By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
Alongside Vasilije Micic to the Oklahoma City Thunder, another EuroLeague MVP is moving from the Old Continent to the NBA, as Sasha Vezenkov will continue his career in the USA with the Sacramento Kings for three years. Before doing so, Olympiacos own got his last accomplishment over her.
The 28-year-old forward, in fact, received the Greek League MVP after dragging the red-and-white team to the domestic title and Greek Cup. This is his 3rd Greek League MVP after receiving it with Aris in 2014-15 and with Olympiacos in the 2021-22 season. In Greece, the former FC Barcelona player had 17.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, shooting 59.5% from two, and 43.4% from deep.
“In the vote of the captains and coaches of the teams of the Basket League, which forms 60% of the final result, the 28-year-old forward of the red and white collected 75% of preferences (15 votes). Vezenkov’s percentage was even higher in the voting of the representatives of the Mass Media. The 28-year-old forward was voted MVP by 78.33% (47 votes), followed by Olympiacos‘ Kostas Sloukas and Peristeri’s Sylvain Francisco with 5%. In the vote of the sports fans, Vezenkov gathered 51.75% of the preferences with Yanik Franke of PAOK in second place with 3.35%”, the official press release stated.
MVP και Πιο Δημοφιλής για 2η σεζόν ο Σάσα Βεζένκοφ #BasketLeague #BasketLeagueAwards #mvp 🏀
✍️ https://t.co/4L8wEcPN8d pic.twitter.com/zuB6loqDR0
— ΕΣΑΚΕ (@esakegr) July 3, 2023
“I want to thank everyone who voted for me as the MVP of the season, but also as the most popular player I also want to thank the entire Olympiakos organization. The Presidents, Mr. Panagiotis, and George Angelopoulos, the coaches, my teammates, and everyone who works in the team. The people who are behind the… lights and are there every day for us. Without all of them, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve these awards”, Sasha Vezenkov commented after receiving the awards.
“I am very happy that we were crowned champions of Greece. We worked very hard for this, played very beautiful basketball, and deservedly reached the top for the second season in a row. For the upcoming season, I wish health to all the teams, and that it becomes a competitive league, without violence and extremes. And of course, I wish Olympiacos to remain at the top”, the 28-year-old forward said after moving from Europe to the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.
Dominating the scene in the Greek League, Sasha Vezenkov also had the best season of his career in the EuroLeague, receiving the Regular Season MVP and going inches away from winning it all as Final Four MVP in Kaunas. In his fifth EuroLeague season with Olympiacos, the Bulgarian superstar had 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, shooting 65.5% from two, 37.8% from beyond the arc, and 87.9% at the free throw line. Despite his 29 points and 9 rebounds in the EuroLeague Final against Real Madrid, Olympiacos lost due to Sergio Llull’s game-winning buzzer-beater.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague