Kendrick Nunn of records and Panathinaikos of ‘never too high, never too low’

Never too high, never too low. This is Ricky Rubio’s philosophy of life. This is a phrase that Giannis Antetokounmpo is using more and more often. This is a motto embraced by many great athletes in and out of basketball. This is the mindset that organizations like Panathinaikos must have.

Organizations participating in top leagues such as the EuroLeague. Where the competition is relentless. Where there is never a lack of surprises. Where one day you can lose a match by 25 points and the next you win by 30.

That is, as happened with the greens who were defeated by Efes in Turkey with 93-67 in the 15th game and made a strong comeback in the very next turn, to impose themselves on Armani with an emphatic 103-74.

In the championship, everything is in the program. And you can neither fly to the skies after a triumphant performance, nor fall to the ground after a crash. Everything needs moderation. And what is required from now on for the truffle is stability, since there is only one game left for the completion of the first round of the regular season. As the degree of difficulty will begin to rise dangerously.

Kendrick Nunn of records

But instead of looking to the future, let’s focus on the present because it’s not every day that we see a player put up 39 points in a EuroLeague match. However, Kendrick Nunn was in the zone on Tuesday night (17/12) and set about breaking one record after another, giving a generous spectacle and stealing impressions.

The American guard of Panathinaikos AKTOR served the one game penalty imposed by the organizing authority in the game against Efes and returned in action hungry and… rested, scoring enough for two matches, as Ergin Ataman characteristically said after the final match against Milan.

“First of all, Kendrick Nunn missed a EuroLeague game in Istanbul against Anadolu Efes and scored 39 points tonight to make up for it and keep his average up. He scored enough for two games.” said the Turkish technician indicatively.

And he didn’t exaggerate, since Nan closed the game with 39 points (4/7 2-pointers, 8/16 3-pointers, 7/7 shots), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls and 37 PIR.

• The 39 points are a season-high in the EuroLeague.
• The 39 points are a career-high for Nan.
• 37 PIR recommends career-high for Nan.
• The 8 well-placed 3-pointers are recommended career-high for Nan.
• The 7 three-pointers he made in the first period are an all-time high at the EuroLeague level.
• With his 21 points in the first period, he tied the EuroLeague season scoring record held by Tony Douglas since January 19, 2017.

After all that, even Ettore Messina, who saw his team lose by a landslide in the OAKA, managed to find the humor to bow to this magnificent performance by Nan.

“If you’ll allow me a joke, the next time we face Nan I hope the EuroLeague hasn’t pissed him off with a ban or anything because he was amazing tonight.” said the seasoned Armani technician, concluding his statements at the press conference.

Of course, Nan has shown that he is at his best when he is calm and enjoying the game. Not when he’s nervous and dealing with dietary decisions and things out of his control. It remains to be seen what his and his team’s mindset will be from here on out.