{"id":426851,"date":"2025-02-04T14:23:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T13:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/?p=426851"},"modified":"2025-02-04T14:23:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T13:23:28","slug":"euroleague-sasha-vezenkov-named-mvp-of-the-month-for-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/euroleague-sasha-vezenkov-named-mvp-of-the-month-for-january\/","title":{"rendered":"Euroleague: Sasha Vezenkov named MVP of the Month for January"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Olympiacos Piraeus<\/a>\u00a0forward\u00a0Sasha Vezenkov<\/a>\u00a0has been selected as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP of the Month for January after a dominant set of performances for the Reds.<\/p>\n

This is the fourth MVP of the Month award that the 29-year-old has taken home, having previously done so in February 2022, November 2023 and February 2024. Olympiacos has had one of its players named MVP of the Month 13 times, the joint fourth most all-time, and Vezenkov has been the winner of the last four.<\/p>\n

In fact, Vezenkov\u2019s fourth MVP of the Month trophy means that he now has the most of any Olympiacos player all-time, as he was previously level on three with legendary guard\u00a0Vassilis Spanoulis<\/a>\u00a0(February 2012, November 2013, October 2014).<\/p>\n

Other Olympiacos players to have secured MVP of the Month honors are:\u00a0Tyus Edney<\/a>\u00a0(February 2006),\u00a0Arvydas Macijauskas<\/a>\u00a0(November 2007),\u00a0Milos Teodosic<\/a>\u00a0(January 2010),\u00a0Rasho Nesterovic<\/a>\u00a0(February 2011),\u00a0Stratos Perperoglou<\/a>\u00a0(December 2013), and\u00a0Georgios Printezis<\/a>\u00a0(April 2015).<\/p>\n

In EuroLeague history, only\u00a0Nikola Mirotic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mike James<\/a>\u00a0have more than Vezenkov\u2019s four MVP of the Month trophies, as they have won the award on seven and five occasions, respectively.<\/p>\n

A month to remember<\/h3>\n

In January, Vezenkov was a menace on offense all month long. Not only did he lead the league in scoring with a total of 146 points (24.3 PPG), 33 more than AS Monaco star Mike James in second, but his 66.7% shooting from the field was the best of any non-center who attempted 20 shots or more, having converted 52 of his 78 field-goal attempts.<\/p>\n

Notably, the Bulgaria international erupted for\u00a0a career-high 45 points in a 112-69 beatdown of FC Bayern Munich<\/a>\u00a0in his second game in January, which are the third-most points in modern EuroLeague history. That performance came one week after Vezenkov had posted team highs of 24 points and 7 rebounds in\u00a0an 85-92 win at Zalgiris Kaunas<\/a>\u00a0to start the new year.<\/p>\n

Speaking of rebounds, Vezenkov was incredibly active on the glass in January by pulling down 39 boards, the third most of any player. He also had the highest plus\/minus of any player with +97 in January, +28 better than Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard Sterling Brown in second.<\/p>\n

Having opened January with two wins, Olympiacos went to Spain and won back-to-back games in the double-round week. Vezenkov posted 19 points and 5 rebounds in\u00a0a 101-102 overtime win at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz<\/a>\u00a0before the Reds headed to the Spanish capital, where they\u00a0downed Real Madrid 86-96<\/a>\u00a0in a game that saw January\u2019s MVP of the Month finish with 13 points and 9 rebounds.<\/p>\n

A top-of-the-standings clash with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ended in\u00a0a 77-87 defeat<\/a>\u00a0for Olympiacos, ending its seven-game winning streak in the process, but Vezenkov impressed nonetheless with 19 points. He closed out the month by recording team highs of 26 points and 9 rebounds as Olympiacos got back on track with\u00a0a 92-89 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Don’t miss some of his best actions here\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n

MVP of the Month I @PaniniAmerica<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sEHeFvSqYv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) February 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n