The 1958 EuroLeague season was the inaugural for the strongest European basketball club competition. Inspired by the success of the European Cup in football, FIBA embodied this concept in basketball and brought together 23 national champions in inaugural season.
The inaugural season turned out to be a success. The open-door arenas and stadiums were packed with thousands of exciting fans. They could witness how a team from Soviet Union – ASK Rīga made its first step towards the future three-peat. The Soviet team was led by the 218-centimeter-tall center, Jānis Krūmiņš. He averaged 17.2 points per game throughout the season, eventually dominating the Finals against Academic Sofia team, and winning the Finals MVP award. The Latvian averaged 22.5 points per game against the Bulgarians, who had the season’s top scorer – Viktor Radev, on their roster.
The tournament had some controversies as well. Real Madrid withdrew from the tournament in the semi-finals because of the political tensions between the Soviet Union and Spain’s dictator, Francisco Franco. Real were forbidden to travel to the Soviet Union to play ASK Rīga by the Spanish authorities.
On our YouTube channel, you can watch the 1958 EuroLeague Retrospective.
1958 EUROLEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Team
ASK Rīga
NAT
G
6
W
5
L
1
1958 EUROLEAGUE FINALS MVP
1958 EUROLEAGUE TOP SCORER
1958 EUROLEAGUE FINALS
GM1
86
81
GM2
84
71
AGG.
170
152
ASK RIGA
ACADEMIC
GAME 1 BOXSCORE
TEAM
TEAM
PLAYER
Jānis Krūmiņš
Valdis Muižnieks
Maigonis Valdmanis
Leons Jankovskis
Ivars Vērītis
Oļģerts Hehts
Aivars Ļeončiks
Alvils Gulbis
Gundars Siliņš
Gundars Muižnieks
PLAYER
Viktor Radev
Nikola Ilov
Konstantin Stoimenov
Petko Lazarov
Georgi Panov
Ljubomir Panov
Mikhail Semov
Dimitar Atanasov
POINTS
32
24
12
8
6
2
2
0
0
0
86
POINTS
29
22
10
6
5
4
3
2
81
GAME 2 BOXSCORE
TEAM
TEAM
PLAYER
Viktor Radev
Georgi Panov
Nikola Ilov
Ljubomir Panov
Dimitar Atanasov
Mikhail Semov
Ivan Emainulov
Konstantin Stoimenov
Ljuben Darvov
PLAYER
Valdis Muižnieks
Jānis Krūmiņš
Maigonis Valdmanis
Alvils Gulbis
Oļģerts Hehts
Leons Jankovskis
Teobalds Kalherts
Aivars Ļeončiks
Jānis Dāvids
Ivars Vērītis
POINTS
19
13
11
9
6
4
4
4
1
71
POINTS
15
13
11
9
6
6
4
3
0
0
84
SEMIFINALS
GM1
2
0
GM2
2
0
AGG.
4
0
ASK RIGA
REAL MADRID
GM1
87
89
GM2
76
64
AGG.
165
151
ACADEMIC
HONVED BUDAPEST
1/4 FINALS
GM1
95
59
GM2
61
63
AGG.
154
122
ASK RIGA
LEGIA WARSAW
GM1
78
59
GM2
43
57
AGG.
121
116
REAL MADRID
ROYAL ANDERLECHT
GM1
72
80
GM2
95
85
AGG.
167
165
HONVED BUDAPEST
OLIMPIA MILANO
GM1
73
64
GM2
77
78
AGG.
150
142
ACADEMIC
STEAUA BUCURESTI
GROUP A
GM1
85
56
GM2
91
56
AGG.
176
112
ASK RIGA
WISSENSCHAFT
GM1
62
64
GM2
71
67
AGG.
133
131
LEGIA WARSAW
PANTTERIT HELSINKI
GROUP B ROUND 1
GM1
84
54
GM2
DNP
DNP
AGG.
84
54
SLOVAN PRAHA
JONCTION GENEVA
GM1
83
55
GM2
108
43
AGG.
191
98
HONVED BUDAPEST
UNION BABENBERG
GM1
115
47
GM2
90
42
AGG.
205
89
OLIMPIA MILANO
WOLVES AMSTERDAM
GROUP B ROUND 2
GM1
65
47
GM2
DNP
DNP
AGG.
65
47
OLIMPIA MILANO
SLOVAN PRAHA
GM1
61
52
GM2
DNP
DNP
AGG.
61
52
HONVED BUDAPEST
SLOVAN PRAHA
GM1
80
72
GM2
DNP
DNP
AGG.
80
72
OLIMPIA MILANO
HONVED BUDAPEST
GROUP C ROUND 2
GM1
73
43
GM2
84
58
AGG.
157
101
ACADEMIC SOFIA
JEUNESSE SPORTIVO
GM1
74
67
GM2
86
45
AGG.
160
112
AŠK OLIMPIJA
MODASPOR KULUBU
GM1
63
60
GM2
75
72
AGG.
138
130
STEAUA BUCURESTI
PANELLINIOS BC
GROUP C ROUND 3
GM1
80
64
GM2
81
80
AGG.
161
144
ACADEMIC SOFIA
AŠK OLIMPIJA
GM1
84
65
GM2
63
61
AGG.
147
126
STEAUA BUCURESTI
MACCABI TEL AVIV
GROUP C ROUND 1
GM1
82
43
GM2
63
36
AGG.
145
79
ROYAL ANDERLECHT
BBC ETZELLA
GROUP C ROUND 2
GM1
81
51
GM2
93
76
AGG.
174
125
ROYAL ANDERLECHT
ASVEL BASKET
GM1
68
51
GM2
86
40
AGG.
154
90
REAL MADRID
BARREIRENSE BC
1958 EUROLEAGUE TOP 50 BEST SCORERS LIST
The best scorers of the 1958 EuroLeague season are ranked based on the total points scored by a player throughout the season. The totality gives a better insight on the value of the player than the scoring averages.
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Team
Player
Viktor Radev
Laszlo Banhegyi
Nikola Ilov
George Bon Salle
Janos Simon
Valdis Muižnieks
Tibor Czinkan
Francois de Pauw
Albert Nicodeme
Henri Jean-Crick
Ljubomir Panov
Alexandru Fodor
Georgi Panov
Maigonis Valdmanis
Mihai Nedef
Jānis Krūmiņš
Andrei Folbert
Johnny Baez
Gianfranco Sardagna
Ivo Daneu
Wladyslaw Pawlak
Teodor Nedelea
Andrzej Pstrokonski
Emil Niculescu
Matija Dermastija
Janos Greminger
Petko Lazarov
Sandro Riminucci
Antonis Christeas
Gianfranco Pieri
William Brindle
Jedrzej Bednarowicz
Boris Kristančic
Janez Škrjanc
Konstantin Stoimenov
Gundars Muižnieks
Romeo Romanutti
Henri Grange
Mimis Stefanidis
Alfonso Martinez
Cesare Volpato
Henry Rey
Miroslav Škerik
Jozsef Balogh
Seppo Kuusela
Jaroslav Tetiva
Toñin Casillas
Oļģerts Hehts
Karoly Vamos
Muvaffak Gözüaydın
G
10
7
10
5
7
6
6
6
5
5
10
6
10
6
6
5
6
4
5
4
4
5
4
6
4
7
10
5
2
5
4
4
4
4
10
6
3
2
2
4
5
2
3
7
2
3
4
6
6
2
PPG
25.1
22.3
15.0
26.6
17.3
20.0
16.7
19.2
21.4
21.0
10.4
16.8
9.9
14.8
14.5
17.2
14.3
20.0
16.0
17.3
16.0
12.6
15.5
10.3
14.8
8.4
5.9
11.0
26.5
10.4
12.5
12.3
11.5
11.5
4.5
7.3
14.3
21.0
20.5
10.3
8.2
19.5
13.0
5.6
19.0
12.7
9.0
6.0
6.0
17.5
PTS
251
156
150
133
121
120
117
115
107
105
104
101
99
89
87
86
86
80
80
69
64
63
62
62
59
59
59
55
53
52
50
49
46
46
45
44
43
42
41
41
41
39
39
39
38
38
36
36
36
35
1958 EUROLEAGUE BEST OFFENSIVE TEAMS
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Team
OLIMPIA MILANO
ASK RIGA
HONVED BUDAPEST
ACADEMIC
AŠK OLIMPIJA
ROYAL ANDERLECHT
STEAUA BUCURESTI
REAL MADRID
PANTTERIT HELSINKI
PANELLINIOS BC
LEGIA WARSAW
MACCABI TEL AVIV
ASVEL BASKET
SLOVAN ORBIS PRAHA
WISSENSCHAFT
MODASPOR KULUBU
JONCTION GENEVA
JEUNESSE SPORTIVO
UNION BABENBERG
BARREIRENSE BASKET
WOLVES AMSTERDAM
BBC ETZELLA
G
5
6
7
10
4
6
6
4
2
2
4
2
2
3
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
PTS
435
500
570
785
304
435
427
275
131
130
255
126
125
183
112
112
54
101
98
90
89
79
PPG
87.0
83.3
81.4
78.5
76.0
72.5
71.2
68.8
65.5
65.0
63.8
63.0
62.5
61.0
56.0
56.0
54.0
50.5
49.0
45.0
44.5
39.5
Fiero Sportivo 