By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
We evaluated the players – with 10 being the highest score – in five different areas that reveal the competitive value of each of them so far this season.
Honorable mentions: Vasilije Micic, Facundo Campazzo, Nick Calathes
#5 WALTER TAVARES (previous rank: new entry)
Real Madrid | Center | March 22, 1992 | Cape Verde
7.2 pts | 7.1 reb | 0.8 ast | 0.6 stl | 2.2 blk | 1 tov | 22:55 min | 14.5 PIR | 28 G
Player’s performance: 8
Team’s course: 10
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 7
Total: 42
Even though Real Madrid, which has had different protagonists in nearly every round, has been in the top four consistently since Round 10, Los Blancos have only had one player in the previous editions of the MVP Ladder – Facu Campazzo in the second edition, before he was moved to the honorable mentions. Now it’s time for a second player: Walter Tavares.
He may not meet the usual standards of an MVP, but almost no one else has the same impact in offense (third in FG%) and mostly in defense, where Tavares was the best and got an award for it last season. He continues at the same pace and ranks second in defensive rebounds (career-high) as well as overall rebounds (career-high), while leading the league in blocks (career-high). Tavares is the third tallest player in the competition (following Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s Tibor Pleiss and KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s Youssoupha Fall, both at 2.21 meters) and his skills on the court make him look even bigger.
#4 SCOTTIE WILBEKIN (previous rank: 5th)
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | Guard | April 5, 1993 | USA
16.1 pts | 1.8 reb | 3.4 ast | 1.2 stl | 0 blk | 2.2 tov | 26:03 min | 15.8 PIR | 26 G
Player’s performance: 8
Team’s course: 9
Player’s role: 10
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 10
Total: 45
Injuries have plagued Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv from the start of the season, but Scottie Wilbekin has willed himself to play in 26 of his team’s 28 games and has been one of the few Coach Sfairopoulos can rely on consistently. Everyone on the team is hoping that this will never change, because he’s been the man who always comes through in the end. Wilbekin proved it again in the recent wins over Olympiacos Piraeus and Efes in Tel Aviv.
His career-high averages in points (5th), rebounds, assists and PIR (13th) are additional proof of how much the player has already contributed in the fight for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. It makes sense that he gets the most playing time on the team; he’s ranked 19th in minutes played in the competition.
#3 MIKE JAMES (previous rank: tied 2nd)
CSKA Moscow | Guard | August 18, 1990 | USA
21.1 pts | 3.3 reb | 4.3 ast | 0.7 stl | 0.1 blk | 3 tov | 28:38 min | 20.9 PIR | 28 G
Player’s performance: 9
Team’s course: 9
Player’s role: 10
Consistency: 8
Leadership: 10
Total: 46
There’s no need to remind you how much of a transitional year this is for CSKA Moscow. Nando De Colo went to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Sergio Rodriguez to AX Armani Exchange Milan, Cory Higgins to FC Barcelona. To top it all off, Will Clyburn has been out with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament since Round 4. How is the team tied for fourth place with Maccabi? We’ll let Mike James answer that.
With career-high averages in points (3rd) and PIR (3rd), he’s their leader and the one everyone turns to when things get tough. It’s a responsibility that excites him (MVP of the Round four times) and he does not hesitate to take it on, even after defeats. What more can one say about last season’s Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy winner and a main contender to win it again this season?