After changing more than a dozen teams and five countries over the past 15 years, the experienced scoring guard was the mid-season signing Fenerbahce needed
Tribute to the Champs: Errick McCollum
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Age is just a number. A decades-old mantra that has been used more and more in the world of professional sports, with athletes prolonging their prime into the latter stages of their careers, got its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague version in Errick McCollum. The 37-year-old guard became one of the feel-good stories of the entire season, and rightfully so.
McCollum, a former EuroCup MVP and champion, was widely known for his scoring abilities but he had been away from the EuroLeague for almost four years. In mid-January, however, he joined a Fenerbahce side in the midst of an injury crisis. Little did we know that McCollum, who came to fill the holes caused by injuries, would become a difference-maker and one of the key factors in Fenerbahce’s climb to the EuroLeague throne.
It took the veteran guard a couple of games to adjust, but then in nine appearances between Rounds 23 and 31, he averaged 15.4 points on 45.9% three-point shooting. McCollum got injured the next round but he returned in time for the playoffs to help Fenerbahce sweep Paris Basketball. In Abu Dhabi, he emerged once again as one of the team’s heroes at the Final Four, the first time he had reached European basketball's showpiece event.
In the semifinals against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, McCollum scored all 13 of his points in the last 15 minutes of an 82-76 win. He finished the game with a +12, the biggest plus-minus among all Fenerbahce players that night. He went on to score 3 points in the championship game, but with a +8 in the plus-minus section, playing a key part in Fenerbahce’s triumph in Abu Dhabi.
It was a perfect ending to this perfect marriage between McCollum and Fenerbahce, which ended in the dream scenario of becoming the 2024-25 EuroLeague champion.