The Assist of the Decade: "I was 100 percent sure Shengelia was going to kill me"

MIES (Switzerland) - Putting a little extra sauce on a dish never hurt anybody. But then again, Georgia's George Tsintsadze was close to critical levels with what is now known as the FIBA Assist of the Decade.

You probably saw the bracket on our social media channels, Tsintsadze's moment of magic was voted by the fans as the best assist in all FIBA competitions over the past ten years, outweighing the best efforts of Facundo Campazzo, Patty Mills, Derrick Rose, Marc Gasol and others. We can only assume that the overwhelming majority of George's votes came from his homeland.

"We had a lot of TV shows about that in Georgia, a lot of posts on social media… I'm really glad you guys started this, and it ended with my win," the 34-year-old point guard told FIBA.basketball.

His pass came in the Round of 16 game during the FIBA EuroBasket 2015, as Georgia were on course to upset Lithuania. A close game, elimination game, where every possession matters and there is no room for error if you want to take down a powerhouse like Lithuania. 

"Manuchar (Markoishvili) and I started playing together since we were like 16. I feel him on the basketball court, I feel his moves very well, so when I started my drive, I saw him cut and I knew he was going to be there at the end of the play. I never expected the pass to come out so beautiful and effective."

Would you have killed him if he missed the layup?

 "I'm not sure if I would've killed him. But I was 100 percent sure that Tornike Shengelia was going to kill me back then. Because if you look at the video, (Tornike) is wide, wide, wide open and I'm doing this crazy pass. Can you imagine? This is a very important game, for the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA EuroBasket. Can you imagine what would've happened if this ball flew out of bounds, or hit somebody in the head and we lost possession? Definitely, Tornike Shengelia would've killed me. Another reason why I'm really happy this play ended the way it ended."

The hatchet was buried after the poll. The two teammates can now remember the FIBA EuroBasket 2015, and a game which they lost 85-81 in Lille, France, with a smile on their faces.

"Even Tornike sent me a voice message saying, 'okay, now I'm not mad at you anymore because you won this competition.' It's a joke, clearly. (laughs)"

That duel with Lithuania was a bizarre one for Tsintsadze because he ended up on one more highlight reel. Known for his sublime passing since the start of his career, George mistimed an alley-oop pass to Viktor Sanikidze. The ball ended up going through the hoop instead of in the hands of Sanikidze, making it one of the luckiest three-pointers made in Tsintsadze's long career.

"It was the same game. We had a play against zone defense, our first offense was always the same, all the time, and Vika (Sanikidze) was always ready to fly and dunk the alley-oop. So, for me, that was an easy pass. Just throw it up there and Vika was such a high-flier that it was easy for him to catch all these lobs. But at that one time, nobody was mad at me for not getting the assist."

 

He thanked the fans of the Georgian national team multiple times during this talk. But, with the pandemic shaping up the world of basketball, it turns out that the followers of Georgia won't get to see him try another one of his crazy passes over the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers Window - Tsintsadze's club career took him to Baniyas in UAE. 

"I play in Abu Dhabi, and we are under quarantine now. It's impossible for me to go and play for the national team. But I wish our guys all the best, even though these games aren't as important to us as to the other teams, because we already qualified, we are hosting the FIBA EuroBasket. But every game counts, because this is a chance for our younger guys to get the experience."

Gaining the experience should help shape the team in two years' time, when they host one of the FIBA EuroBasket groups in their country. Tsintsadze will be 36 by the time the next continental event happens. 

"It's going to be a big thing for our country. Basketball is a very popular sport in Georgia, the people are waiting for our big wins. This is also the last chance for some of our older players, like myself, to give something big for our country. To be remembered for something we did together, to give the kids something to chase, reach and improve in the future," he explained.

His mission will remain the same on the court.

"All my basketball career I tried to play a little bit different, tried to make the plays a bit more beautiful, when it's possible. When you have the skills to play basketball a bit different, it's usually good for the sport and for the fans. From my childhood days, I always tried to make the crazy no-look passes, play for the fans."

When asked to list his favorite passers in today's game, it wasn't a highly surprising list, with Milos Teodosic, Sergio Rodriguez and Nick Calathes being mentioned. But, there were other influences on George's game, coming from an NBA player, a former teammate, and a family member.

"When I was a kid, I watched a lot of NBA games, and Manu Ginobili had the most amazing passing skills. At the start of my professional career, I played with Theo Papaloukas, one of the best point guards to ever play in Europe. I had a lot of good mentors, but to be honest, my father was a basketball player, didn't play the highest level, but was a player. I got that style from him, the no-look passes, trick passes."

With guys like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic throwing out crazy passes on the highest of all levels, nobody should be worried about the future of artistic assists. And that is something that makes George Tsintsadze really, really happy.

"These days, I'm seeing a lot of passes I tried in the practices are now being done in the games. I'm really happy these kinds of ideas are coming to other players' minds. Makes me look like I'm not the only crazy guy on the basketball court."

FIBA