By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Real Madrid leading the league and Facundo Campazzo having arguably his best season yet, it’s not surprise that the Argentinian guard got the monthly MVP award of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Per the press release: One of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague shortest players, Facundo Campazzo, had an outsized impact on Real Madrid’s surge to the top of the standings, making him a slam-dunk choice for MVP of the Month.
Facu Campazzo dominated in November as Real went 5-1 and saw its season-opening streak of victories reach 10 games before his turnover on the final play in overtime on Thursday. Until that moment, Campazzo had been close to perfect.
He led all EuroLeague players in November with averages of 23.5 in performance index rating and 8.3 assists, while his seventh-best 16.0 points for the month came with top-ranked shooting of 82.1% on two-point shots and 100% at the free throw line.
With numbers like those, no mistake could obscure the fact that Campazzo and Real stood heads above all in November.
The winner of the MVP of the Month award, now in its 19th season, is named by Euroleague Basketball based on his and his team’s performances. Last month’s award was based on the six games played by all EuroLeague teams between Thursday, November 2 and Friday, December 1. This marks the second time that Campazzo has been so honored, following his first such award in April of 2019, giving Real 13 such honorees all-time, second only to CSKA Moscow’s 18.
Campazzo, a 32-year-old, 1.81-meter point guard, was the sole roster addition this season for the reigning champions, but having lifted two EuroLeague trophies previously with Real, in 2015 and 2018, he has proven to be the perfect fit, never more so than in November.
To open the month, Real ended visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna’s five-game win streak with a resounding 100-74 decision in which Campazzo had 18 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals for a career-high PIR of 39. He followed that with 15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a 23 PIR as Real won 76-73 at Valencia Basket thanks to his 4 points in the final 33 seconds. Next, Campazzo had 12 points and a 14 PIR as Real clobbered visiting AS Monaco, 91-73.
He followed that with 7 points and 13 assists, a EuroLeague season high, for a PIR of 19 to beat ALBA Berlin 99-75. In a postponed Round 6 game in Belgrade earlier last week, he had 11 points and 9 assists for another 14 PIR in a 70-99 blowout against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Two days later, Real led by a point in overtime before Campazzo’s turnover allowed host Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul to win 100-99 on the game’s final play. Until then, Campazzo had been brilliant, giving Real game-long leads with a career-high 33 points and tying a EuroLeague record by making 11 of 11 two-point shots.
Campazzo’s eye-popping November stats
Considering he is almost always the smallest player on court, Campazzo’s most remarkable statistic in November may be his 23-for-28 two-point shooting. He also made a perfect 20 of 20 free throws for the month. Besides leading the league in four stats categories in November – PIR, assists, two-point and free-throw accuracy – he currently stands as Real’s leader in PIR, scoring (13.5 ppg.), assists (8.3), steals (1.2) and PIR (20.2). In another telling stat, Campazzo’s plus-minus for the month – the total by which Real outscored opponents when he was on the floor – was +112, or 13 points higher than the team’s final score difference of +99 against its opponents.
Real Madrid’s little big man will hear the appreciation for his efforts from fans in the Spanish capital when he receives his MVP of the Month trophy at an upcoming home game.