By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Two new additions and a switch on the top two spots highlight the second edition of the 2024-25 EuroLeague MVP Ladder by Eurohoops
FC Barcelona guard Kevin Punter and Olympiacos Piraeus forward Sasha Vezenkov had to leave their place for new entrants – Fenerbahce Beko forward Nigel Hayes-Davis and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan forward Nikola Mirotic – for different reasons each. Punter had some ups and downs for Barcelona and didn’t retain the same level of quality in his game that earned him the title of EuroLeague MVP for November. Vezenkov was omitted in the final cut mainly due to missing two games, while all the other candidates played in all of their team’s contests.
As is always the case with the MVP Ladder, individual numbers, leadership and impact on wins were the main factors in compiling the ranking.
1. TJ Shorts, Paris Basketball
Season Stats: 18.6 points (3rd overall), 7.9 assists (3rd) , 2.6 rebounds for 22.4 PIR (3rd)
Team Record: 11-3 (1st)
Previous Spot on the MVP Ladder: 3rd
Who would have thought back in October that a EuroLeague newcomer team and a rookie playmaker would completely dominate the competition and, subsequently, the conversation nearly halfway through the regular season? Yet, here we are as Paris Basketball and TJ Shorts are taking the EuroLeague by storm and tearing apart all sorts of projections and speculations that doubted how they fit in the competition.
No team has more wins than Paris and no player looks as unstoppable as Shorts. Without an equal in the way he commands the game with both his scoring and his passing and generating baskets like a machine, the American guard is the only player who occupies a spot in the top 10 in both points and assists.
Shorts is playing opposing defenses like a fiddle, no matter what they throw at him. Dancing his way through traffic to deliver the blow with his near-unguardable mid-range floaters and pull-ups, finding the open man in the blink of an eye with sharp and quick decision-making and simply making his team a powerful winning unit. Since the previous MVP Ladder, the American guard has averaged 20.1 points and 7.3 assists while Paris won seven out of the open 10-0 run the team is currently on.
Their latest exploit? A statement win at Olympiacos Piraeus, where Shorts put on a show of 21 points and 8 assists while Paris climbed to the top of the standings by beating the Reds, who had been undefeated at home. What is more, he sank a big triple down the stretch as the French side repelled a comeback from down 20 by their opponents, exhibiting quite the character in an unfriendly and loud arena, despite their inexperience.
2. Carsen Edwards, FC Bayern Munich
Season Stats: 20.4 points (1st overall), 3.1 assists, 2.1 rebounds for 16.9 PIR (15th)
Team Record: 9–5 (tied for 3rd)
Previous Spot on the MVP Ladder: 1st
Twenty-three minutes into the game between Bayern and Baskonia Vitoria-Gateiz, the visitors led 44-52. Carsen Edwards, who was scoreless until then, turned on the ignition with 15 out of his team’s 25 points in the rest of the quarter for a 69–61 advantage. He ultimately finished with 27 as fans at SAP Garden celebrated another win.
This was a prime example and a testament to how important Edwards has been in Bayern’s best start to a EuroLeague season in history and the way he can be decisive in an outcome by erupting and taking over in fiery fashion.
He’s done that plenty in 2024-25 so far after all. Still the competition’s leading scorer, Edwards has poured in 20 points or more in six out of the last seven games for an average of 21.1 points while improving his three-point shooting from 33.3 percent to 41.3% on 7.7 attempts and reducing his turnovers to 1.7 from 2.6 as Bayern sailed to fifth place in the standings. Simply put, the more the season progresses, the more mature and effective his game seems to become.
3. Nigel Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Season Stats: 17.4 points, (7th overall), 5.3 rebounds (16th) for 17.5 PIR (11th)
Team Record: 10-4 (2nd)
Previous Spot on the MVP Ladder: First appearance
When Fenerbahce seemed to be hitting a slump against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Baskonia Vitoria-Gsteiz after six straight wins, the reaction the team put on the floor bore the face of Nigel Hayes-Davis.
Against Real Madrid on the road and with both teams coming off losses, the Kobe Bryant-inspired Hayes-Davis delivered 33 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting to lead Fener to the win. It was his second-highest-scoring EuroLeague game ever after that mythical 50-piece last season.
Hayes-Davis had gone to work several times before though, carrying his squad through a 6-0 streak despite an injury-stricken backcourt. The American forward was a man possessed during that stretch with team-highs 21.8 points (on 68.5 percent True Shooting – the second highest among his teammates) and 5.2 rebounds. When the situation demanded a big bucket, he became a closer in crunch time, dropping the go-ahead layup vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv and hitting some big shots down the stretch, including the clutch triple that pushed Fener past Virtus Segafredo Bologna on the road.
Oozing shooting confidence perhaps like never before, Hayes-Davis is now leading the EuroLeague in three-pointers made with 2.9 at 49.4%; just five players are more accurate than him and they all average fewer than 2.0 triples.
4. Nikola Mirotic, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Season Stats: 18.7 points (2nd), 7.4 rebounds (3rd), 1.8 assists for 23.7 PIR (1st)
Team Record: 8-6 (tied for 4th)
Previous Spot on the MVP Ladder: First appearance
Milan is the hottest team in the EuroLeague not named Paris Basketball right now and former MVP Nikola Mirotic is the main responsible for an outstanding 7-1 turnaround following a rough 1-5 start.
It can be argued that Mirotic is playing some of his best basketball ever, given that he posts career-high numbers in points and rebounds with 18.7 and 7.4, respectively, while shooting the ball on 50-40 splits and putting strong winning contributions on the table. The veteran forward is bringing out his MVP self and Milan is rallying around him to finally deliver on the floor.
During Milan’s 7-1 run, Mirotic raised his scoring numbers to 20.8 points and was notably involved in creating for his teammates as well with 2.1 assists. He was most impressive at Fenerbahce with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists for a victory against a particularly tough-to-beat opponent that was coming off six straight wins.
5. Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Season Stats: 18.4 points (tied for 4th), 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists for 17.0 PIR (14th)
Team Record: 8-6 (tied for 4th)
Previous Spot on the MVP Ladder: 5th
It’s a fact that reigning EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos is going through a crisis after three defeats over the last four games, including the heaviest loss under Coach Ergin Ataman against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. It’s also true that this record could’ve easily been 0-4 if not for probably the most exhilarating performance Kendrick Nunn has delivered in the EuroLeague so far.
Nunn tallied a career-high 29 points in a very close battle against FC Barcelona, including a buzzer-beater for each of the first three quarters while scoring 12 in the final period. A few days before, he had 11 out of his 23 points in the last 8 minutes versus AS Monaco, but his heroics weren’t enough to prevent the loss.
Still, Nunn remains strong in the MVP conversation as one of the EuroLeague’s most prolific scorers and the go-to guy for Panathinaikos. His team-highs of 21 and 20 points in the wins over Virtus and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and overall presence are more than enough to keep him on the Ladder.