Nicolò Melli has totally change the impact of Olimpia Milano defense. That’s why he earns the Eurodevotion award as “best defender” of 2021/22 regular season.
There were no doubts in Eurodevotion staff while selecting the BEST DEFENDER for the 2021/22 Euroleague regular season.
5 players considered as eligible for the defending crown but one name tore up the others.
Nicolò Melli from Olimpia Milan is the best defender of the regular season after being selected 11 times out of 19 possible votes.
The former Fenerbahçe player guided his team to an outstanding 105,7 defensive rating, second only to Real Madrid 104,2. He grabbed 6,7 rebounds (3rd in the league and best one in the stat not playing as a center) and added 1,1 steals with 0,4 blocks.
His contribution was fundamental in the “switching defense” system built by Ettore Messina: as a real lethal weapon he could play outside D on any kind of guard as well as in the low post where he could match any opponent’s physicality or athleticism.
His teammate Kyle Hines, a real legend in this competition, is sharing the second spot with Walter Tavares, another guy dominating in the last seasons. They both got 3 votes.
One selection for Dante Exum and John Brown III, even if the season of the Unics Kazan player was interrupted by the early exit of russian teams.