BCL: TJ Shorts of Telekom Baskets Bonn named MVP of the Month for December

Telekom Baskets Bonn point guard TJ Shorts has just added another feat to his impressive campaign so far, by winning the last MVP of the Month Award for the 2022 calendar year in the Basketball Champions League.

Shorts led Telekom Baskets Bonn to a 2-0 record this month, including the biggest win of their season so far. On the road in Turkey, he had 26 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals to hand Bonn an 89-80 win over Pinar Karsiyaka, clinching first place in what was dubbed the “group of death” after the draw in July.

Shorts followed that one up with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a blowout win on the road in Italy, defeating UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia. That one must have felt special because it was Reggiana who handed the only defeat to Shorts and Bonn in the BCL earlier this season.

Overall, TJ Shorts is averaging 24.2 points, shooting 56.7 percent from the field, 52.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 77.4 percent from the line. The 25-year-old lefty dishes out 6.7 assists each night, and grabs an impressive 4.2 rebounds per game for someone 175cm/5’9” tall. He also became the first player with five straight games of 25+ points in BCL history, nobody else has more than three such games.

With all the Round of 16 and Play-In tickets handed out in December, it seems like it was the most important month of the season so far. To be the best of the best in a month like this speaks volumes of his contribution.

“We knew the month of December was huge because we had the chance to secure the number 1 seed in our group and being able to do that was great for us. Being named the MVP of December – I’m nothing but grateful to my teammates and coaches for trusting in me and my play and allowing me to be myself.

“It always feels good to be recognized by others with an award like this so rather in December or any month I’m super grateful and excited to be recognized as the MVP.”

Shorts is not the first man from UC Davis to own a BCL MVP award of any kind. His college teammate was none other than Chima Moneke, BCL’s MVP of the Season in 2021-22. Moneke went from being the MVP to becoming the biggest promoter in the “Shorts for MVP” campaign.

“The advice Chima gave me coming into this season was to just be myself. He told me to trust the work I put in this summer and everything else will work itself out,” Shorts said.

We’ve already seen a left-handed point guard dominating in the BCL and winning the MVP award, while playing for a German club. Tyrese Rice did it with Brose Bamberg back in 2018-19, and all the pull up three-pointers, hesitation dribbles and pin-point assists make the Rice-Shorts comparison valid, even though there’s a ten-year difference between the two.

“Tyrese Rice was actually my favorite overseas player to watch so I can agree it’s a fair comparison. I like to study his game along with other players and try and steal some of the things they did and put my own little twist on them to make myself successful.”

Shorts already won the top scorer award in the German Bundesliga last season, while playing for the Crailsheim Merlins. That’s the same club that saw the rise of coach Tuomas Iisalo. They say the point guards are an extended coaching hand on the court, and it’s easy to feel the connection between Iisalo and Shorts.

“Me and Coach Tuomas Iisalos’ relationship has grown every day from the start of pre-season to now,” the December MVP said. “We’ve had endless conversations on different ways he can use me on the court, so I’m nothing but grateful for him allowing me to play my game freely and doing whatever I have to do to help the team be successful.”

That connection saw Telekom Baskets Bonn win their group in the BCL with a 5-1 record, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Unicaja are the only other teams with those numbers, and they are number one in the German easyCredit BBL with an 11-1 scored through first 12 games.

Bonn went 7-0 in the BCL and Bundesliga this month, five of those wins being by double figures. If they keep this up, those trophy talks are going to get louder and louder by the minute.

“The only talk in our locker room is to improve every day. We of course would love to compete for a championship at the end of the season but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to stay hungry, stay grounded, and build each day brick by brick. And we know if we focus on us and do this at the end of the season, we will be able to put ourselves in a position to hopefully win a championship.”

Shorts and Bonn will have some time to regroup before the start of the Round of 16. They will face BAXI Manresa there, along with the winners of the Bahcesehir College v Filou Oostende and Rytas Vilnius v PAOK mateco Play-In matchups.