Jonas Valanciunas dominated the boards in Milan, making history for Zalgiris Kaunas. The Lithuanian center grabbed a club-record 20 rebounds, recorded the fourth-fastest double-double in modern EuroLeague history and led his team to an 86-83 road victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.
Valanciunas finished with a career-high PIR of 36, the best individual performance of Round 11, earning him MVP honors for the round.
The Zalgiris big man matched his career high with 17 points, shooting 5-of-9 on two-pointers and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. He also collected 20 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, recorded 2 steals and a block, and drew 6 fouls. His rebounding total is the highest by any player in the EuroLeague this season and the most since Nikola Milutinov also grabbed 20 on January 18, 2024. Valanciunas also posted a game-high +23 plus-minus rating, highlighting his overall impact.
A historic individual performance was not enough for Talen Horton-Tucker to prevent Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul from losing 111-109 in overtime against Paris Basketball. The American guard matched his career-best PIR of 33 while setting a new career high with 32 points. He shot 12-of-14 on two-pointers, 1-of-5 from beyond the arc and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Horton-Tucker also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for his first EuroLeague double-double, adding 2 assists and drawing 6 fouls.
Tremont Waters of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ranked third among the round’s top performers with a PIR of 30, despite his team’s 95-91 home loss to Besiktas Istanbul. Waters scored 26 points on 5-of-6 two-pointers, 3-of-7 three-pointers and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. He also recorded 5 steals, 3 assists, one rebound and 7 fouls drawn.
Rounding out the top five were Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s Jordan Loyd and Olympiacos Piraeus’ Evan Fournier, who both finished with a PIR of 28.
Loyd played a key role in Efes’ 103-91 home victory over Virtus Bologna, particularly after halftime, when he scored 17 of his 22 points. The guard went 2-of-2 on two-pointers and set a new career high with 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range. He also contributed 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 fouls drawn without committing a turnover.
Fournier matched his season high with 28 points as Olympiacos cruised to a 101-72 win over Dubai Basketball. The Frenchman shot 4-of-6 on two-pointers, 5-of-7 from three-point range and 5-of-6 at the free-throw line. He added 2 rebounds, 5 assists, one steal and drew 2 fouls. His +28 plus-minus was tied for the best mark of the round.
Individual statistical leaders: Round 11
Horton-Tucker led all scorers in Round 11 with 32 points. Paris Basketball’s Nadir Hifi remains the EuroLeague’s leading scorer for the season, averaging 20.8 points per game.
Valanciunas’ 20 rebounds also moved him to the top of the season rebounding charts, with an average of 9.5 per game.
Virtus Bologna’s Trent Frazier and Valencia Basket’s TJ Shorts recorded 10 assists each, the highest total of the round. Shorts and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade’s Carlik Jones share the season lead, averaging 6.0 assists per game.
Waters led all players in steals during Round 11 with 5. Partizan’s Luca Vildoza remains the season leader in that category, averaging 1.9 steals per game.
Fenerbahce’s Marcus Bingham recorded a round-high 5 blocks. Virtus Bologna center Aliou Diarra leads the season rankings with 1.9 blocks per game.
There were four double-doubles in Round 11: Valanciunas finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds, Horton-Tucker recorded 32 points and 10 rebounds, Shorts contributed 14 points and 10 assists, while Anadolu Efes center Bruno Fernando posted 15 points and 10 rebounds, reaching both milestones in just the first half.
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