NBA & EuroLeague recap: Andrew Wiggins' stellar play has the Golden State Warriors on fire

Welcome to another instalment of our NBA & EuroLeague recap, where we take a look at the top international players who excelled over the course of the past week in the top two basketball leagues in the world.

After a perfect week that saw the Golden State Warriors extend their winning streak to seven games, we take a look at how important Canada's Andrew Wiggins has been to the Warriors' success before examining the key play of two star big men; one of whom is astonishingly leading the NBA in three-point percentage.

NB: points per game (ppg), rebounds per game (rpg), assists per game (apg), blocks per game (bpg), steals per game (spg), field goal percentage (FG%)

Andrew Wiggins | Canada | Golden State Warriors (NBA)

24-28 November stats

18.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 bpg, 1.0 spg, .498 FG%

Warriors 116-96 76ers | Warriors 118-103 Trail Blazers | Clippers 90-105 Warriors

While Steph Curry has (rightly) earned all of the plaudits for Golden State's march to the NBA's best record at 18-2, his team's play has been buoyed by the supporting cast of Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins.

The Canadian, in particular, has shone since his "revenge" game against his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves; Wiggins exploded for a season-high 35 points on 73 percent shooting from the field, and has continued to shoot the ball extremely well since.

The former No.1 overall pick and 2015 Rookie of the Year has also produced on the defensive end of the floor and is often tasked with guarding the opposing team's top scorer.

In short, Wiggins is erasing any doubts as to whether the Warriors could contend without three-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medallist Klay Thompson for the start of the season. The fact that Thompson appears to be nearing his return can only bode well for the Warriors as they continue their hunt for a first championship since 2018.

Such talk of rings is entirely too early, of course, but Wiggins and Golden State will face a good test of their title credentials on Tuesday (30 November) as they face the surging Phoenix Suns in Arizona.

Jonas Valančiūnas | Lithuania | New Orleans Pelicans (NBA)

24-29 November stats

20.75 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.5 bpg, .514 FG%

Pelicans 127-102 Wizards | Jazz 97-98 Pelicans | Jass 127-105 Pelicans | Clippers 104-123 Pelicans

It may seem odd to feature a player on a team that currently possesses the fourth-worst record in the entire NBA, but Jonas Valančiūnas' play over the last week simply has to be acknowledged.

The 2.11m (6'11), 120kg (265lb) center has been recognized as a walking double-double for years now, and currently leads the league in that category with 17.

However, what is frankly incredible is that the Lithuanian big man is currently first in three-point percentage in the entire NBA.

The 29-year-old has converted on 51.7 per cent of his attempts from deep (on just over 2.5 attempts per game), which puts him ahead of more recognized sharpshooters like Patty Mills, Joe Harris and Steph Curry. The fact that only one other player in the top five for the category has totalled over 100 rebounds this season (Bobby Portis) shows just how amazing it is that Valančiūnas is currently the most deadly three-point shooter in the NBA.

Valančiūnas' improvement from behind the arc was crystallized on Monday evening when he hit 7 of his 8 three-point attempts en route to a career-high 39 points to go along with 15 rebounds as the Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 123-104.

The Pelicans appear to be trending in the right direction after winning three of their last four games, but at 6-17, New Orleans will need more heroic efforts from Valančiūnas if they are to climb the Western Conference standings.

Walter Tavares | Cape Verde | Real Madrid (EuroLeague)

November stats

11.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 bpg, .826 FG%

Bayern Munich 76-80 Real Madrid | Real Madrid 95-82 Zalgiris | Lyon-Villeurbanne 74-87 Real Madrid | Real Madrid 79-67 Crvena Zvezda | Baskonia 60-88 Real Madrid

Heading into the month of November, Real Madrid were sitting in fourth place in the EuroLeague standings with a 5-2 record. At the end of Round 12 of competition, Real now share top spot with rivals FC Barcelona at 10-2 following a perfect month of EuroLeague play, thanks in large part to the efforts of Walter Tavares.

The Cape Verde international - who previously spent time with the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA - led his team in total performance index rating (PIR) (90), rebounds (35) and blocks (9), while converting on 31 of his 40 attempts from the field – all in less than 25 minutes per game.

For his efforts, Tavares was rewarded with the EuroLeague's Player of the Month award, the second of his career. The two-time EuroLeague Best Defender will need to be at the top of his game in December to keep Real at the top of the standings, as they next face seventh seed Maccabi Tel Aviv before battling FC Barcelona on 10 December.