When Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus face each other on Wednesday, fans of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague will have another opportunity to see a matchup between two of the best guards in competition history, Sergio Llull and Kostas Sloukas.
Both of them have showcased their talent early this season. Llull nailed a game-sealing three-pointer in Game 1 against Panathinaikos Athens and had a chance to steal a road victory at Palau Blaugrana in Round 2, but missed a last-second shot. Sloukas has been making sure everything runs well, combining for 15 assists and 3 turnovers in Olympiacos's back-to-back victories.
Sloukas is widely regarded as one of the best clutch players in the competition. His game-winning shot against Anadolu Efes Istanbul was chosen as the 2021-22 7DAYS Magic Moment of the season.
Last season, Sloukas came off the bench in all games but one and averaged 11.9 points, 5.0 assists and a PIR of 14.8. He was chosen to the 2021-22 All-EuroLeague Second Team. Sloukas had previously been chosen to the 2016-17 All-EuroLeague First Team.
Llull captured the honors as the EuroLeague MVP for the 2016-17 season. Sloukas, however, won his third EuroLeague that season. He also lifted the trophy with Olympiacos in 2011 and 2012. Llull, who was also chosen to the 2010-11 All-EuroLeague Second Team, celebrated EuroLeague championships with Real in 2015 and 2018.