In ten plays we describe the Arturas Gudaitis’ amazing season in EuroLeague, among dunks, shots blocked, unexpected field goal (see the number 1 in the video), physical explosions. Here is a summary of his season (at least worthy of the second All-EuroLeague team) with the numbers supporting words and images.
Number 10 – On Amath M’Baye’s drive, Arturo attacks the space and with a cut can receive and dunk without even putting the ball on the ground. The dunk is his trademark. Thanks to these kind of shots, Gudaitis was second in the EuroLeague in shooting percentage from two and overall, converting 67.1% of his shots. He finished behind Ahmet Duverioglu but with a enormous difference in shots attempted, 146 to 40.
Number 9 – Gudaitis, along the baseline, receives Andrew Goudelock’s pass and dunks. In Madrid, Arturas Gudaitis set the club record for most two-points field goals made with no misses, with 9.
Number 8 – Arturas is terrific at running the length of the court, in spite of his impressive size. Here it fills the middle lane and receives the pass from Dairis Bertans, taking the contact with Maodo Lo from Bamberg on his way to the rim and a dunk.
Number 7 – Dunking over a legend like Rudy Fernandez is not for everyone. The 20 points that he scored in Madrid were his career-high.
Number 6 – Tel Aviv: Gudaitis made a move over guard Norris Cole as a secondary help defender, and he literally erased the play. Gudaitis was the second-best EuroLeague rebounder with a 6.31 average behind James Augustine of Malaga. He was also seventh in offensive rebounds (2.41).
Number 5 – Luka Doncic will be an NBA star one day and is a EuroLeague MVP candidate but against the Gudaitis move under the basket he can only accept his destiny of being posterized. Gudaitis had eight games with no misses from the field.
Number 4 – Gudaitis blocked 4 shots, a career-high, in Madrid. Here the one he made on Doncic, that is particularly impressive because after trying an initial deflection he bounced back and jumped very quickly in order to erase the Slovenian phenomenon shot. The 4 shots that he blocked are the second ever performance for an Olimpia player after the 5 that Gani Lawal made in 2014 against Olympiacos. Gudaitis closed the season fourth as a shot-blocker.
Number 3 – In Kaunas, in his native Lithuania, Gudaitis’s arms arrive everywhere, here erasing Brandon Davies. With 4.97 he was third for free throws earned on average. The 11 free throws that he made in Moscow were just two shy of the team’s record set by Danilo Gallinari with 13 against Maccabi in 2011. Gudaitis against Panathinaikos also went 8/8 from the line. In EuroLeague only three Olimpia players were able to score more free throws in a single game with no misses: Luca Vitali (12 against Partizan in 2008), Daniel Hackett (10 against Fenerbahce in 2014) and Keith Langford (9 against ‘Efes in 2013).
Number 2 – This block executed in Moscow during opening night, erasing Othello Hunter’s attempt, is especially relevant, considering the experience level of the opponent. Gudaitis had a personal record of 11 rebounds (against Barcelona) and 29 of index rating (against Panathinaikos) during the season.
Number 1 – This is the play we chose as the best, because the movement – called “Eurostep” and made popular in the NBA by Manu Ginobili – normally is executed by perimeter players, certainly not by center with Gudaitis’ size. The dunk is the icing on the cake. It should be noted that Gudaitis has closed his regular season with four consecutive double figures’ games. In these last four games he averaged 15.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, shot 61.8% from two and made 20 of his 22 free throws.
