By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After missing domestic action Tuesday, Sasha Vezenkov sat out Wednesday’s practice as well.
Vezenkov, 27, has been slowed down by a muscle spasm in the right adductor. He is currently considered questionable to play in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 16 with Olympiacos visiting archrival Panathinaikos at OAKA Altion. His status will likely be updated Thursday. In better news for head coach Giorgos Bartzokas, the remaining players on the squad are healthy.
The Bulgaria international player scoring double-digit PIR in 16 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games in a row averages a league-high 25.3 PIR per game this season. He also ranks second in rebounds with 7.2 per game. Furthermore, through 15 games, he is up to 19.2 points shooting nearly 60% from the field to go along with 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per contest in his eighth campaign in Europe’s premier club continental competition and fifth as a member of Olympiacos.
The November MVP of the EuroLeague did not play in the away fixture of Basket League Regular Season Round 10 against Karsitsa Biologiko Horio yesterday but the Reds completed 2022 unbeaten in Greek competitions, specifically improved to 10-0 in the 2022-23 edition of Greece’s top-flight division. The 9-6 start at the continental level is one game shy of the five-way tie on top of the EuroLeague standings.
Back in 2017, Vezenkov was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the 57th pick in the NBA draft. His rights were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021 and from there to the Sacramento Kings last June.