A rock-solid center with great footwork and a smooth touch, Nenad Krstic started his pro career in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and returned after eight seasons away to join CSKA in 2011. His impact was sudden and serious. Krstic was voted to the 2011-12 All-EuroLeague First Team while helping CSKA to reach that season’s championship game, which only escaped their hands when Olympiacos won in epic come-from-behind fashion on the season’s last shot.
Krstic played two more Final Fours with CSKA and was chosen again to the All-EuroLeague First Team in the 2012-13 season. Olympiacos and Maccabi stood in CSKA’s way in the 2013 and 2014 semifinals, however. Krstic earned MVP of the Month honors twice while being with CSKA, in November 2011 and January 2014.
He would play his last EuroLeague campaign, in 2014-15, as a double-digit scorer again with Anadolu Efes Istanbul before losing against Real Madrid in the 2015 playoffs. Over his four EuroLeague seasons at the start of the decade, Krstic ranked second in two-point shots made with 441, evidence of his ability to anchor an offense with inside scoring. He retired at age 33, but despite not lifting the EuroLeague trophy, Krstic was undeniably one of the best big men in the competition this decade.
