Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. took care of business on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Arena in the German capital with a 71-106 victory to improve to 14-13 on the season. 

Maccabi romps past ALBA 71-106

<incrowd-live-blog id="65e0314659f35bd260edbba9" client-id="EUROLEAGUE" server="standard"></incrowd-live-blog><script src="https://live-blog.incrowdsports.com/index.js"></script>

Wade Baldwin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv is surrounded by ALBA Berlin players in Round 27 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The result marked Maccabi's largest ever margin of victory in a road game. 

ALBA Berlin v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-02-29T19:00:00.000Z)

Mike James can write Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history in golden letters when his team AS Monaco (16-10) visits FC Barcelona (18-8) at Palau Blaugrana in Round 27.

Mike James and Monaco aim to make history in Barcelona

### A shot at the scoring record

James enters Round 27 with 4,427 career points, which places him second on the all-time list behind only three-time EuroLeague champion and Final Four MVP Vassilis Spanoulis, who still leads the standings with 4,455 points. James needs 29 points to pass Spanoulis and become the competition's all-time scoring king. Hehas scored at least 29 points 13 times in his 269-game career, which is roughly once every 20 games. His last game with as many points was with Monaco against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on February 1, 2022. He led Monaco to an 83-91 road win that night with exactly 29 points.

Mike James had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a PIR of 23 in a 91-71 home victory.

James led Monaco past Barcelona in Round 17

How has James played against Barça over the years? Not particularly well. Earlier this season, he had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a PIR of 23 in a 91-71 home victory. In 16 games against Barça, James has averaged 13.3 points on 18-for-72 three-point shooting (25.0% 3FG) and a PIR of 13.0. He never scored more than 20 points against Barça and had arguably one of the worst games of his career against them with 2 points and a PIR of -8 in a 72-57 loss with Panathinaikos at Palau Blaugrana. James will need his best-ever game against Barça in order to break the scoring record in Round 27.

### The scoring record: a chronology

Several players have led the competition in scoring over the years. The late Alphonso Ford was the first leader, scoring 35 points in his first-ever game in the competition. Ford did not stop filling the baskets in the first three years of the competition, tallying 1,200 points in 54 games for an all-time best scoring average of 22.2. Due to playing more games, Gregor Fucka was the competition's top scorer after the 2000-01 season with 335 points, followed by Manu Ginobili (334). Ford was the next leader until Marcus Brown passed him late in the 2003-04 campaign. Luis Scola overtook Brown during the 2006-07 season but when Scola went to the NBA, Brown regained the scoring throne.

After Brown retired, Juan Carlos Navarro claimed the scoring crown on November 24, 2011, when he scored his 2,740th point with FC Barcelona against Union Olimpija Ljubljana. Navarro pushed the scoring record to 4,152 points. The EuroLeague format change allowed players to take part in more games, and it was only a matter of time before Vassilis Spanoulis overtook him, which happened on January 2, 2020, in a game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Now James is set to take over with Nando De Colo (4,383 points) not far behind.

### Ricky's potential comeback, and much more

The word out there is that Ricky Rubio may return to the EuroLeague against Monaco. If he does, Rubio will be back to the competition 4,720 days after his last game: that is 12 years, 11 months and 2 days since Barça lost Game 4 of the 2011 playoffs against Panathinaikos. Rubio left as arguably one of the most interesting prospects in basketball: a EuroLeague, EuroCup and EuroBasket champion, as well as an Olympic silver medalist, who played a major role in all competitions before he turned 21 years old. If he plays, Rubio may match up with James in what already is a game to remember for both players, for different reasons.

There is much more to this game, of course. One of the best offensive players at the '4' position, Jabari Parker of Barça, goes against EuroLeague Best Defender candidate John Brown. Monaco has other good scoring options in its backcourt such as Elie Okobo, Kemba Walker and Jordan Loyd, who could benefit from James being double-teamed. Barça has firepower with Alex Abrines back in action, joining Dario Brizuela and Nico Laprovittola. Even if Rubio remains unavailable, Coach Roger Grimau can count on Tomas Satoransky as his team's floor general and defensive anchor. Jan Vesely and Willy Hernangomez combined for 10 points in Monaco, and they should be ready for a bounce-back performance against Donta Hall, Donatas Motiejunas and Mam Jaiteh.

Put it all together and you get one of the most highly anticipated regular season games in recent years. Tune in at 20:30 on Friday and enjoy the show! 

FC Barcelona v AS Monaco (2024-03-01T19:30:00.000Z)

Two teams on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff race, collide in a high-stakes game in the Serbian capital.

Roller coaster seasons intersect for Partizan, Efes

After entering this season with high hopes, many things have not gone as planned for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (12-14) and Anadolu Efes Istanbul (11-15). Tonight, after three weeks without EuroLeague action, [these two teams collide in a massive game](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade-anadolu-efes-istanbul/E2023/236/) for both sides.

One team, Partizan, hopes to put an end to its struggles, while Efes hopes to keep rising after winning just nine of the first 24 games and the coaching change that ensued.

Their Round 10 game in late November ended with [Efes pulling out a 100-94 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/anadolu-efes-istanbul-partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/E2023/87/), but other than the point difference, very little from that game is of great relevance on Thursday night. That's in large part because of the roller coaster ride both teams have been on, especially since that game.

Two teams with aspirations much higher than their current standing wrestle over a valuable victory with two-time winners Efes confronting Partizan, which has lost three in a row on their travels. Zeljko Obradovic faces Erdem Can, who served as the former's assistant at Fenerbahce for seven years.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | Round 10 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

It is hard to find a team that has had it worse than Efes, which saw four of its top eight performers each miss at least nine games due to injury, and that's not counting [Rodrigue Beaubois](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rodrigue-beaubois/006590/) missing four games as well. Poor results led to the dismissal of head coach Erdem Can, who was replaced by the team's long-time assistant Tomislav Mijatovic ahead of Round 25. It took Efes's struggling offense just one half of basketball to re-discover its groove under Mijatovic.

In his coaching debut, Efes scored 34 points in the first half against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, which led to Mijatovic's simple message: "Offensively, we need to relax a little more", Mijatovic said at halftime of that game. "The shots will come."

The team listened. They relaxed. And the shots have come, making things click once again.

Since that halftime moment, Efes has scored 27 or more points in four of the six EuroLeague quarters it has played. Over that time the team is averaging 25.0 points per quarter, which would prorate to 100.0 per game. The team has also knocked down a total of 20 three-pointers over those six quarters, which would come out to 13.3 per game.

Shane Larkin's highlights for Efes vs Milan

Yes, it is a small sample, but a telling one, especially with Efes's main engine [Shane Larkin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/shane-larkin/007200/) shining with 20.5 points on 50.0% three-point shooting with 6.0 assists in two games under Mijatovic.

But for Coach Mijatovic's squad, which won their first six games in all competitions under his guidance before losing in the Turkish Cup final against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, the challenge gets a bit different.

For one, Efes has not done well on the road this season, so much so that only one EuroLeague team has a worse road record than Efes's 2-11.

Also, Efes arrives at a city where, despite all of its dominance and title-winning in recent years, it has not played well as a visitor. Efes might have won its 2022 EuroLeague crown at Stark Arena, making it forever a memorable place for the club, but it has lost four straight against either Partizan or Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet in Belgrade, registering its last win in November 2020, and allowing 91.5 points in four losses since then.

The other challenge for Efes is that visiting Partizan is never an ordinary game. And in addition to it being an environment in which Partizan thrives, it is also a place where no lead is safe. Partizan has already pulled out six comebacks on its home floor after trailing by double figures.

Partizan erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit against Zvezda, and then a 14-point third-quarter deficit against Fenerbahce. Partizan rallied from 10 down with 4 minutes to go to edge Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and also overcame Milan after trailing by 15 in the third quarter. Partizan pulled out its largest-ever comeback, beating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv despite trailing by 24 points in the second quarter, and also was down by 11 early on against Zalgiris Kaunas.

Partizan's 24-point comeback vs Maccabi

Those were the in-game roller coasters that Partizan has been involved in. The other part is that a win over Zalgiris in Round 23 was Partizan's last, and the team that once held a 9-6 record enters this game on a three-game losing streak and having lost eight of its last 11 games.

The struggles have come, somewhat unexpectedly on offense as only three teams are average fewer than Partizan's 78.2 points over the last 11 games. Partizan averaged 86.5 points in the first 15 rounds.

It puts Partizan in a position with little room for error, especially at home where it still gets to play five times this season. And even though the remaining schedule has Partizan still holding its post-season destiny in its own hands, Coach Zeljko Obradovic's men will be playing with their backs against the wall for the rest of the season.

That will make Efes's job even tougher, but not that Larkin, [Will Clyburn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/will-clyburn/004888/), [Tibor Pleiss](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tibor-pleiss/lhk/), Beaubois and the rest of the squad are not up to the task. But, the same way, [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/), [Zach LeDay](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/zach-leday/008987/) & co. will not want to disappoint their army of fans again.

It is a night and a game that can easily turn things around for the winning side, but it just remains to be seen whether it will be Partizan or Efes on Thursday night that will improve its position ahead of the sprint to the finish line.

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2024-02-29T19:30:00.000Z)

Check out some bold predictions from EuroLeague.net staff members for Round 27 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Bold predictions for Round 27

### Codi continues where he left off

#### *by Igor Petrinovic*

The last time he took the EuroLeague floor, Codi Miller-McIntyre made history, dishing a record 20 assists and becoming the third man in competition history to record a triple-double as he collected 11 points and 11 rebounds as well. In his last three games, Miller-McIntyre has averaged 13.7 points, 14.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and had two games with a PIR of at least 39. Baskonia won two of those games and lost the third in overtime. During the EuroLeague break, playing for the Bulgarian national team, Miller-McInyre led the team in a shocking win over reigning World Cup champion Germany with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. I think Miller-McIntyre will continue shining his week when Baskonia travels to Istanbul to face its direct playoff rival Fenerbahce. Miller-McIntyre will have another double-digit assists game with all-time assists leader Nick Calathes on the opposite side.

Basketball history made in nothern Spain by Codi Miller-MacIntyre.

Codi Miller-MacIntyre | The Record-Breaker

### Mike James will come up just short of making history

#### *by Geoff Gillingham*

Basketball fans from all over the world will be tuning in to see what unfolds at Palau Blaugrana on Friday night, as AS Monaco’s Mike James looks to become the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer. James needs 29 points to surpass Vassilis Spanoulis in first spot, but he has not scored 29 all season long. He has, however, had 28 points on two occasions, which would be enough to see him tie the Greek legend’s career total of 4,455. As much as I would love to see Mike get the job done, scoring 29 in a EuroLeague is tough – and even more so against a Barca team that now has Ricky Rubio among its ranks. The spotlight is likely to be split between James and Rubio, who could make his second Barca debut, and that battle between the two guards will be fascinating to watch. I hate to spoil the fun, but I think we’ll see James make history six days after the Barca game by chasing a single-digit figure when Monaco hosts Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 28. 

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Only 𝟚𝟡 ℙ𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕤 left 🤏<br><br>Will <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNatural_05?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheNatural_05</a> break the record this Friday? 👀 <a href="https://t.co/Cc827IwUOK">pic.twitter.com/Cc827IwUOK</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1762424321731940370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Trinchieri keeps it perfect at home

#### *by Frankie Sachs*

Andrea Trinchieri took over as Zalgiris Kaunas’s head of bench at the midway point of the regular season and the Lithuanian champs have not lost at Zalgirio Arena since. That is a run of four straight home wins, including over top-tier teams Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Olympiacos Piraeus, which enters Round 27 tied with Fener in the standings at 15-11, will be the next team to go down in Kaunas. 

Olympiacos has won its last five meetings with Zalgiris, but the teams had a bit of a rivalry before that, highlighted by Zalgiris knocking the Reds out in the 2018 playoffs. Olympiacos arrives with three former Zalgiris players on the roster – Thomas Walkup, Ignas Brazdeikis and Naz Mitrou-Long. But none of that matters. The key is that Zalgiris (11-15) now believes it can make up ground and fight its way into the Play-In Showdown and for that to happen, it needs to continue taking care of business at home. I am confident that it will do so again this week.  

When Andrea Trinchieri landed in Lithuania to become the new head coach for Zalgiris Kaunas at the tail end of 2023, he knew he was in for a wild ride.
 
Zalgiris is a basketball institution, both at a national and continental level, and that in itself brings with it a certain amount of pressure. As if that was not enough, the gruesome schedule the team had ahead was another hurdle he would have to overcome early in his tenure.

Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris: 'These unbelievable fans can push you'

### Valencia will beat Virtus in Bologna

#### *by Javier Gancedo*

It is do-or-time for Valencia Basket in its race to reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Valencia comes off a disappointing loss in Copa del Rey action against Real Madrid in which it was down by 25 points at the end of the third quarter. It is a good time to bounce back against a team that rarely loses at home. Star forward Semi Ojeleye returns to Bologna for the first time since leaving the club and should be ready for a monster performance. Brandon Davies is back, so Valencia has the physicality it needs at center to go against Ante Zizic and Bryant Dunston. Valencia lost the 2022 EuroCup Semifinals against Virtus and that may be in the back of their minds, too. It is a pivotal game for Coach Alex Mumbru's team and his players will fight until the end for an important, prestigious win. 

Two of the EuroLeague’s top teams this season go head-to-head at 20:45 CET this Thursday night

Real Madrid vs. Panathinaikos: A chance to make a statement

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague returns with a bang on Thursday night, as [Real Madrid (22-4) hosts Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (16-10) at WiZink Center](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/real-madrid-panathinaikos-aktor-athens/E2023/237/). There are just eight rounds remaining in the 2023-24 regular season, and this meeting between first and third place, respectively, pits two of the best teams from this current campaign up against one another.

When the two clubs met at OAKA back in Round 13, Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman was still putting the pieces together after an eventful offseason that saw almost an entirely new roster put together, with the Greens going 6-6 through the first 12 games. Real Madrid, meanwhile, was still flying after becoming the EuroLeague champion last season and had started the 2023-24 campaign with an impressive 11-1 record; its only loss came in overtime to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 11. By the sound of the final buzzer in Athens, [Real won 78-90](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/panathinaikos-aktor-athens-real-madrid/E2023/110/) to improve to 12-1, while Panathinaikos dropped to a 6-7 mark.

Real showed its defensive excellence by holding Olympiacos to 71 points and triumph in Piraeus. They seek a perfect Greek week at the expense of a Greens team that couldn't ignite their offense at Efes, and will look to Kostas Sloukas to recover his best form after netting just 6 and 9 points in the last two.

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Real Madrid | Round 13 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

### Responding in style

Since then, though, the Greens have been on a roll. Ataman’s squad went 8-1 over the next nine games to shoot up the standings, before going 2-2 over its last four fixtures just prior to the two-week break. That means Panathinaikos heads to WiZink Center with a 16-10 record – the same as AS Monaco in fourth – yet there is a trend that the team will be looking to address, starting in Round 27.

Since the turn of the year, Panathinaikos has gone 1-3 on its travels, with its only win being a one-point triumph at Valencia Basket in Round 19 on January 5. Its other losses were at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (Round 18; January 3), Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (Round 23; January 25) and Zalgiris Kaunas (Round 25; February 2). At home, however, has been a different story, as the Greens have won six straight at OAKA since falling to Real in early December. Therefore, trying to carry that dominant home form on the road has to be the main objective for Ataman and his players following the break.

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### A worrying trend?

For Real, it has a four-game lead over second-placed FC Barcelona, yet there are a few things that head coach Chus Mateo will be looking to improve upon now that the EuroLeague is back underway. *Los Blancos* opened the new year by suffering their second defeat of the campaign, which came against archrival Barca at Palau Blaugrana, and that was quickly followed by the memorable quadruple-overtime victory against Anadolu Efes Istanbul. It was a win, yes, but going to quadruple overtime against a team that was in the midst of a five-game losing streak wasn’t exactly a great sign.

There was a comfortable win at FC Bayern Munich that followed, but then another overtime win – this time just one overtime sufficed – against Valencia Basket. Games that Real had wrapped up midway through the fourth period earlier in the season were now going to an extra period. Something had changed. One week on from beating Valencia, Coach Mateo’s side lost handily at Monaco, 98-74, which was the club’s heaviest EuroLeague defeat in three years. After appearing invincible in 2023, Real looked a different proposition altogether in the first month of 2024.

Nevertheless, Real closed the month with two home victories, where offense was the order of the day, against Olympiacos Piraeus (90-85) and Maccabi (106-101), before making it three home wins in a row by downing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (86-79). Yet, an 81-76 loss at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan left a bad taste in the mouths of many ahead of the FIBA window.

One thing that is important to bear in mind is that Real is still yet to lose at home this season, even if Efes and Valencia both made *Los Blancos*’ supporters sweat a little by forcing overtime. With just four home games remaining, it’s not unfathomable that Real ends the campaign with a perfect 17-0 home record, but Panathinaikos will certainly make things interesting.

And, with a win against Panathinaikos, Coach Mateo’s group will officially reach the EuroLeague Playoffs. 

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">👊 ¡A una victoria de clasificarnos para el playoff de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a>! <a href="https://t.co/23QhlwvyhN">pic.twitter.com/23QhlwvyhN</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1762205900507623709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Star matchups on the court

Let’s go back to that Round 13 matchup between Panathinaikos and Real for a second. Despite losing, the Greens had three standout performers on the night – and all three are likely to be leaned on at WiZink Center. [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) went to work and finished with a game-high 24 points, [Mathias Lessort](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mathias-lessort/003842/) contributed 18 points, and [Dinos Mitoglou](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/konstantinos-mitoglou/007866/) came close to a double-double by posting 15 points and 9 rebounds. Should they achieve similar numbers at WiZink Center, it could spell bad news for Real.

However, they were the only three Panathinaikos players to hit double figures in scoring. Real, conversely, had five: [Mario Hezonja](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mario-hezonja/003108/) (19 points), [Gabriel Deck](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/gabriel-deck/009005/) (16), [Dzanan Musa](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/dzanan-musa/006540/) (14), [Sergio Llull](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sergio-llull/tgb/) (11) and [Walter Tavares ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/)(10). That ultimately proved to be the main difference, but with Real players playing more minutes than any other EuroLeague squad during the FIBA window, according to Marco Pagliariccio, perhaps fatigue may be something Coach Mateo has to be wary of.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Minutes player by Euroleague players in February 2024 FIBA window, divided per team <a href="https://t.co/KuzrXGgg4f">pic.twitter.com/KuzrXGgg4f</a></p>&mdash; Marco Pagliariccio (@loupaya) <a href="https://twitter.com/loupaya/status/1762502529399570593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There are so many exciting matchups to keep an eye on – [Facundo Campazzo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/facundo-campazzo/005928/) vs. [Jerian Grant](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jerian-grant/011204/), Tavares vs. Lessort and Nunn vs. Musa to name just three – that this game is certainly worth tuning in for. Panathinaikos is looking to get its first win against Real at WiZink Center since March 21, 2013, while Real is keen to get back on track and notch its fourth straight victory over the Greens.

What more is there to say? It should be a lot of fun.

Real Madrid v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2024-02-29T19:45:00.000Z)

His very first steps in the EuroLeague hinted strongly at the unique player and consummate pro that Ricky Rubio would become.

Remembering when Ricky Rubio first set foot on a EuroLeague court

[Ricky Rubio](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ricky-rubio/lfw/) turned 16 three days before [his first EuroLeague game, on October 24, 2006](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2006-07/dkv-joventut-panathinaikos-athens/E2006/7/#boxscore), when Joventut Badalona hosted mighty Panathinaikos Athens in a special season-opening game, one night ahead of the rest of the competition.

The hype around Rubio had already been building since he debuted in the Spanish League almost a year earlier, a week before his 15th birthday.

Now, with Joventut having qualified for the EuroLeague by winning the previous season's EuroCup championship, Rubio was stepping up to the big time. When he entered the court midway through the first quarter for Joventut, he became the first EuroLeague participant born in the 1990s and, at the time, the fifth-youngest player ever to appear in a game.

But it's what happened soon after he entered the game, which I witnessed while sitting under one basket at courtside, that stuck with me all these years.

With his team leading 12-5 and forcing an early Panathinaikos timeout, Rubio came on court as Joventut's substitute point guard. His first task was to bring the ball up the court, which sounds simple except that guarding him was Dimitris Diamantidis, [whose long-time career steals record may finally fall this week](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&statisticMode=accumulated&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&statistic=steals). Diamantidis swiped at the youngster the long arms that earned him the nickname Spiderman in Greece. Rubio seemed unfazed by the attention of the EuroLeague's consensus best perimeter ball-hawk ever, winner of five Best Defender trophies? as voted by the head coaches. Instead of a steal, Diamantidis got called for a foul.

Remembering Rubio's debut

Joventut's next basket, and Rubio's first, is remarkable to watch still. It came on a sideline inbounds, with Rubio set on the far low block near the basket. He was in a crouch, poised to run the inbounds play, with Diamantidis ready to follow him wherever Rubio darted. But Rubio never took another step. Lubos Barton saw him over the entire defense and lobbed an alley-oop pass direct from the sideline that Rubio kissed off the glass while everyone else on the floor watched. It was a remarkable basket for anyone and more so for being Rubio's first in the EuroLeague at such a precocious age.

Panathinaikos would rally from 24 points behind and also ruin the EuroLeague debut of Rudy Fernandez that night, then go on to win three of the next five continental titles. But the poised first steps of Ricky Rubio proved memorable, too.

### A teenage steals machine

Rubio made 3 steals in 12 minutes that night while Diamantidis had 2 in almost 33 minutes. That's a statistic that is worth revisiting because Rubio went on to average 3.2 steals over his 16 appearances that season.

No EuroLeague player has averaged as many steals in any season since then. Indeed, [Rubio's league-leading 3.2-steal average in 2006-07 is the most ever by a player appearing in 16 or more EuroLeague games](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=E2006&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=steals). He's bracketed on the list of best per-game stealers by greats like the late Dejan Milojevic, Riccardo Pittis and Manu Ginobili. But Rubio did it as a 16-year-old first-timer on the continent's biggest stage.

Even more impressive is that Rubio played just 18 minutes per night that season. That worked out to a rate of 6.8 steals per 40 minutes, far above other great stealers that season like Fred House (4.0 per 40 minutes) and Pablo Prigioni (3.9). Indeed, no other player has ever surpassed 4.9 steals per 40 minutes, and very few were over 4.0, most of them in the EuroLeague's very first season, 2000-01, and most for Italian teams at a time when scorers in that country often credited the closest defender with a steal for an unforced turnover by the offensive team.

The bottom line is no single-season steals leader ever came close to Rubio's 6.8 steals per 40 minutes in his debut season. He might not have had the body then to challenge much older defenders as a scorer, but Rubio's remarkable reading of the game was already evident on the side of the floor where that is most difficult: defense.

Rubio's flashy handles and passing would soon win him global followers, but his world-class on-the-ball defense was just as valuable as he climbed the ranks of international basketball.

### Accomplishments to match his accolades

Rubio's star rose quickly from there. Two seasons later, he was a part-time starter as Joventut lifted the 2008-09 EuroCup trophy, averaging 7.6 points, 4.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 21 minutes per game. His steals total of 38 led the league. He returned to the EuroLeague in 2008-09 but was injured to start it and barely played as Joventut bowed out after 10 regular season games.

Rubio joined FC Barcelona for the 2009-10 season and was essential to the club claiming just its second continental title ever. He started all 22 games that season with averages of 6.8 points, 4.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 21 minutes. He scored his EuroLeague career high of 19 points in Game 4 of the playoffs as Barca knocked out archrival Real Madrid to reach the Final Four.

In Paris, he put up 10 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in a double-digit semifinal victory over CSKA Moscow, playing 32 minutes and proving instrumental in limiting the great J.R. Holden to 7 points. He played less in the championship game, 17 minutes, but scored 9 points to just 10 for that season's MVP, Milos Teodosic of Olympiacos Piraeus. Barcelona won easily, 86-68, and Rubio became a EuroLeague champion at 19 years old.

By then, he had already won an Olympic silver medal and EuroBasket gold with the Spanish national team in 2008 and 2009, respectively. He would win EuroBasket again in 2011 and add the World Cup as MVP in 2019.

His jump to the NBA in 2011 saw Rubio play 698 games over 12 seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He overcame a serious knee injury and at one point started in 454 out of 455 games between the 2013-14 and 2019-20 seasons.

Now, more than 17 years since he first stepped on a EuroLeague court, fans will get to see again what made him so special to begin with and Rubio will get a chance to help Barca's push for its first continental crown since he left.

Legendary Panathinaikos B.C. big man Mike Batiste sat down with Javier Gancedo of the EuroLeague’s official website to talk about the current state of the Greens.

Mike Batiste: ‘Of course I'm following Panathinaikos!’

One of the premier big men of his era, [Mike Batiste](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mike-batiste/ajv/)’s playing career saw him dominate the paint for Panathinaikos Athens, where he remains a club legend. Even today, he continues to keep a close eye on the Greens from afar.

Batiste played 10 of his dozen EuroLeague seasons with Panathinaikos, where he won three EuroLeague crowns and nine Greek championships and was twice named to the All-EuroLeague team. In that time, he averaged 10.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 204 games in a Panathinaikos uniform, while teaming up with fellow legends of the club such as Frankie Alvertis, Dimitris Diamantidis, Saras Jasikevicius, Antonis Fotsis, Nick Calathes and many more. 

### Mike Batiste on Panathinaikos

These days, Batiste serves as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA, but he makes sure to watch Panathinaikos play as often as possible. He recently sat down with Javier Gancedo of the EuroLeague’s official website to talk a little about this season’s Panathinaikos squad.

“Of course I'm following the team,” Batiste said. “Every game that I watch, they're playing together, they're playing for one another and they're making it very difficult for their opponents. They have a way to play, they have an identity and you see that through the TV screen. And again, it reminds me of, you know, my times of when we had our success. And I'm hoping that it would end in the right way in terms of those guys winning the championship.”

### Mike Batiste at the Final Four?

The second of Batiste’s EuroLeague championships came in the same arena where the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four will be played in Berlin, Germany, this season. And if the Greens, whose last Final Four came in 2012 with Batiste in the middle, can end that drought, he hopes to be there. 

"It'll be like a déjà vu moment, you know, to actually win in Berlin in 2009 and then, 14-15 years later, your team is back in that same position. But this time I'm in the stands as a fan watching those guys,” Batiste noted. “But if they're there, I plan on being there, supporting them, cheering them on and hopefully, and in the end they will be holding the title.”

One of the premier big men of his era, Mike Batiste’s playing career saw him dominate the paint for Panathinaikos Athens, where he remains a club legend. Even today, he continues to keep a close eye on the Greens from afar.

The legendary big man sat down with Javier Gancedo of the EuroLeague’s official website to talk about the current state of the Greens

One year after the first edition and their (not so) huge success, the quirky awards are back to honor some of the things that stole the show and are not nearly as discussed as they should be.

Trademarks: EuroLeague quirky awards for the 2023-24 regular season

We did it last year and we like to repeat our mistakes. So it’s time again for the EuroLeague quirky awards.

Mind you, this is not the basketball equivalent of the Golden Raspberry Awards. On the contrary, this distinction has real value and that’s why if there’s an addition worthy of mentioning before the end of the regular season, we will not hesitate to make it.

[MORE...](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1635936/euroleague-quirky-awards-for-the-2023-24-regular-season/)

Playoff-chasing but inconsistent Maccabi (13-13) will look to strengthen its position in the top 10 with a trip to lowly ALBA (5-21). 

Game Preview: ALBA Berlin vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.

[Rosters](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/alba-berlin-maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/E2023/235/#roster) | [Facts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/tae2324-rs27-game-notes-ber-tel/) | [Notes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/tae2324-rs27-game-notes-ber-tel/) | [Quotes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/tae2324-rs27-prequotes-ber-tel/) |[ TV](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/tv-listings-el/) | [Fantasy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/fantasy-challenge-tips-round-27/)

Maccabi has lost six in a row on the road mainly due to a leaky defense that allowed 105 points last time out against Efes. But the Israeli champion does have [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/) in great form, netting at least 22 points in four straight games. Baldwin also top scored for his team with 18 points when Maccabi comfortably downed ALBA, 102-81, in November, a game that also saw the German team's talented young swingman [Gabriele Procida](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/gabriele-procida/008384/) set a new personal best with 22 points.

[ALBA Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/alba-berlin/statistics/ber/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases) | [Maccabi Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/statistics/tel/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases)

Sterling Brown vs. Lorenzo Brown: Two star guards go to battle in Berlin, Germany.

Maccabi enter its second home game in a matter of days via a visit from rock-bottom ALBA, who istill await a a first road win of 23/24. The Germans are to prepare for Lorenzo Brown's role as the host's main playmaker, yet they'll also need focus on former player Tamir Blatt, who ranks fifth overall for assists.