Euroleague MVP for November: Sasha Vezenkov

One of the most dominant early-season performers in recent Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history, Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus, is Euroleague Basketball’s choice for MVP of November. Vezenkov posted an average performance index rating of 29.4 during November, which was 10.0 higher than the next-ranked player in the competition. His scoring average of 19. points per game for the month came on stellar 68.5% two-point and 91.3% free-throw shooting. He also posted 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals over five games. His efforts led Olympiacos to a 3-2 mark during November and left the Reds among a group of four teams tied for second place with 7-3 records.

The MVP of the Month honor 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. It was the second monthly MVP award for the 27-year-old forward and follows on Vezenkov’s first such honor last February, when he became the first Olympiacos player in almost seven years to be chosen MVP of the Month.

November started with disappointment for Vezenkov as Olympiacos lost 82-83 to visiting Valencia Basket despite his 20 points and career-best 7 assists for a game-high PIR of 27. The Reds responded with a blowout 87-59 home win against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade with the help of Vezenkov’s 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 25 PIR. Next, Olympiacos won 71-82 at FC Bayern Munich as Vezenkov combined 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for his career-high PIR of 43, which was worth the MVP honor for Round 8. His next double-double, 17 points and 10 rebounds for a PIR of 18, wasn’t enough for Olympiacos to avoid a 90-84 road loss at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Back home a couple of days later, Vezenkov buried 24 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 steals for a PIR of 34 and another MVP of the Round nod following an 86-76 win over ALBA Berlin.

Vezenkov finished November ranked near the top of several statistical categories for the EuroLeague season so far. He is first in PIR (27.8), total rebounds (8.7) and defensive rebounds (6.7), while ranking second overall in scoring (20.1). His third MVP honor within that stellar month will be awarded to Vezenkov at an upcoming home game.