By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
The first MVP was from the USA and succeeded himself; all the rest have been from Europe and succeeded each other.
Eurohoops remembers them one by one and awaits the next in line…
2004-05
ANTHONY PARKER – USA
18 points | 5.3 rebounds | 3.6 assists | 2 steals | 0.6 blocks | 1.8 turnovers | 34:44 minutes | 24.9 PIR
Scoring was his specialty, but not the only talent of which he had many and knew like few others how to reveal them on the court. In his third season in the competition, Anthony Parker also knew how to turn those talents into personal triumph. With career-high averages in points, steals and PIR, his selection as MVP coincided with the second of back-to-back trophies with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
2005-06
ANTHONY PARKER – USA
14.8 points | 6.9 rebounds | 3.8 assists | 1.7 steals | 0.2 blocks | 2.4 turnovers | 35:29 minutes | 20.5 PIR
Two is always better than one, and this goes for Parker as well. With the consistency that had always characterized his game plus career highs in rebounds and assists, his second MVP award came on the heels of the first. The fact that Parker remains not just the only player with back-to-back awards, but also the only non-European MVP, makes his place in the golden book of the competition even more special.
2006-07
THEODOROS PAPALOUKAS – GREECE
9.8 points | 3.2 rebounds | 5.4 assists | 1.7 steals | 0.2 blocks | 2.4 turnovers | 24:22 minutes | 15.3 PIR
When his opponents figured something out, he was already onto the next thing. This was the element that made him special during his years on the court and for that season’s CSKA Moscow team. The career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists and PIR were more than enough to highlight Theodoros Papaloukas’s value and earn him the title of EuroLeague MVP as proof. In addition to being the first European to receive this honor, he became the first Euroleague Basketball Legend too, in 2013.
2007-08
RAMUNAS SISKAUSKAS – LITHUANIA
14 points | 3.2 rebounds | 1.4 assists | 1.1 steals | 0.4 blocks | 1 turnover | 27:16 minutes | 16 PIR
Calm when he had to be and passionate when the situation called for it, Ramunas Siskauskas was always resourceful as the MVP of the 2008-09 season. Like that season’s champion, CSKA, Siskauskas didn’t leave anything for anyone else that season, his first with the team, which was his best in terms of points. It didn’t take long for Siskauskas to enter the exclusive club of Euroleague Basketball Legends either, in 2014.
2008-09
JUAN CARLOS NAVARRO – SPAIN
14.7 points | 1.6 rebounds | 3.6 assists | 1.3 steals | 0 blocks | 2 turnovers | 27:42 minutes | 15.1 PIR
If there was a guide on how to get the ball in the basket, Juan Carlos Navarro would be one of the publishing consultants and his stats from 2009 would fill one of the book’s chapters. With career highs in assists and steals rounding off his third-most productive season in terms of points in his 17 years in the competition – all with FC Barcelona, the MVP award could only be his.
2009-10
MILOS TEODOSIC – SERBIA
13.4 points | 2.5 rebounds | 4.9 assists | 1.8 steals | 0.2 blocks | 1.9 turnovers | 30:10 minutes | 16.8 PIR
His assists were viral long before the term was even created, but Milos Teodosic was always more than that. In his third season in the competition and with Olympiacos Piraeus – but his first with a leading role, Teodosic proved he could score too. He was the EuroLeague Most Valuable Player of the season for 2009-10 and could be the Most Viral Passer for a lifetime.
2010-11
DIMITRIS DIAMANTIDIS – GREECE
12.5 points | 3.9 rebounds | 6.2 assists | 1.6 steals | 0.1 blocks | 3 turnovers | 30:33 minutes | 18.5 PIR
He brought his own revolution to the role of point guard with everything he could do on both ends of the court. There were more than enough individual distinctions in his years on the court to assert the specialties that Dimitris Diamantidis possessed. In 2010-11 he earned the MVP of the season award by combining career-high averages in points, assists and PIR with his sixth EuroLeague Best Defender award for an unbeatable combination.
2011-12
ANDREI KIRILENKO – RUSSIA
14.1 points | 7.5 rebounds | 2.4 assists | 1.5 steals | 1.9 blocks | 1.5 turnovers | 29:54 minutes | 24.2 PIR
He was 30 years old in his first season in the competition. Naturally, Andrei Kirilenko had a lot of experience and an even greater ability to do everything for CSKA on both ends of the court. One look at his stats is enough to convince even the most skeptical fan. For his defensive talent, he was rewarded with the EuroLeague Best Defender award, and for all the rest with the MVP of the season trophy.
2012-13
VASSILIS SPANOULIS – GREECE
14.7 points | 2.2 rebounds | 5.5 assists | 0.9 steals | 0 blocks | 3.4 turnovers | 30:01 minutes | 15.1 PIR
He who dares wins and Vassilis Spanoulis has certainly dared many times in his career and has won even more. In 2012-13 with Olympiacos, he dared to go against all those who thought that back-to-back trophy wins were a thing of the past. With his stats in points and assists reflecting his place on the competition’s all-time lists, he pulled it off as the MVP of the season too. What could be better?