Jan Vesely wins first MVP of the Round award in more than six years

A great performance in a winning effort has seen Jan Vesely of FC Barcelona earn Round 8 MVP honors with a PIR of 28, which is a season high for the Czech center and the highest of any winning player this week.

Vesely helped Barcelona down Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 91-68, finishing the game with 17 points on 3-of-7 two-pointers, 3-of-3 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws, as well as 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 2 fouls drawn. This is the second time that Vesely has hit 3-of-3 three-pointers in a EuroLeague game. The first time came on December 23, 2010, almost 14 years ago, while he was playing for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade against – curiously enough – Baskonia. This is the fifth time he has earned MVP of the Round honors in his 360-game career, and the first time since Round 1 of the 2018-19 campaign, which is when he earned EuroLeague season MVP honors.

The highest PIR of this round belonged to Gabriele Procida of ALBA Berlin, who stood out in a 92-71 losing effort against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. Procida had a career-high 25 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks for a personal-best PIR of 34. Carlik Jones of Partizan had a PIR of 32, a career best, in his team’s 74-71 road loss against Paris Basketball. He had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 5 fouls drawn. Nando De Colo of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne amassed a PIR of 29 in a 73-77 losing effort against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, amassing 18 points, 2 rebounds, 11 assists (matching his career high), 2 steals and 5 fouls drawn. Vincent Poirier of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, with a PIR of 25, completes the top individual performances in Round 8. He posted 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block as Efes lost 69-81 to AS Monaco.