By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Former EuroLeague champion Elijah Bryant secured Most Valuable Player honors for Round 2 of the 2026–27 Regular Season to start the double-game week.
The 31-year-old guard posted a Performance Index Rating of 31 to power Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv past Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet at the Belgrade Arena.
Euroleague Basketball announced the award details on Thursday.
Per the press release: “Elijah Bryant has started the 2026-27 campaign on fire. An All-EuroLeague First Team pick last season, Bryant produced a complete performance to lead Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv to an 80-81 road win over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and claim MVP of the Round honors for Round 2.
Bryant scored 18 points on 3-of-8 two-point shooting, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out 4 assists, made 4 steals and drew 7 fouls for a PIR of 31, the highest of the round. It is the fourth MVP of the Round award of Bryant’s eight-season EuroLeague career, following one with Anadolu Efes Istanbul and two previous honors with Hapoel.
FC Barcelona’s Kevin Punter posted the next-best PIR of 28, though it came in a 94-87 road loss to Dubai Basketball. Punter poured in 25 points on 8-of-10 two-pointers and 3-of-6 three-pointers, adding 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 fouls drawn.
Carlik Jones of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus each finished with a PIR of 26. Jones led Partizan to a 79-92 road win over Paris Basketball with 20 points on 6-of-9 two-point shooting and 8-of-9 free throws, plus 5 assists, 3 steals, a rebound and 5 fouls drawn. Vezenkov shined in the Reds’ 91-93 road win over Zalgiris Kaunas, scoring 18 points on 8-of-10 two-pointers and 2-of-3 free throws while adding 8 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 2 fouls drawn.
Rounding out the top performers were Talen Horton-Tucker of Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul and Sylvain Francisco of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, who both posted PIRs of 25.
Individual highs: Luca Vildoza, Partizan, 6 steals
Punter led all scorers in Round 2 with 25 points in Dubai, and he tops the EuroLeague scoring charts at 22.0 points per game.
Bryant and Jason Burnell of Armani Olimpia Milan shared the rebounding lead with 10 boards apiece. Azuolas Tubelis of Zalgiris leads the season standings at 9.5 rebounds per game.
TJ Shorts of Valencia Basket was the only player to reach double digits in assists, dishing out 10 against Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Jones holds the top spot in the league at 7.5 assists per game.
Vildoza’s 6 steals were the most of the round and tied the second-best single-game mark in Partizan history. Only Fred House has done better for the club, with 9 steals in a 61-57 win over FC Barcelona on December 11, 2003. Vildoza is the runaway leader this season at 5.0 steals per game.
Aliou Diarra of Virtus Bologna blocked a round-high 4 shots. Diarra, Mathias Lessort of Panathinaikos and Dan Oturu of Hapoel are now tied for the league lead at 2.5 blocks per game.
Bryant (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Shorts (10 assists) were the only players to record double-doubles in Round 2.
FC Barcelona’s Kevin Punter posted the next-best PIR of 28, though it came in a 94-87 road loss to Dubai Basketball. Punter poured in 25 points on 8-of-10 two-pointers and 3-of-6 three-pointers, adding 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 fouls drawn.
Carlik Jones of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus each finished with a PIR of 26. Jones led Partizan to a 79-92 road win over Paris Basketball with 20 points on 6-of-9 two-point shooting and 8-of-9 free throws, plus 5 assists, 3 steals, a rebound and 5 fouls drawn. Vezenkov shined in the Reds’ 91-93 road win over Zalgiris Kaunas, scoring 18 points on 8-of-10 two-pointers and 2-of-3 free throws while adding 8 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 2 fouls drawn.
Rounding out the top performers were Talen Horton-Tucker of Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul and Sylvain Francisco of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, who both posted PIRs of 25.”
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