The third in the family saga, at 26 years old, can boast of having the two major titles in club competitions in his showcase: only 13 players have achieved it
Kostas Antetokounmpo, the member of the family saga with the most titles
Updated 28/05/2024 12:10 CEST
His brother Giannis He cried in the band and melted into an emotional hug in the middle of the Berlin night. it coststhe third in the Antetokounmpo family saga, with four brothers in the world’s basketball elite, raised the Euroleague with the Panathinaikos and achieved a milestone within the reach of very few in history. Inside of 26 years is he thirteenth player that raises the highest club competition in Europe and adds the trophy to the ring of the NBAwhich in his case he achieved in 2020 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, even before his famous brother, twice MVP of the American competition.
This path was opened in his day Bill Bradley, who in 1966 lifted the European Cup and then triumphed in the NBA with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. Other players, some legends and others marginal notes on their respective teams, have repeated the feat since then. We review their names below:
1
Bill Bradley
Milan (66) and Knicks (70.73)
This American basketball legend was ahead of his time, as he decided to delay his arrival in the NBA for a year so he could study at Oxford University and play in Europe after being chosen by the New York Knicks. By then, Bradley already had one Olympic gold (64) and was voted MVP of the NCAA tournament in 1965, although Princeton did not win the title. While studying politics, philosophy and economics in England on a scholarship, he was a key member of the Olimpia Milan team that won the 1966 European Cup, the precursor of the current Euroleague. In 1967, after a brief stint in the Army Reserve, he finally began his professional career in the NBA, where he played 10 seasons as a key member of the champion Knicks in 1970 and 1973.
2
Jim Brewer
Lakers (82) y Cantù (83)
A decade later, Brewer became the second player to complete the NBA-Euroleague double, and the first to do so in consecutive years. This powerful power forward was a member of the second unit of the champion Lakers in 1982, alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and company. It was his last year in the United States before moving to Italy, to the Pallacanestro Cantù, to also triumph in the twilight of his career. As a curiosity, it is interesting to know that he is Doc Rivers’ uncle, and it is also worth remembering that he was one of those injured in the controversial Olympic silver medal of the United States against the Soviet Union in 1972.
3
Larry Wright
Bullets (78) y Roma (84)
This point guard divided his professional career by playing six years in the United States and another six in Italy. With Washington he won the ring in 1978, being a member of the group’s second unit. As soon as he landed at the Banco di Roma he became a superstar, lifting the Italian league in his first year and then taking the European continental title, leading the group with 27 points against Barça.
4
Bob McAdoo
Lakers (82, 85) and Milan (87, 88)
The NBA legend, five-time All Star and MVP of the season in 1975, was the first player to achieve doubles in both the United States and Europe. He was a key part of Showtime’s Los Angeles Lakers and then knew how to extend his career in Europe during the golden years of Olimpia de Milan.
5
Zan Tabak
Split (89-91) y Rockets (95)
The Croatian giant was a member of the KK Split triplet in the early 1990s, and then embarked on the NBA adventure years after being chosen deep in the Draft. For him, it was arriving and kissing the saint, having a residual role as Hakeem Olajuwon’s reserve, playing 37 regular season games and scoring 6 points in 31 minutes of play in eight playoff games. The center would spend a total of five seasons in the United States before returning to Europe via Spain, playing for Madrid, Joventut and Málaga.
6
Toni Kukoc
Split (89-91) y Bulls (96-98)
Another Croatian who made history, at another level, was Michael Jordan’s teammate on the Chicago Bulls for the second triplet. He was part of the legendary Jugoplastika with Tabak between ’89 and ’91, then making the leap to the NBA, where he quickly became one of the best Europeans to have stepped foot on American courts. To this day he remains the only player with three titles in both the Euroleague and the NBA, a milestone that is difficult to repeat.
7
Manu Ginobili
Bologna (01) and Spurs (03, 05, 07, 14)
The Argentine legend is the Euroleague champion who has won the NBA the most times, a total of four times thanks to the San Antonio Spurs. The shooting guard jumped from Argentina to Italy, where he started by raising Calabria from the second division to the first division before becoming part of the legendary Virtus at the beginning of the 21st century. He was the MVP of the Euroleague Finals in 2001, where Kinder Bologna defeated Tau Cerámica in a best-of-five game. His landing in San Antonio propelled a legendary Spurs along with Tim Duncan and Toni Parker.
8
Rasho Nesterovic
Bologna (98) and Spurs (05)
This center was the first and only Slovenian to date to achieve the double, first being key to Virtus’ achievement of the continental title with 6 points and 9 rebounds in the 1998 grand final. Then he made the leap to the NBA, where He spent 12 seasons contributing at a very good level, mainly as a starting center during his time with the Timberwolves, Spurs and Raptors. With San Antonio, he won the ring in 2005 acting as a luxury reserve and having only 7 minutes of play in the final phase.
9
Josh Powell
Lakers (09, 10) and Olympiacos (13)
This globetrotter began very early, in 2003, to try international adventures after not having been chosen in the NBA Draft. He started in Russia, but ended up in Italy already in his first year. It was not until 2005 until he was able to debut in the American league with the Dallas Mavericks, and for much of his career he served as a secondary player at the bottom of the bench. He had that role in the Lakers of Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant, champions in 2009 and 2010, going after his two rings to China and then ending up in Greece in 2013. There he was a key piece of the rotation of the Euroleague champion Olympiacos, achieving the award that later eluded the Sant Boi center at the twilight of his career.
10
Rodrigue Beaubois
Mavericks (11) and Efes (22)
This point guard had four very good seasons with Dallas in his first years as a professional, so much so that he was part of and contributed with almost 9 points and 2 assists on average to the best years of Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavs. He sat out a single minute in the 2011 playoffs that crowned Dallas. The Frenchman returned to France in 2014 and grew in Europe until he stood out with Baskonia and, since 2018, with Anadolu Efes, where he still remains one of the key players in the rotation. In 2022, he was an indispensable member of the Turkish team in the EuroLeague.
11
Ognjen Kuzmic
Warriors (15) y Madrid (18)
The Serbian center was in the right place at the right time. He barely played a few minutes in his two seasons in Golden State, but it was enough to win the NBA ring in 2015. He then jumped to Europe, where he was part of the champion Real Madrid in 2018, although he only played a dozen minutes in the competition.
12
Elijah Bryant
Bucks (21) y Efes (22)
This American has one of the most peculiar stories, since he has only played one NBA regular season game in his entire career. He was a late-season reinforcement for Milwaukee heading into the playoffs, and in that game he scored 16 points to earn the trust of the coach and his teammates. After leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv on May 10, 2021, a couple of months later he was an NBA champion. He was later discarded by the Bucks, but then ended up at Anadolu Efes, where he played a leading role in the rotation of Ergin Ataman’s champion group. His unexpected double between 2021 and 2022 makes him the second player to chain the two top club competitions in the world.
13
Kostas Antetokounmpo
Lakers (20) and Panathinaikos (24)
The third in the Antetokounmpo saga, Kostas, achieved something difficult to imagine in his day. He was an NBA champion with the Lakers in 2020 and overtook his famous brother, Giannis, in the race to be the first Anteto champion. Now, he rewrites the history books by also being the first in the saga to win the Euroleague-NBA double, in addition to being the only champion of the French league to add the two top club titles in the world to its showcases. Although he was a side note in LA, his involvement in Athens has been more notable this season.
14?
Luka Doncic
Madrid (18) y ¿Mavericks (24)?
The next player who points out ways to add his name to this exclusive list is Luka Doncic, who is the only NBA player alive in the playoffs who already has the title of the top European competition in his showcases. He achieved it with Real Madrid in 2018, also being the MVP. The Slovenian aspires to be the first champion of both competitions to be named MVP of the Finals. First, his Dallas Mavericks must consolidate their victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Finals and then see what they can do against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
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2024-05-28 10:10:58
#Kostas #Antetokounmpo #member #exclusive #club #NBA #Euroleague #champions
