular season.

Vesely had quite a big role during this February stretch. He scored in double figures in three of those four games and has averaged 7.0 rebounds and a PIR of 16.0 over the last three rounds.

Few EuroLeague teams have depth quite like Barcelona, a perennial contender trying to make its third consecutive Final Four. With Vesely, it also has the valuable experience of how to win the crown.

Barcelona finished atop of the regular season standings in each of the past two seasons, but needed five playoff games to reach the Final Four both times before coming a couple of shots short on both occasions. This season, the team has more roster pieces than in previous years who know a thing or two about winning the EuroLeague title.

Vesely is one of four Barcelona players who have already won the EuroLeague crown – along with Nikola Kalinic, Sertac Sanli and two-time champ Cory Higgins. Vesely and Kalinic won it together with Fenerbahce in 2017.

More than the title-winning know-how, as recent weeks have proven, Barcelona will benefit from Vesely successfully troubling the opposition in the paint on both sides of the floor.

There is plenty of basketball still to be played, but with the team steadying the course and trending in the right direction, the high-flying Czech with his experience and his play could just be the factor that helps tip Barcelona over the final hump.