With EuroLeague Women’s group stage complete, Swish Appeal’s EuroLeague Women experts, Łukasz Muniowksi and Eric Nemchock, offer one final assessment of the regular season, selecting their All-Group Teams, which consist of a starting five and sixth player.
You’ll see most all of these players and their clubs in action in Quarter-Finals, which begin Feb. 21.
Team Łukasz
PG: Marina Mabrey (Çukurova Basketbol Mersin)
19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game
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Mabrey is a shoot-first playmaker, who is a threat whenever she has the ball in her hands. Her pull-up 3s are a thing of beauty. She has range, but she’s also good at setting up teammates—in three contests she had nine dimes, coming close to a triple-double twice. Some people in the States might complain that she’s over-competitive, but, in Europe, that edge is more than welcome.
SG: Arella Guirantes (Beretta Famila Schio)
15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game
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Guirantes’ impact on games goes beyond stats. Despite averaging more turnovers (2.8 per game) than assists (2.5 per game), she’s very confident with the ball. She’s able to cut almost at will, making use of screens and attacking the basket. She has the size advantage over most point guards, yet is as mobile as them. She also rebounds like most forwards; she’s just as strong as them but quicker. A great all-around player.
SF: Kayla McBride (Fenerbahçe Alagöz Holding)
16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game
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McBride was reliable, if at times streaky, throughout the group stage. She contributed in different statistical categories and stood out on the star-packed team of Fenerbahçe. When her shots aren’t going in, she makes up for it with rebounds and steals. But let’s be honest, it’s her shooting that makes her an exceptional player. In six of the 13 games in which she participated, the Lynx star finished with 20 points or more. She made 45 percent of her shots, including 44 percent from long distance.
PF: Ezi Magbegor (ZVVZ USK Praha)
13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game
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Magbegor was the best defender on the best team in Group B, and the leader of the third-best defense in the competition. Yes, she can score from 3—as proven by her 43 percent accuracy this season—but the Aussie is at her best when she’s in the interior, either attacking or defending it. Her best game came on the Gameday 2 against Polkowice, when she not only scored 19 points but also had 17 boards and blocked three shots.
C: Emma Meesseman (Fenerbahçe Alagöz Holding)
17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game
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This Belgian Cat may not seem ferocious, but the way she controls the game is just levels above everybody else. Her court vision and ball-handling ability are that of a point guard’s, and an integral part of Fenerbahçe’s team-oriented style. The offense is constructed around her, which makes perfect sense. Meesseman makes everybody around her better by stretching the floor and sharing the ball. And yet, despite her altruistic play, she remains the highest scorer on the best team of this season’s group stage.
Sixth Player: Borislava Hristova (ACS Sepsi-SIC)
16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game
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The Bulgarian would’ve been a lock for the starting five if not for her team’s struggles; Sepsi won only two games in the group stage. The first of those wins came thanks to Hristova’s last-second heroics. On Gameday 7, she made a step-back 2-pointer at the buzzer to give her team its first ever EuroLeague Women win. Throughout the competition, she remained consistent, scoring in single digits in just two contests.
Team Eric
PG: Marina Mabrey (Çukurova Basketbol Mersin)
19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game
Two head coaching changes and the unexpected transfer of two-time MVP Alina Iagupova would have been reason enough for Mersin to flounder down the final stretch of group play, but Mabrey led the club to a very respectable second-place finish in Group B. In her first season with Mersin, Mabrey led all EuroLeague Women players in scoring and was achingly close to double-doubles on several occasions. It would be difficult to leave her off such a list, no matter the rationale.
SG: Kennedy Burke (Villeneuve-d’Ascq LM)
15.6 points, 6 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game
Welcome to the Kennedy Burke show
Another breathtaking performance by @ESBVALM‘s No. 25 to secure a home victory against Group B leaders, Praha ✨
▫️ 31 PTS
▫️ 4 STL
▫️ 3 REB
▫️ 33 EFF pic.twitter.com/J82Y1yDUAU— EuroLeague Women (@EuroLeagueWomen) January 18, 2024
Burke has always been known for her defense, but she took it to another level this season, leading the competition by a healthy margin in steals. And while she’s listed as a guard on the FIBA website, her length and athleticism allowed Villeneuve-d’Ascq to move her all around the court, functioning more as a roaming power forward than a true off-ball perimeter player. This, to be clear, is an endorsement; Burke carried her club on both ends of the court this season, and should get plenty of credit for Villeneuve-d’Ascq making it out of a highly-competitive Group B.
SF: Kayla McBride (Fenerbahçe Alagöz Holding)
16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game
We’ve been spoiled by McBride’s scoring ability over the years, so let’s take a minute to appreciate what she did this season: shoot 44.4 percent on 3-pointers and make 3.4 of them per game. And while McBride’s playmaking is rarely mentioned in the same breath as her shooting, perhaps that should change; she was one of three players to average at least four assists per game for a notably unselfish Fenerbahçe team. Simply put, she’s a shoo-in for this list.
PF: Ezi Magbegor (ZVVZ USK Praha)
13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game
It was never going to be easy for Praha to replace Alyssa Thomas, who had provided the club with years of incredible statistical production. But, there was little drop-off with Magbegor roaming the paint. With the rising Australian star as the club’s featured player, Praha both scored the most points (75.4) and allowed the fewest points (65.3) per game of any team in Group B, and never truly seemed challenged by any of its rivals. With Magbegor’s skills gradually catching up with her undeniable physical gifts, expect her to be one of the competition’s most popular players for years to come.
C: Emma Meesseman (Fenerbahçe Alagöz Holding)
17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game
What more can one say about Meesseman? She’s one of the best players in the world, and her excellence as an offensive hub ensured that Fenerbahçe would once again cruise through group play. Not only did Meesseman rank second in EuroLeague Women in scoring, she did so on astounding efficiency, shooting 57.5 percent on 2-pointers, 50 percent on 3-pointers and 82.9 percent on free throws. She also had arguably the best individual performance of any player in the competition: a 20-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist triple-double in just 19 minutes of play against ACS Sepsi-SIC. Don’t be surprised if Meesseman wins MVP honors for the second season in a row.
Sixth Player: Brittney Sykes (KGHM BC Polkowice)
16.1 points, 6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game
Sykes is known for her breathtaking athleticism on the perimeter, but she’s become a more well-rounded player over the years. She was one of four players to finish group play averaging at least 16 points and three assists per game. She was also consistent in her production, scoring at least 15 points on 10 occasions and getting held to single-digit scoring only once. Polkowice didn’t make the postseason, so like Hristova, Sykes’ efforts may not be rewarded, but she’s plenty worthy of an honorable mention.