Top Offensive Talents in the Lithuanian Basketball League: Key Players and Future Prospects
Lithuania is one of the European countries where basketball is most popular. For many years, it has produced great players. Although the Lithuanian league is not the strongest in Europe, it is a good league for finding players with a lot of potential. In this post, we analyze the players who are excelling offensively in the Lithuanian League. Our goal is to identify top performers and highlight young talents who might emerge as stars in the upcoming seasons, based on their current effective play.
To identify these players, we will employ two key metrics: Efficient Offensive Production (EOP) and Offensive Efficiency (OE).
Total EOP for the season
EOP per game
EOP per minute (minimum 10 minutes played)
OE (minimum 10 minutes played)
If any metrics seem unfamiliar, you can find their descriptions in our glossary.
Top Offensive Players
To identify the league's top offensive players, we will review total EOP and EOP per game. Here are the standout offensive players in the Lithuanian League:
Leonard Thorpe (Siauliai – 25 y): A playmaker capable of scoring (14.7 points/game) and providing assists (6.7 assists/game). He should improve his three-point shooting percentage. Although the three-pointer is not his main weapon, increasing his effectiveness beyond the arc would give him a significant competitive advantage. His youth makes him an important player to make the leap to more prominent European leagues.
Zane Waterman (Nevezis – 28 y): A scorer with an effective outside shot. He shoots effectively from three, with a 38% success rate on over 4 attempts per game. An interesting player who can open the court and also contribute in the rebounding department.
Dayshon Smith (Juventus – 29 y): A playmaker with experience in the ABA and Greek leagues. He is capable of scoring and especially assisting. He is quite inconsistent from three, with good seasons and others quite poor. In the past, he was unable to stand out in leagues stronger than the Lithuanian league, and he may have found his ceiling in the Lithuanian league.
Laurynas Birutis (Zalgiris – 26 y): An inside player capable of scoring and rebounding. He scores with good percentages not only in the Lithuanian league but also in the Euroleague. He is in a good context to continue developing and competing in the Euroleague.
Giedrius Staniulis (Mazeikiai – 33 y): An experienced interior player who stands out mainly for his rebounding ability (3.8 offensive rebounds and 4.7 defensive rebounds). He has been the best offensive rebounder in the league. His size and lack of outside shooting have been deficits for higher-level teams to take a chance on him.
Tomas Pavelka (Siauliai – 23 y): A 2.18m center who scores efficiently and intimidates on defense (leading in blocks with 1.8 blocks per game). His youth and physical qualities make him an interesting player to develop. It is important to analyze if he has enough mobility to fit into more prominent leagues.
Marcus Foster (Rytas – 28 y): A great shooter with experience in strong leagues, having played in the 2020-21 season in the Euroleague with Panathinaikos. He has scored with an incredible efficiency of 49% from three, attempting almost 6 three-pointers per game. In recent years, he has mostly played in BCL or Euroleague, and giving his shooting ability, this should be his place.
Amit Ebo (Nevezis – 24 y): A good playmaker who excels in assists, being the top assist provider in the league (6.3 assists/game). He is also capable of scoring (14.2 points/game) with a 34% efficiency from three. This has been his first experience outside Israel, and he has shown that he can be a valuable player for other prominent leagues. It is important to analyze his defensive ability, as his 1.8m height can be a handicap in some European leagues.
Azuolas Tubelis (Neptunas – 22 y): Top 5 in the league in points/game, rebounds/game, and blocks/game. This has been his first experience after his time in the NCAA, and his performance has been excellent. His youth makes him a very interesting player, and there are already rumors that he might play in the ACB next season.
Justas Furmanavicius (Jonava – 29 y): A scorer with a solid three-point percentage (37%). Within the context of the Lithuanian league, he can be an important player in his team's offense.
Players with Potential
To identify players with potential, we will analyze EOP per minute and OE, focusing on young players who contribute effictively on offense and have room for growth.
Martynas Echodas (Rytas – 26 y)
Nikola Popovic (Lietkabelis – 26 y)
Francis Okoro (Nevezis – 24 y)
Alen Hadzibegovic (Lietkabelis – 24 y)
Gytis Masiulis (Rytas – 25 y)
Deante Johnson (Pieno – 23 y)
Justin Gorham (Rytas – 25 y)
Justinas Marcinkevicius (Nevezis – 25 y)
Dziugas Slavinskas (Lietkabelis – 25 y)
Lukas Kreismontas (Jonava – 23 y)
In addition to the players on the list, we would also like to highlight Gediminas Alisas (Nevezis – 20 y). Despite having played only 9 games, he could develop significantly over the next few years. A player to keep on the radar.
Conclusions
Data analytics can be a powerful tool in identifying players who fit into specific team systems. This analysis focuses on EOP and OE, but teams can explore additional metrics to identify the most promising players based on their criteria.
At Basketball Analytics Lab, we offer data analytics services to clubs, enabling them to enhance their performance without significantly increasing their budgets.
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