Coming off a successful season, AS Monaco Basket looked to retain its momentum and had a great offseason keeping most of its core from the 2021-22. More specifically, Donta Hall, Mike James and Alpha Diallo remained with the team.
Those three players were the biggest contributors for Monaco last season after the French Pro A team reached the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time in the history of the club. James, Hall and Diallo were the building blocks of the team’s success.
As of now, the club seems to have covered all its needs ahead of the 2022-23 season. They added defensive toughness and athletic prowess in the paint with John Brown III and Yoan Makoundou, while they amped up their core of French players.
The Monegasques went to sign the likes of veteran players like Adrian Moerman, while they added French national teams members like Elie Ekobo and Matthew Strazel. Monaco will have a very prolific guard tantrum next season with James and Ekobo.
Both players were in the MVP conversation during last season with James finding his groove after December. The 31-year-old guard ranked third in the EuroLeague in both scoring (16.4 PPG) and assists (5.8 APG) and was 10th in steals (1.2 SPG) last season.
Elie Ekobo was running the show in ASVEL and was the 6th best scorer in the EuroLeague, averaging 14.5 points (2FG: 51.5%; 3FG: 36.8%), 2.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and a PIR of 13.5 in 27 minutes per contest.
Monaco will look to outscore its opponents once again with their high-caliber scoring perimeter players. The Monegasques also added Jordan Loyd to the mix, another great scoring guard, and one of the best three point shooters in the league.
The 28-year-old American guard averaged 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 14.5 PIR over 23 EuroLeague matches this past campaign. In my opinion, there’s much to expect from Monaco next season.
The team improved its depth and the quality of the roster. They seem to have the right balance of defense and offense and it’s tough to find something they miss in the offseason. Obviously, in the current roster, the team can go all the way to the 2023 Final-4 if healthy
Key Additions: Elie Ekobo, Jordan Loyd, John Brown III
Key Departures: Paris Lee, Dwayne Bacon
Key Retentions: Mike James, Donta Hall. Alpha Diallo
Grade: A+
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