SportsBasketballRaptors

Toronto Raptors castoff might be Europe's best basketball player

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Jan 13 2025, 8:04 pm
Toronto Raptors castoff might be Europe's best basketball player
Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports

Sasha Vezenkov left an NBA career with the Toronto Raptors behind, but it’d be hard to imagine the 29-year-old has too many regrets about his move.

At last year’s NBA Draft, Vezenkov was involved in a multi-player deal that included Davion Mitchell and a pair of draft picks (one of which became Jamal Shead) coming to Toronto in exchange for Jalen McDaniels. McDaniels is currently in the G League and has yet to play in the NBA this year, while Mitchell and Shead have both put up regular minutes for the Raptors this season.

But Vezenkov chose to leave the NBA on his own accord, as he opted for a buyout from the Raptors. Since he initiated the deal, Toronto has not been forced to pay any or all of his salary this season, with Vezenkov choosing to go for a lesser price to Greece-based Olympiacos, where he played from 2018 to 2023.

Vezenkov averaged 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 42 games for the Kings in his first NBA season with the Kings last year, but he’s been starring in his return to Europe. The winner of the 2023 Euroleague MVP before coming over to the NBA, Vezenkov has looked every bit like one of Europe’s best players. This past weekend, he put up an electric statline of a career-high 45 points in a 112-69 beatdown of FC Bayern Munich.

“It’s one of those nights where you feel good,” Vezenkov told Euroleague TV after the game. “I started by missing my first shot, and then I found the space, and my teammates did a great job at everything, starting from defence. I don’t want to talk about me. I’ll keep working. It’s just a regular night.”

In 18 Euroleague games with Olympiacos, Vezenkov has put up 20.6 points and 6.3 rebounds while leading the league with a Performance Index Rating of 24.6. His scoring numbers are topped only by former NBA journeyman guard Kendrick Nunn, who is the star player for rival Greek team Panathinaikos.

Meanwhile, HoopsHype.com’s tracker has Vezenkov as Europe’s top player as part of their Global Rating system, which “combines individual and team stats to rank players based on their court impact.”

Domestically, Olympiacos has gotten off to a 13-1 start led by Vezenkov, with the only loss coming to Nunn’s Panathinaikos side. With a league-high 20.2 points per game, Vezenkov could be well on his way to picking up a few more pieces of hardware again this season.

ADVERTISEMENT