Euroleague MVP for December: Luca Vildoza, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade

In a month notable for its turnarounds, one player made the biggest impact on his team’s favorable fortunes, Luca Vildoza of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, who is Euroleague Basketball’s choice as MVP for December in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Vildoza finished first or second in performance index rating for Zvezda in every full game he played last month, when his team went 4-2 and rejoined the playoffs race, where it is tied for eighth place with an 8-8 record. Despite leaving December’s final game with an injury after a few minutes, Vildoza finished with an average PIR of 17.7 and 15.8 points per game, both team highs. Over his five full games before getting injured, Vildoza ranked among the top three players in the league in both PIR and scoring for the month. His injury, a hamstring strain, will likely sideline Vildoza for two weeks or more.

The MVP of the Month award is now in its 18th season. The winner is named by Euroleague Basketball based on his and his team’s performance during the month in question. Vildoza, 27, becomes just the second Zvezda player to be named MVP of the Month, after teammate Ognjen Kuzmic, the January 2017 winner. Vildoza is now the third player from Argentina so honored, after Luis Scola in December 2006 with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and Facundo Campazzo in April 2019 with Real Madrid.

Vildoza opened December with 16 points, 5 assists and 3 steals for a PIR of 17 in Zvezda’s 83-74 home win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna. In Round 12’s first-ever Belgrade derby in the EuroLeague, he had 14 points, 6 assists and 4 steals as Zvezda prevailed 73-76 in a thriller on the court of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. His assist on the game’s final play gave Nemanja Nedovic an open shot for the game-winning three-pointer. He followed that with a career-high 27 points and 4 more steals as Zvezda stopped visiting Zalgiris Kaunas 77-73 for its third consecutive victory. His 16 points and team-high 6 assists were not enough in Round 14 as Zvezda fell at home, 67-71, to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. He came back to post team highs of 22 points and 29 PIR, however, as Zvezda upset host Olympiacos Piraeus 86-90. In Round 16, Vildoza was injured less than 5 minutes into an eventual overtime home loss to FC Barcelona, albeit due to a missed call on the last play in regulation time.

Vildoza’s December was one of impressive numbers, including shooting accuracy of 63.0% on two-pointers, 42.9% on triples and 94.1% on free throws. He also posted 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He scored between 14 and 27 points in each of his five full games for the month, and he dished between 5 and 8 assists in four of them. Zvezda fans will be able to show Vildoza their appreciation when he receives his award at an upcoming home game.