Nicolo Melli admitted he would have liked to win the 2026 EuroLeague Best Defender award, but the Fenerbahce Beko veteran also made it clear that Alpha Diallo deserved the recognition.
“It’s not true that I don’t care about personal trophies. If you arrive 2nd, you want to be 1st,” Melli told Eurohoops. “It’s better to be 2nd than 3rd, but for sure you want to be 1st. If you have the chance, if you have a shot for it, you better just go for it.”
Despite missing out on the award, Melli praised Diallo’s defensive impact throughout the season.
“That being said, is Alpha Diallo a good defender? Definitely. There’s no discussion there,” Melli added. “It’s not that they gave it to someone who doesn’t play defense. He’s a beast on defense. And he probably always guards the toughest [opposing] player.”
Fenerbahce was widely viewed as the best defensive team in the EuroLeague regular season, with Melli serving as one of the key leaders in coach Sarunas Jasikevicius’ switching defensive system.
“We are two totally different defenders,” Melli also commented on Diallo. “Statistics, as you said, cover a part of the story. What I say is that if they had given me the trophy, I think it would’ve been more a trophy for the team. To acknowledge that Fenerbahce was the best defensive team.”
Melli also rejected the idea that he felt robbed by the voting results.
“Alpha Diallo is an incredible defender. He deserved it,” Melli commented. “Of course, I would’ve loved to win it. But, again, if I’d won it would’ve been an achievement for the team.”
Fenerbahce later advanced to the Final Four after defeating Zalgiris Kaunas 3-1 in the playoffs, as Melli and his teammates continue chasing another EuroLeague title.
“Again, I don’t feel snubbled. I don’t feel that Alpha Diallo didn’t deserve it. It is what it is. I wish I won it because, as I said, it’s better to be 1st than being 2nd. But we have bigger goals in front of us.”
Nicolo Melli admits that he wanted to win 2026 EuroLeague Best Defender while recognizing that Alpha Diallo “deserved it, he’s a beast”
The Italian veteran also reveals he would see the award as “team trophy” for Fenerbahce being the top defense squadhttps://t.co/CtnZJsEUbv
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) May 12, 2026
