Basketball Champions League: the top 10 most impressive résumés

1. Ricky Rubio (Asisa Joventut)

At 35 years old, Ricky Rubio remains one of the most prestigious names in European basketball. The youngest player in history to play a Liga ACB game at just 14 years old with... Badalona, he quickly earned the label of the phenomenon of Spanish and world basketball. With his formative club, La Pistola won the EuroCup in 2006, as well as a Copa del Rey and the ULEB Cup in 2008.

Picked 5th in the NBA Draft by the Timberwolves, he spent two more years developing in Catalonia, moving to FC Barcelona's rival, winning the EuroLeague in 2010 and the Liga Endesa in 2011. In total, he played 712 games over 12 seasons in the NBA with Minnesota, Utah, Phoenix, and Cleveland. A point guard renowned for his court vision and his ability to get others involved, he notably had four seasons averaging over 2 steals per game in the NBA.

His American adventure was however disrupted by several knee injuries and a pause for mental health reasons. He made his return to Barça in 2024, before coming full circle at Badalona since last season (13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 21 minutes in the Spanish league), 16 years after his departure. The ACB currently ranks him as the 2nd best passer in Liga Endesa history and 6th in efficiency rating.

Above all, he was one of the key players of the Roja's golden generation. Wearing the Spanish national team jersey (93 caps), he won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at just 17 years old, then became European champion in 2009 and 2011, and won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The peak of his career? Being crowned 2019 world champion while being named MVP. A masterpiece.

2. Willy Hernangómez (Unicaja Malaga)

Another great hope of Spanish basketball, trained at Real Madrid, Willy Hernangomez emerged on loan with Seville for his professional debut in 2013. Selected 35th in the 2015 NBA Draft by Philadelphia, but with his rights traded to the New York Knicks, the center waited one more year at Real Madrid. A season he used to add a Liga Endesa and a Copa del Rey to his trophy case.

Having left for the United States in the summer of 2016, Juancho Hernangómez's older brother spent seven seasons in the NBA, wearing the jerseys of New York, Charlotte, and then New Orleans. Named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2017, he failed to establish himself as a major player in the big league despite 344 games and averages of 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. So he made his return to Europe in 2023 to join FC Barcelona, where he played three seasons in the EuroLeague, then Malaga in the last off-season.

But, like Rubio, it's mainly with the Spanish national team that the center built his legend, winning 5 international medals. Two-time European champion (2015 and 2022), bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and at the 2017 Euros, and above all world champion in 2019, he was especially named MVP of EuroBasket 2022 after beating France in the final.

3. Thomas Heurtel (AEK Athens)

A colorful character of French basketball. First emerging at Élan Béarnais then Strasbourg, Thomas Heurtel first built his empire in Spain at Alicante then Vitoria, where he discovered the EuroLeague between 2011 and 2014. His time at Anadolu Efes marked a turning point: the point guard finished as the EuroLeague's best passer in 2015 and 2016, before joining FC Barcelona in 2017. In Catalonia, he won two consecutive Copa del Rey titles (2018, 2019), being named MVP each time.

His love stories haven't always ended well in recent years, but he still won the Cup-championship double with ASVEL in 2021 and the Spanish championship in 2022 with Real Madrid. His adventures took him to Russia at Zenit Saint Petersburg (which kept him away from Les Bleus for two years), to China at Shenzhen, and back to Spain at La Coruña and then to Villeurbanne last season.

With the French national team, the Agde native remains stuck at... 99 caps. His résumé speaks for itself; European champion in 2013, bronze medalist at the 2014 World Cup, silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics then at EuroBasket in 2022. At 37 years old, a new challenge awaits him in the Greek capital.

4. Nicolas Laprovittola (Asisa Joventut)

Another legend of international basketball. Trained in Argentina and having played in Brazil early in his career, Nicolas Laprovittola built a solid résumé in Europe. Launched at Rytas Vilnius then Estudiantes Madrid, the Italian-Argentine point guard briefly experienced the NBA (16 games with the San Antonio Spurs) before becoming a reference point of the Spanish championship.

Having played at Baskonia, he exploded with Joventut Badalona, finishing notably as top scorer and top passer of the Liga Endesa and earning the MVP trophy in 2018-2019. This opened the doors to Real Madrid, where he won a Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups, then FC Barcelona in 2021. After five years at Barça (a Liga Endesa in 2023 and a Copa del Rey in 2022), the Argentine made his return to Badalona for three seasons.

With the Argentine national team, he won silver at the 2019 World Cup and gold at the 2022 Americas championship, notably knocking out the United States in the semifinal, after having won silver twice in 2015 and 2017, and bronze once in 2013.

5. Derrick Williams (AEK Athens)

Everyone knows Derrick Williams for his second pick in the 2011 NBA Draft (behind a certain Kyrie Irving), the result of a meteoric rise in NCAA at the University of Arizona. This showcase allowed the Californian to make his place in the NBA for seven seasons, with Minnesota then Sacramento, New York, Miami, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Lakers (428 games under his belt).

Since 2018, the power forward has traveled the world with stints in China, Puerto Rico, and even last year in South Korea. In Europe, he has five EuroLeague seasons under his belt with Bayern Munich (German champion in 2019), Fenerbahçe (Turkish cup in 2020), Valencia, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Panathinaikos, accumulating 160 games averaging 11 points and 3.6 rebounds.

6. Ante Tomic (Asisa Joventut)

A third player from Badalona in this top 10, and how could it be otherwise? Ante Tomic will turn 40 next February, a rare longevity for a 2.16m center. Yet the Croatian has only played for four clubs in his career. And he hasn't left the Spanish championship since... January 2010 (3rd best efficiency rating in Liga ACB history).

MVP of the Adriatic League in 2009 with his formative club, KK Zagreb, he made a name for himself at Real Madrid (2010-2012) before spending the rest of the decade at FC Barcelona. With the Catalan club, he notably won a Liga Endesa (2014), three Copa del Rey titles (2013, 2018, and 2019), and a Spanish Super Cup, while being named to the EuroLeague's first team in 2013 and 2014, then the second team in 2015. For a veteran, his output remains exceptional with Badalona, which he joined in 2020, in the Spanish championship (three more Player of the Month awards in 2024-2025).

He's probably still missing a medal with Croatia, having come very close to bronze at Euro 2013 (4th place), having played twice in the World Cup (2010, 2014), and having announced his international retirement after Euro 2015.

7. Tony Snell (Cholet Basket)

There aren't many players with over 600 NBA games now in Europe. Tony Snell is one of them (601 regular season games including 310 as a starter, 47 playoff games). Drafted 20th overall in 2013 by the Chicago Bulls after a full career at New Mexico, the forward spent nine seasons in the big league, with Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Atlanta, Portland, and New Orleans, averaging 6.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.

After 2022, he hung on in the United States via the G-League before crossing the Atlantic for the first time, after three years waiting. At Boulazac, he had a convincing first season in Betclic ÉLITE, averaging 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds, and notably shooting 51.8% from three! Turning 35 in November, he's set to discover European competition with Cholet.

8. Tibor Pleiss (Rasta Vechta)

With 14 EuroLeague seasons under his belt, Tibor Pleiss (turning 37 in November) has marked the last decade of European basketball. Three-time German champion with Bamberg between 2010 and 2012, the towering 2.18m German center then toured the continent, even getting a taste of the NBA during the 2015-2016 season (12 games with the Jazz, having been drafted 31st overall in 2010). In order: Baskonia, FC Barcelona, Galatasaray, Valencia, and then... Anadolu Efes!

It's with the Turkish club that he wrote the finest pages of his career (2018-2024), winning the EuroLeague twice in 2021 and 2022, as well as three national championship titles (2019, 2021, 2023). Since then, injuries have caught up with him, but he's kept pace with Trapani (Italy) then with Rasta Vechta, Cholet's future opponent. He missed the boat with the Mannschaft, not taking part in the World Cup-EuroBasket double, but still counts 109 caps with the German national team.

9. Xavier Tillman (Trabzonspor)

Trained at Michigan State, Xavier Tillman was picked 35th in the 2020 NBA Draft by Sacramento, before joining the Grizzlies. A hard-working big man, capable of playing both the 4 and 5 positions, he established himself in Memphis's rotation, notably with a 2022-2023 season averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds. In February 2024, he was traded to the Celtics, with whom he won the NBA title a few months later (8 games during the playoff run).

After two more seasons in Boston, then a brief stint with the Charlotte Hornets in 2025-2026, Tillman chose to cross the Atlantic in the summer of 2026 after six seasons and 317 games in the big league. The 27-year-old American big man signed with Trabzonspor.

10. Paul Lacombe (Nanterre 92)

We could have picked many others (Chimizie Metu, Dyshawn Pierre, Alen Omic, Amine Noua, or former NBA players who had their moment of glory, to name just a few) but our choice settled on Paul Lacombe. First of all because he won a medal at the 2019 World Cup in China, admittedly in a background role (3 appearances), but by knocking out the United States in the quarterfinals!

Also because he's an unshakeable fixture of the French championship, with 594 Betclic Elite games under his belt as of October 2, 2026. Nanterre's shooting guard is a two-time French champion with ASVEL (2021, 2022), a two-time winner of the French Cup (2015, 2021), and a three-time winner of the Semaine des As / Leaders Cup (2010, 2015, 2018).