Sarunas Jasikevicius: ‘Kostas Sloukas is the last of his kind in Euroleague’

Fenerbahce coach Sarunas Jasikevicius commented on the evolution of guards in the Euroleague, emphasizing that the last representative of his school of creative ‘aces’ might be Panathinaikos’ Kostas Sloukas. Speaking after Fenerbahce’s big win at Armani Milan’s home court, Jasikevicius highlighted that modern guards are more scorers and less creators, with Sloukas and Milos Teodosic… completing a list that once included himself. According to Jasikevicius, ‘There aren’t many point guards left who organize and try to involve others. Nowadays, most are primarily scoring point guards without much creativity. Kostas Sloukas is logically the last of the creative guards, and Milos Teodosic is nearing the end too. You have to adapt; these players are different—not better or worse. When you have a player of this style, you must use them differently; it’s crucial to play aggressively in the first 8 seconds of possession because they can lose control very quickly. Nowadays, all players are more versatile. They can pressure defense, handle the ball, but not as much pass and create like we used to. They’re simply different, and we’re glad to have them. As coaches, we must adapt.’