Will Clyburn has played at a EuroLeague championship level in Virtus’s last four games
Game-winner latest example of Clyburn turning the corner
Everyone knows about Will Clyburn’s championship pedigree. But the 34-year-old has struggled to deliver victories in his first season at Virtus Segafredo Bologna. The American seems to have turned the corner though of late with his game-winning four-point play at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz the latest example.
Clyburn drained a three-pointer originally thought to be at the buzzer to tie the game at Baskonia. He was fouled by Chima Moneke from behind and then converted the bonus free throw with 1.9 seconds left to secure an 81-82 road win to snap a six-game losing streak.
“I knew we needed a three. Toko [Shengelia] made a great pass back to me and he trusted me to make that shot,” said Clyburn, who finished the game with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for an index rating of 25.
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“Will had that amazing shot. And not only the shot, you have to make the free throw after that. There was a clutch free throw as well,” said Shengelia, who chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Clyburn arrived at Virtus after two seasons at Anadolu Efes Istanbul, where he had hoped to continue Efes’s winning ways following back-to-back crowns. But he was never able to hoist the EuroLeague crown with the Turkish club.
The Detroit native desperately wanted that feeling again after winning the EuroLeague in 2019 with CSKA Moscow while also taking home the EuroLeague Final Four MVP trophy that year and being named to the All-EuroLeague First Team.
Virtus was hoping to get a EuroLeague champion and leader in Clyburn when it signed him this off-season. Clyburn however has needed some time to get going. Sure, he scored 27 points as Virtus picked up its first win of the season in Round 5 against Partizan, but Clyburn averaged 10.9 points in the first 11 games of the season.
Things started looking up for Clyburn individually in the Round 12 loss against Paris Basketball as he scored 25 points and followed that with 23 points against ALBA Berlin. And in Round 14, Clyburn scored 19 points to go with 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block for a PIR of 38.
The fourth quarter against Baskonia looked like vintage Will Clyburn as he tallied 12 of his 23 points in the final 10 minutes. All told, he has averaged 22.5 points in the last four games and an average index rating of 26.5.
Virtus is not yet out of the woods yet. But having Clyburn in EuroLeague champion form will definitely help the cause.