By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid point forward and potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 Draft Luka Doncic was officially announced as the 2017-2018 EuroLeague MVP. He succeeds teammate Sergio Llull.
At 19 years of age, the Slovenian “wunderkind” star becomes the youngest player ever to win the award. The previous holder of that distinction was L.A. Clippers guard Milos Teodosic who was named MVP with Olympiacos when he was 23 years old, back in 2010.
Doncic finished the pre-Final Four campaign (27 Regular Season games and four playoff matches vs. Panathinaikos) averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists over 25:43 minutes per game for a competition-high 21.8 PIR (Performance Index Rating). He carried a heavily injury-plagued Real Madrid to the EuroLeague Final Four and on Friday (18/5) he helped the Blancos reach the Final with a 16-point, seven-rebound performance in a win over Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow.
On Sunday (20/5), Doncic and Real Madrid will face defending champion Fenerbahce in the title game.
Apart from MVP, Doncic also received his Rising Star (second in his career) and All-EuroLeague First Team award. He’s the only player who has ever won both Rising Star and MVP.
Doncic continues the streak of European players winning season MVP. Maccabi Tel Aviv legend Anthony Parker remains the only American player to claim the honor, something he did twice in his career (2005,2006).
The rest of the All-Euroleague First Team members includes Panathinaikos guard Nick Calathes, Khimki Moscow guard Alexey Shved (also “Alphonso Ford Top Scorer” winner), Baskonia forward Tornike Shengelia and Fenerbahce forward/center Jan Vesely. Calathes and Shengelia were unable to attend the ceremony due to obligations in the Greek and Spanish League respectively.
Jan Vesely also won,”Magic Moment” for the most spectacular play of the season while CSKA Moscow center Kyle Hines received his award for EuroLeague DPOY.