Awards
6 Mins read
EuroLeague.net Staff
Check out the favorites below, according to Euroleague.net journalists
With the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on a two-week hiatus from games, it is the perfect time to look back at the top performers from the first 26 rounds of the regular season and to look ahead and make our early picks for some of the end-of-season awards.
Several Euroleague.net staff members will take part and reveal their choices. After sharing their selections for the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy on Monday, the EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy on Tuesday and the All-EuroLeague First Team on Wednesday and the All-EuroLeague Second Team on Thursday, today we analyze the EuroLeague MVP.
Mike James’s MVP is a long time coming
by Geoff Gillingham
Ever since Round 1, Mike James has been on fire for AS Monaco. I actually feel like James should be on course to win his second MVP award, as I strongly believe that he deserved it in the 2021-22 season. After all, he led Monaco to the EuroLeague Playoffs in its first-ever year in the competition and took Olympiacos Piraeus to a do-or-die Game 5, but instead, it went to Nikola Mirotic, then of FC Barcelona. This season, though, there can’t be any doubt. You just need to watch a Monaco game and you’ll be convinced; James is a maestro who puts on a show night in, night out – and without him, his team would be a lot worse off. Not only does James lead the way in both scoring (19.4 ppg.) and PIR (21.6), but he will become the EuroLeague’s all-time top scorer very soon, too. Whether it’s putting the ball in the cup or playmaking for his teammates, the 33-year-old is at the top of his game and has been in inspired form all season long. Now in his 10th EuroLeague campaign, James is comfortably the frontrunner to be the MVP in my eyes.
James fits all the criteria
by Frankie Sachs
If the season ended today and I was asked for my MVP pick, the first thing I would say is: “Why did the season end after only 26 rounds?” And the second thing I would say is “Mike James.” It is important to remember, however, that the season is not over yet. When making my final choice for EuroLeague MVP, the final standings and playoff performances must be taken into account. That said, as of February 16, there is no more deserving candidate. Not only is he the only player in the league ranked among the top 10 in PIR, scoring, assists and steals, but he leads in the first two of those categories. Of course, individual excellence is not the only criterion for being MVP and James, along with Monaco, excels in the others. Monaco is in the heart of the battle for home-court advantage in the playoffs with an advantageous schedule the rest of the way and James has meant as much to his team – if not more – than the stars on the other contenders. It should all add up to his first MVP trophy.
Lessort has irreplaceable value for the Greens
by Igor Petrinovic
Proving how dominant and, more than anything, consistently good he has been or Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, in 21 of his 26 appearances Mathias Lessort has posted a PIR of at least 15 and his 18.6 average PIR is currently tied for fourth in the league. Lessort also ranks eighth in rebounding (6.1 rpg.) and fourth in offensive rebounding (2.4 orpg.), while scoring a career-best 13.3 points on 62.9% shooting. A nightmare to defend in the paint, no player in the EuroLeague has drawn more fouls than Lessort's 6.6 per game, and he leads all centers with 28:07 minutes played as one of only two centers playing more than 25 minutes per night.
The big man finished with a single-digit PIR in just two games this season and both were Panathinaikos losses. Moreover, of the four games in which he scored less than 10 points, three came in Panathinaikos losses. It is easy to see the difference between Lessort's numbers in the Greens' wins and losses. In 16 victories, he has averaged 14.4 points on 67.5% shooting along with 6.6 rebounds for an average PIR of 20.9. In the Greens' 10 losses, Lessort posted 11.6 points on 54.9% shooting with 5.3 rebounds with an average performance index rating of 14.8. Add to the equation the enormous energy he brings every single night and it is hard to find a player more valuable to his team this season than Mathias Lessort.
Mike James, hands down!
by Javier Gancedo
A lot of things can change in the coming months but right now, it is a no-brainer. Mike James is playing better than ever and deserves to be the 2023-24 EuroLeague MVP. He is averaging 19.4 points, a career-high 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists for a PIR average of 21.6. James has hit 42.3% of his three-point shots, which is much better than his career average (33.8% 3FG). James had similar numbers (19.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 6.4 apg., 20.2 PIR) for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the 2018-19 season but his team didn't make the playoffs. This time, AS Monaco is well on its way to a third consecutive playoff appearance, with a good chance to return to the Final Four. Moreover, James is about to become the EuroLeague's all-time top scorer, which would be the icing on the cake of an MVP season. He has scored in double digits in every game until now for the first time in his career, showing great consistency. James leads the EuroLeague in scoring and PIR, too. Even his biggest haters have to agree on this: right now, James is well on his way to claim the MVP trophy for the first time in his EuroLeague career.
