By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
ALBA Berlin swingman Gabriele Procida has been named as the recipient of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy. The 21-year-old is the third Italian to secure the prize, following Andrea Bargnani (2005-06) and Danilo Gallinari (2007-08), and the first ALBA player to do so.
Voted for by EuroLeague head coaches, the Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best player each season who was younger than 22 on July 1 of the previous summer. Procida, who turns 22 on June 1, faced strong competition for the Rising Star award this year, particularly from his ALBA teammates and countryman Matteo Spagnolo. Procida posted better numbers overall and had a bigger role than Spagnolo or any of his potential opponents elsewhere, which possibly convinced a majority of head coaches to vote for him.
Procida showed flashes of the player he can become in the near future – from outstanding dunks to deep three-pointers, great versatility and very good intensity. He scored in double digits 10 times during the regular season, getting a career-high 22 points on the road against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in a 102-81 losing effort in Round 11.
That allowed Provida to lead all Rising Star eligible players this season in points, both with his overall total of 207 and also his average of 8.3 points per game. He is also first amongst eligible Rising Star players in total PIR (201) and average PIR (8.0), as well as in steals (1.4 spg.), ranking fourth among all EuroLeague players. Procida led the 2023-24 EuroLeague in steals per 40 minutes (3.3). Per 40 minutes, Procida averaged 19.0 points, 4.3 fouls drawn and a PIR of 18.4.
In addition to his ability to collect steals, Procida hit 58.2% of his two-point shots, in addition to averaging 1.6 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 1.9 fouls drawn in less than 18 minutes per game, mainly coming off the bench. Before a series of small injuries, Procida had a seven-game stretch between Rounds 10 and 16 in which he averaged 10.1 points, 1.6 steals and a PIR of 12.3.
Procida made his Italian League debut with Cantu in 2019. He played there until the end of the 2020-21 season, joining Fortitudo Bologna. He averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 26 Italian League games with Fortitudo in the 2021-22 campaigns, and has played for ALBA over the last two seasons. Procida has also been a member of the Italian national team and played at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The first-ever Rising Star award went to Erazem Lorbek of Climamio Bologna in 2005. He was followed by Bargnani of Benetton Treviso in 2006; Rudy Fernandez of Joventut Badalona in 2007; Gallinari of Armani Jeans Milano in 2008; Novica Velickovic of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in 2009; Ricky Rubio of FC Barcelona in 2010; Nikola Mirotic of Real Madrid in 2011 and 2012; Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus in 2013; Bogdan Bogdanovic of Partizan in 2014 and again with Fenerbahce Istanbul in 2015; Alex Abrines of Barca in 2016; Luka Doncic of Real Madrid in 2017 and 2018; Goga Bitadze of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in 2019; Usman Garuba of Real in 2021; Rokas Jokubaitis of Barcelona in 2022; and Yam Madar of Partizan in 2023.