By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After his teammate Tarique Jones getting the MVP award for Round 12, Shane Larkin is back to his old tricks winning it again in Round 13 for the 16th time on his career, tying Nando De Colo’s record.
Per the press release: A memorable performance by Shane Larkin led Anadolu Efes Istanbul to an 89-97 road win over ALBA Berlin in Round 13 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, earning him MVP of the Round honors for the 16th time in his career.
Larkin finished the game with a PIR of 41, the highest so far this season. He scored 11 of his season-high 32 points in the final quarter, helping Efes rally to a win. Larkin finished the game making 4-of-5 two-pointers, 5-of-9 threes and all 9 of his free throws. He also contributed to the win with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, while drawing 9 personal fouls. Larkin’s 16 MVP of the Round honors match Nando De Colo for the most ever.
On the opposite side of that win was ALBA center Johannes Thiemann, who finished the game with a career-high performance index rating of 40. It was the first game in EuroLeague history that has seen two players have a PIR of at least 40. Thiemann scored 31 points and also recorded 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls drawn.
The next best PIR, 34, belongs to Tornike Shengelia of Virtus Segafredo Bologna. In a 100-90 win over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Shengelia posted 27 points and 8 rebounds. Maccabi‘s Lorenzo Brown finished that game with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 32. Rounding out the list of Round 13’s top performers are Mike James of AS Monaco and Willy Hernangomez of FC Barcelona, each of whom had a 26 PIR. James posted 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals in a 79-83 win at Zalgiris Kaunas, while Hernangomez had 21 points and 9 rebounds in an 89-81 win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.