By George Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2018-2019 regular season is now a thing of the past and the eight teams which will compete for a spot at the Final Four are now known.
With the help of 5 specific criteria, Eurohoops presents the outlook on the race for the MVP award. As makes sense, the players who are nominated come exclusively from the teams that have qualified for the playoffs, where everything will be decided for the winner of the award.
Let’s take another look at the rankings in the fifth MVP Ladder of the season.
The criteria that were used are the following:
Player’s performance: The individual performance in combination with the demands that existed before the start of the season greatly affects the decision as to who is the MVP. Certain players exceeded initial expectations and others confirmed they belong in the elite of European basketball.
Team’s course: Basketball is a team sport and if someone cannot convert their individual performances into wins for their team, then they automatically lose points in the race for the MVP.
Player’s role: How would each team perform if we automatically removed the MVP candidate from the squad? There are players who are the alpha and omega of their squad, with their key presence providing an advantage on the MVP Ladder.
Consistency: The performance of certain star players varies in big games. Some play consistently at… full throttle, without fluctuations. There are also players who specialize in making their teammates better in every game, even if they themselves don’t put up good numbers. As the season progresses, however, their value peaks.
Leadership: The biggest names in the EuroLeague have to step up when their team needs them. Their contribution in those moments – both in defense as well as in offense – can be as important as their overall numbers. This element, along with other leadership characteristics, adds points and is seriously taken into account when drafting the MVP Ladder.
Honorable mentions: Adrien Moerman, Will Clyburn, Nando De Colo, Anthony Randolph, Vasilije Micic
5. Brandon Davies
Player’s performance: 10
Team’s course: 9
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 9
Leadership: 9
Total: 46
Once again, the finale of the regular season is straight out of a dream for Zalgiris Kaunas. Outdoing themselves with six wins in a row – including great road wins in Tel Aviv, Piraeus and Madrid – led to an epic qualification for the EuroLeague Playoffs. None of this, however, would have been possible without the presence of Brandon Davies. The American closed out the regular season with an average of 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1 steal and a PIR of 17.5.
In fact, he completely dominated in the Round 30 contest against Real Madrid with 27 points and several crucial plays that hit the mark in the end. Special mention deserves to be made of his 30 appearances so far, which means that Davies was always there for Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius’s squad and was a reference point for the proper functioning of the team.
4. Cory Higgins
Player’s performance: 9
Team’s course: 10
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 9
Leadership: 9
Total: 46
CSKA Moscow is a team of numerous protagonists and, as a result, Nando De Colo, Will Clyburn and Cory Higgins are all contenders for a place on the MVP Ladder. In the end, the one who made it was the American guard thanks to his excellent performances during the last part of the regular season.
It’s not easy to stand out on a roster of such quality, but Higgins is doing just fine. He’s having the most productive season of his career with 14.9 points per game, he’s shooting with amazing percentages for the second season in a row (51% in two-point field goals, 53.2% in three-point field goals) and is very effective in clutch moments with a total of 48 points from 36 possessions. CSKA‘s possible qualification and Higgins’s performance in the playoffs will largely decide where the award will end up. If the 29-year-old guard continues to shine, he’s one of the big favorites.
3. Nick Calathes
Player’s performance: 10
Team’s course: 8
Player’s role: 10
Consistency: 10
Leadership: 9
Total: 47
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens pulled off the miracle and, with an epic comeback of eight wins in the last 10 games, secured its presence in the playoffs for the ninth season in a row. The Greens’ comeback has a name and it is Nick Calathes! He outdid himself and, with amazing performances in terms of scoring (12.3 points) and creation (8.9 assists), took a huge leap all the way up to third place on the MVP Ladder. Who can forget his comprehensive performance in Milan? Who can forget the three-point buzzer beater in Moscow that changed Panathinaikos‘s course? But most of all, what stands out is the third triple-double (11 points, 12 rebounds, 18 assists) in EuroLeague history, which places Calathes’s name alongside that of Nikola Vujcic!
These performances are what made Coach Rick Pitino say: “If he’s not this season’s EuroLeague MVP, I don’t know who is!” The final answer will be given in the playoffs, because, if Panathinaikos qualifies, Calathes’s candidacy may be locked in.
Player’s performance: 9
Team’s course: 10
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 9
Leadership: 10
Total: 47
Coach Zeljko Obradovic has allowed Kostas Sloukas to take the wheel of this season’s Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul squad and he’s leading the team to success. And this is the club that finished the regular season in first place, with the best record, 25-5, as well as an undefeated home record. The Greek guard is fully responding to the role of leader with 12.0 points, 4.7 assists, 2 rebounds and a PIR of 15.5. But the stats don’t spell out the whole truth since they can’t capture the confidence that Sloukas brings to his teammates. With him on the court, Obradovic knows that he has a player who will make the right decision at crucial moments and will find the way to execute successfully or feed his teammates in an ideal way.
Sloukas is having the best season of his career. He’s playing more maturely than ever before and is targeting his fourth EuroLeague trophy! At the same time, he’s after the title of the MVP for the first time and the way he looks in the last few weeks when everything is at stake significantly increases his chances.
1. Jan Vesely
Player’s performance: 9
Team’s course: 10
Player’s role: 9
Consistency: 10
Leadership: 9
Total: 47
Jan Vesely combined consistency in his game with some outlandishly good performances for the best part of the regular season and contributed greatly to Fenerbahce finishing in first place. He dominated most of the games he played in and, as a result, he’s now fourth in PIR (19.3) in the entire EuroLeague and first among players who will continue to the playoffs. Of course, Vesely is the favorite to win the MVP award since, with 13.0 points (66% in two-point field goals), 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals, he’s doing everything and is marginally outperforming Sloukas.
Obradovic knows that he has a super-weapon on both sides of the court with Vesely’s impact on Fenerbahce‘s game greater than any other player. The Czech Jet is expected to shine in the playoffs and lead the Turkish champs to their fifth Final Four in a row. If he pulls it off, then he will have made yet another decisive step closer to winning the award and becoming the first center to emerge as the MVP of the season!