By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Besides helping Bahcesehir Koleji clinch the top seed of Group A in the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup Regular Season, Jaleen Smith added individual success as a back-to-back Most Valuable Player of the Round in the second tier of Euroleague Basketball.
The 30-year-old combo guard was officially confirmed as the MVP of Round 15 on Thursday.
Smith scored 29 points and neared a double-double with nine assists, pushing his side to a win versus Trefl Sopot in Ergo Arena on Wednesday.
Coming in as the Round 14 MVP, producing a Performance Index Rating of 39 was the highest among all players in action on Tuesday and Wednesday, thus handed him the distinction for the second straight week.
Per the press release: “A stunning individual performance in a come-from-behind victory allowed Jaleen Smith of Bahcesehir College Istanbul to earn Round 15 MVP honors with a PIR of 39 – the second round in succession he has been the MVP.
Smith led Bahcesehir to a 76-81 road win over Trefl Sopot with 25 points on 5-of-9 two-pointers, 2-of-6 three-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws. He added 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 10 fouls drawn for a PIR of 39, a new personal-best effort. Smith earned MVP of the Round honors for the first time in Round 14 and has now achieved the same feat in Round 15 – his 15th appearance in the BKT EuroCup. He remains the third Bahcesehir player to be MVP of the Round in EuroCup history, after Jamal Jones (Round 8, 2020-21) and Axel Bouteille (Round 5, 2024-25), but Smith’s 39 PIR in Round 15 is a new club-high mark.
Zavier Simpson of U-BT Cluj-Napoca amassed a PIR of 36 in his team’s 77-88 road victory over Umana Reyer Venice. Simpson had 25 points on 7-of-12 two-pointers, 1-of-1 three-pointers and 8-of-8 free throws, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 5 fouls drawn.
In that game, Mfiondu Kabengele of Reyer had 17 points on 5-of-7 two-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 6 fouls drawn, good for a PIR of 30.
Jonah Mathews of Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul also reached a PIR of 30 in his team’s 79-77 home win over Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, getting 27 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 7 fouls drawn.
Berk Ugurlu, also of Besiktas, with a PIR of 27, completes the top individual performances in Round 15. Ugurlu had 20 points on 3-of-4 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 5-of-5 free throws, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and zero turnovers.
Individual highs: Justinian Jessup, Ulm, 6 steals
Jonah Mathews of Besiktas led all scorers in Round 15 with 27 points. Jared Harper of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem ranks first overall with 22.6 points per night.
Saliou Niang of Dolomiti Energia Trento led all rebounders in this round by pulling down 12 boards. Mfiondu Kabengele of Reyer is the EuroCup’s best rebounder with 9.5 per game.
Three players had 8 assists apiece in Round 15: Harper, Devon Dotson of Joventut Badalona, and Stefan Jovic of Valencia Basket. Zavier Simpson of Cluj leads the assists table with 7.0 dimes per game.
Justinian Jessup of Ulm collected 6 steals, matching this season’s best mark, against Trento. Andrew Albicy of Dreamland Gran Canaria ranks first overall with 2.0 steals per night.
Kyle Alexander of Turk Telekom Ankara had 4 blocks in Round 15. He is also first overall with 2.2 blocks per game.
Kabengele (17 points, 10 rebounds), Veolia Towers Hamburg’s Kur Kuath (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Wolves’ Marek Blazevic (10 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double in this round.”
Top 10 Plays
Tre’Shawn Thurman throwing dancing in the paint and throwing it down for Wolves Twinsbet ranked first in the weekly installment of the Top 10 Plays.