Sylvain Francisco and Moses Wright led Žalgiris to the play-offs and have emerged as one of the greatest duos in the team's history. But how do they compare to the legendary foreign players that represented Žalgiris in the past?
Francisco is a genuine contender for the EuroLeague MVP award, standing out both statistically and in terms of his importance to the side. Wright has produced a consistently impressive campaign and is in contention for either the first or second symbolic EuroLeague five.
Both players can be compared to the likes of Tyus Edney, Kevin Pangos, Brandon Davies and Keenan Evans – players who left a lasting mark on the club's history.
The ultimate measure of their legacy, however, will depend on how the pair perform in the EuroLeague quarter-finals, where they have the chance to cement their places among the greatest foreign players in Žalgiris history.
"I think I should win the MVP award. I have not missed a single game, and with a team like Žalgiris, reaching the play-offs is extremely difficult," Francisco said following the club's final regular-season fixture.
Indeed, for the first time since 2004, Žalgiris have a player who is a serious candidate for the EuroLeague's most valuable player title. That year, the award was won by Arvydas Sabonis.
Francisco's statistics make a compelling case: 16.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.4 assists and a performance index rating of 19.5 per game.
The French-American player ranks eighth in the entire league for scoring, second for assists, and fourth for index rating. Only Olympiacos Piraeus forwards Nikola Milutinov and Sasha Vezenkov – whose positions naturally lend themselves to accumulating index points – and guard Elijah Bryant rank ahead of him in that category.
A further significant factor is that Francisco has not missed a single regular-season match, while other MVP contenders have each sat out at least a handful of games.
As the 185cm guard himself noted, finishing fifth in the regular season and qualifying for the play-offs with a club of Žalgiris's resources is no straightforward matter.
The club's budget has grown and their squad is well balanced, yet in the wider EuroLeague context, Kaunas still sit in the bottom half of the competition's financial rankings. Competing with the wealthiest clubs in Europe remains an enormous challenge.
A season in which Francisco has served as the team's primary engine – creating for himself and others, stepping up in decisive moments and winning games –gives the 28-year-old guard every right to feature in the MVP conversation.
It should equally be acknowledged that Žalgiris' achievements this season would not have been possible without Wright.
The centre has averaged 13.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 blocks and an index rating of 17.4 per game in the EuroLeague.
He is eighth in the league for that last figure, surpassed among centres only by Milutinov. Notably, Wright has achieved all of this in an average of just over 23 minutes per game.
The American had a difficult start to the season – at times appearing unsettled, and occasionally anonymous on the court. However, as the campaign progressed, began to find his rhythm.
His season reached a memorable high point in the final regular-season fixture against Paris Basketball. In just over 27 minutes, Wright contributed 16 points, 18 rebounds and a staggering index rating of 43 – the second highest individual performance of the entire EuroLeague season.
Like Francisco, Wright did not miss a single regular-season match. Such figures put him firmly in contention for a place in one of the EuroLeague's symbolic teams of the season.
Tyus Edney
EuroLeague statistics (1998–99): 12.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 15.5 index rating.
Žalgiris's EuroLeague achievement: Champions (1998–99)
Edney is the only player on this list to have led Žalgiris to the EuroLeague title. In 1999, the Kaunas club claimed European club basketball's top honour, with Edney the undisputed leader of the side and the Final Four MVP.
In the final against Olympiacos Piraeus, the 178cm point guard contributed 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Edney was the offensive cornerstone of Jonas Kazlauskas's side, finishing top of the entire EuroLeague for assists. His average of 6.1 per game is all the more impressive given the different pace of play at the time and the stricter criteria then applied to recording assists.
Comparing different eras is inevitably difficult, but the EuroLeague title won during a season when Edney was Žalgiris' talisman remains the greatest team achievement in the club's history of foreign players – one that none of the others on this list can match.
Kevin Pangos
EuroLeague statistics: 2016-17 – 8.7 points, 0.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists; 2017-18 – 12.7 points, 0.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 14.2 index rating.
Žalgiris's EuroLeague achievement: Third place (2017–18).
Like Francisco, the Canadian produced his best basketball in Kaunas during his second season, when Šarūnas Jasikevičius' side reached the EuroLeague Final Four and claimed third place.
Despite the presence in the backcourt of Vasilije Micić – who would go on to become an undisputed superstar of the competition – it was Pangos who served as the team's primary playmaker and offensive leader.
He finished third in the entire EuroLeague that season for assists per game, whilst also shooting an exceptional 47.5 per cent from three-point range on 158 attempts.
In the quarter-final series against Olympiacos, he averaged 12.8 points, five assists and an index rating of 14.2.
At the end of the campaign, the 189cm guard was named to the EuroLeague's second symbolic five.
Brandon Davies
EuroLeague statistics: 2017-18 – 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 9.8 index rating; 2018-19 – 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 16.9 index rating.
Žalgiris's EuroLeague achievements: Third place (2017–18); eighth place (2018–19).
Again, a player who truly flourished in his second season at Žalgiris. His initial arrival in Kaunas bears something of a resemblance to Wright's own uneven start this season. Davies, too, found his feet as the campaign wore on, with the turning point arriving in the quarter-final series against Olympiacos, where he averaged 17.2 points and an index rating of 20.6.
That performance earned the 208cm centre the April MVP award.
In his second season, Davies was the unquestioned leader of the side, steering Žalgiris into the EuroLeague play-offs. In a decisive final regular-season fixture against Real Madrid – which Žalgiris had to win to qualify – he contributed 27 points and an index rating of 34.
In the quarter-finals, Žalgiris fell to Željko Obradović's Fenerbahçe Istanbul, losing the series 1-3.
Davies was named to the EuroLeague's first symbolic five at the end of the 2018-19 season and remains to this day the only Žalgiris player ever to have received that distinction.
Keenan Evans
EuroLeague statistics: 2022–23 – 15.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 17.4 index rating; 2023–24 – 17.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 18.3 index rating.
Žalgiris's EuroLeague achievement: Seventh place (2022–23).
Having arrived from Maccabi Tel Aviv, Evans immediately established himself as the team's leader and one of the most prominent guards in the competition. His time in Kaunas, however, was repeatedly blighted by injury.
In his first season, he appeared in only 17 games after rupturing his Achilles tendon in a match against Fenerbahçe. Yet even in that curtailed campaign, he set the tone for a Žalgiris side that reached the EuroLeague play-offs.
In his second season, Evans returned to the court as though the injury had never happened, resuming his role as the club's talisman and delighting supporters with audacious shots under pressure at crucial moments.
Yet, the 2023–24 season ended with Žalgiris finishing 14th in the EuroLeague, and Evans's campaign was once again cut short by a serious injury sustained during the Lithuanian championship semi-finals.
Compared to the others on this list, Evans's record in terms of team achievement is more modest – even during the season when Žalgiris reached the play-offs, they did so having spent much of the campaign without their own leader.
Where do Francisco and Wright stand amongst the all-time greats?
Statistically, Francisco is the most productive foreign player in Žalgiris history among those mentioned here. In the entire history of the modern EuroLeague, only Tanoka Beard has been more effective as a foreign player in Kaunas colours – though his era predated the club's quarter-final appearances.
Wright also compares favourably in this company. The quality of his play throughout the season invites comparison with Davies, who left one of the most enduring legacies in the club's history.
In terms of team achievement, this season's Žalgiris foreign contingent already has reason to stand tall. The club have claimed their highest-ever regular-season finish in the modern EuroLeague era, fifth place, and set a new record for victories, with 23.
The definitive verdict on this duo, however, will not be long in coming – it will be delivered in the quarter-final series against Fenerbahçe.
Reaching the Final Four would further bolster Francisco's claim to be considered the greatest foreign player in Žalgiris history, whilst for Wright it would represent an opportunity to secure his place among the finest to have ever played for the Kaunas club.
The Žalgiris-Fenerbahçe quarter-final series, played as a best-of-five, begins in Istanbul on April 28.
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