By George Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2018-2019 season is in full swing and after the completion of the first five rounds there are certain teams and athletes that have stood out.
With the help of five specific criteria, Eurohoops presents the situation of the race for the MVP award as it currently stands. The criteria that were used are the following:
Player performance: Each individual performance, in combination with the demands that existed before the start of the season, greatly affects the decision as to who is the MVP. Certain players exceed initial expectations and others confirm they belong in the elite of European basketball.
Team success: Basketball is a team sport, so if a player can convert his individual performances into wins for his team, then he automatically wins points in the race for the MVP.
Specific weight: How would each team perform if we automatically removed the MVP candidate from the squad? There are players who are the alpha and the omega of their squads, with their key presence provides an advantage on the MVP Ladder.
Consistency: Some stars alternate huge games with normal ones. Others are consistently high performers without hitting peaks or valleys. Others still specialize in making their teammates better every night, even without great numbers themselves. Over time, however, their value rises to the top, and this criterion will take that into account.
Intangibles: The biggest names in the EuroLeague are often called on when their teams need them most. The timing of their contribution – in the biggest games and on both sides of the ball – can be just as important, or more so, than overall numbers. That and other leadership qualities add to their value and will be factored into the MVP Ladder.
At this point, we should note that, aside from the 5 criteria that were just outlined, the subjective factor also influences the final choices to some extent, and that each team can have only one representative.
The sequence of the first MVP Ladder of the 2018-2019 season includes:
1. Mike James
Player performance: 9
Team success: 10
Specific weight: 10
Consistency: 10
Intangibles: 9
Total: 48
In recent years, AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan‘s management has invested greatly without getting the desired results. The start of this season has been different, however. Through Round 5, the Italian club is near the top of the standings with a 4-1 record.
The main protagonist, of course, is Mike James, who brings to Milan a winner’s spirit that was missing in previous years. The American had stressed many times that he’s going to Italy to lead and now his words are becoming actions.
Averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 assists and a PIR of 17.4, James rightly occupies the top spot of the race for the MVP award. His recent game-winning three-point buzzer beater against Anadolu Efes Istanbul was the icing on the cake.
2. Jan Vesely
Player performance: 10
Team success: 9
Specific weight: 9
Consistency: 10
Intangibles: 9
Total: 47
Jan Vesely has made a mythical start to these first five rounds in the EuroLeague and it’s no coincidence that, based on the rating system, he’s the best player in the competition with a performance index rating of 25.2 on average.
Fenerbahce Istanbul’s starting center combines passion, showmanship, substance and numbers that make him a standout inside the paint. More specifically, he averages 16.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while having made 31 of 43 two-point shots (72.1%) and 19 of 20 free throws (95%).
Despite the fact that the MVP award traditionally goes to smaller players, Vesely has every reason to believe that, if he continues at this rate, he will succeed in making it his.
3. Nando De Colo
Player performance: 9
Team success: 10
Specific weight: 9
Consistency: 9
Intangibles: 9
Total: 46
When it comes to Nando De Colo, there’s no need for any special introductions. The French guard won the MVP award for the 2015-16 season and in recent years he has been consistently among the top players in the EuroLeague.
This season is no exception, as Dimitris Itoudis’s team marches on with an unbeaten record, and one of their big protagonists is De Colo. Averaging 15.2 points, 3.6 assists and a PIR of 18.4 in just 24.30 minutes of playing time, he’s a super-weapon for CSKA Moscow, who should be considered a shoo-in for the Final Four, with the Frenchman being a part of the MVP discussion until the end.
4. Sergio Llull
Player performance: 8
Team success: 10
Specific weight: 8
Consistency: 9
Intangibles: 10
Total: 45
The European champions picked up where they left off last season and after the first five rounds they are leading the race as the absolute favorites for one of the positions that provides home-court advantage come playoffs time.
The depth of the Whites’ roster is such that it affords them with the luxury of not overusing Sergio Llull. Indeed, Pablo Laso has been using Real Madrid‘s leader for less than 20 minutes on average, and despite that he averages 11 points and 4.2 assists.
But who would make the mistake of underestimating Llull? Whoever does will pay for it dearly. Llull will be the one who the defending champs look to as the season progresses and the challenges get stiffer. What he has shown already in limited time is that he remains as ready for that responsibility as any player in the EuroLeague.
5. Nick Calathes
Player performance: 8
Team success: 7
Specific weight: 10
Consistency: 9
Intangibles: 10
Total: 44
Before the start of the season, Nick Calathes was one of the biggest favorites to emerge as the MVP but his performance so far, combined with the 3-2 record of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, places him fifth.
Of course, the 29-year-old point guard is still the Greens’ absolute leader with a great contribution in the departments of execution (10.6 points) and creation (9 assists). Xavi Pascual is using his main playmaker for more than 30 minutes in every game, and most of Panathinaikos‘s possessions go through his hands, which to an extent justifies his 3 turnovers on average.
Calathes is one of the most enjoyable athletes in the EuroLeague, by far the best creator in the competition. His performance can be expected to improve dramatically.
6. Tornike Shengelia
Player performance: 9
Team success: 6
Specific weight: 9
Consistency: 10
Intangibles: 9
Total: 43
Tornike Shengelia is the best power forward in the EuroLeague, which means that the bar has been set very high for him in terms of demands. KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s leader is having another season with excellent performances and, as a result, he’s averaging 14.2 points, 5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1 block, in roughly 24 minutes of playing time.
These numbers place him fourth among all EuroLeague players with an average PIR of 19, but Baskonia‘s performance hasn’t matched his. The team has a negative record of 2-3, leaving them barely within the top eight, even though it’s still very early. They would like to have avoided the home loss to Olympiacos Piraeus and the negative result in Munich.
The hosts of this season’s Final Four are dreaming of qualifying for the last phase of the competition but in order to do that they will have to improve. Likewise, if Shengelia wants to become the MVP he will have to give his team a push for a definite rise in the near future.
7. Alexey Shved
Player performance: 10
Team success: 5
Specific weight: 10
Consistency: 9
Intangibles: 9
Total: 43
If one isolates what Alexey Shved has done so far on an individual level, one can only be in awe. The Russian guard has mythical averages with 25.6 points and 7.2 assists, which means that he is the absolute favorite to win the Alphonso Ford trophy for the second season in a row.
The player would, of course, like to combine his especially productive performance with the MVP award but Khimki Moscow Region’s course so far does not allow this. Georgios Bartzokas’s squad is at the bottom of the standings with a record of 1-4, which automatically affects Shved’s ranking on the MVP Ladder.
However, the Russian is still the No.1 “killer” on European courts and if Khimki can improve its record by the 10th round, then we’ll definitely see Shved in the Top 5.
8. Vassilis Spanoulis
Player performance: 8
Team success: 7
Specific weight: 9
Consistency: 9
Intangibles: 10
Total: 43
Vassilis Spanoulis’s presence on a list of MVP candidates at the age of 37 is, on its own, a huge feat. But this is not enough for Olympiacos‘s leader and his performance levels confirm that, no matter how many years go by, he will be consistently among the best.
The Reds have a 3-2 record but their big away wins over Khimki and Baskonia make them optimistic as they move ahead. At the same time, Spanoulis is averaging 10.8 points and 6.2 assists, while performances like he had in Moscow make the world of European basketball kneel in respect.
Olympiacos‘s course is directly linked to the performance of their captain and as the more crucial games keep coming, Spanoulis has proven that he will become more and more dangerous.
9. Ante Tomic
Player performance: 9
Team success: 8
Specific weight: 8
Consistency: 8
Intangibles: 8
Total: 41
FC Barcelona Lassa made a number of important additions during the transfer period, but their best player so far was already on the roster.
We’re talking, of course, about Ante Tomic, who scores an average of 14.2 points (career high), helps out in rebounds (5.2) and assists (1.8), while he’s by far the most productive player on Barcelona (18.4 PIR).
After Vesely and Arturas Gudaitis, Tomic is the third-best center this season and one of the pleasant surprises for Svetislav Pesic. Clearly, Barcelona’s goal is to qualify for the playoffs so that they can put their consecutive failed seasons behind them. As long as the Croatian keeps performing at these levels, he will be a sure solution inside the paint.
10. Adrien Moerman
Player performance: 10
Team success: 8
Specific weight: 7
Consistency: 9
Intangibles: 7
Total: 41
Before the season not many would have expected that Adrien Moerman would be in the running for the MVP award. But not including him on this list after everything he has done in the first rounds of the EuroLeague would have been a great injustice to the Frenchman.
Moerman in by far Efes‘s most productive and useful player, averaging 15 points, 6.4 rebounds and a PIR of 18.6. It’s telling that the 30-year-old forward has scored in double digits in all of his games, while he also has a double-double.
At the same time, Efes‘s course so far has been positive and it will be very interesting to see whether Moerman will continue at the same pace. If he does, he deserves more than a mention.