Round 2 MVP: Matthew Morgan, London Lions

A great individual performance in a winning effort has seen Matthew Morgan of the London Lions claim Round 2 MVP honors in the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season, having recorded a PIR of 29.

Matt Morgan led London to a 94-100 road victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg, which maintains the English side’s unbeaten start in Group B. He finished the game with 21 points on 2-of-2 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 8-of-11 free throws, while he also added 2 rebounds, 6 assists a steal and 8 fouls drawn for a PIR of 29, the highest among winning players in Round 2. Morgan earned MVP of the Round honors in just his second game in the competition.

The highest overall PIR, albeit in a loss, came from Aamir Simms of Umana Reyer Venice, as he had a 40 PIR. Reyer lost 75-81 to Paris Basketball, but Simms posted a 28-point, 10-rebound double-double, in addition to 4 assists. The second-best PIR score came from Justin Cobbs, again in a defeat, as the Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana guard had a 36 PIR in his side’s 87-88 overtime loss to Joventut Badalona. Cobbs finished with 28 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Aleksander Dziewa of Hamburg amassed a PIR of 30, matching his personal-best effort, in a losing effort. Dziewa had a career-high 28 points, 6 rebounds and 7 fouls drawn. Amedeo Tessitori had a 29 PIR, like Morgan, after recording 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal as Reyer fell to Paris.

Morgan (1.88 meters, 26 years old) has been filling the baskets everywhere he has played. He set a scoring record at Cox Mills High School, and averaged 22.2 points in 31 NCAA games with Cornell University in the 2018-19 season, his senior year. Morgan started his professional career with Missisauga of the G League and went on to play for Buyuksehir Hastanesi Konyaspor, leading it to the Turkish second division title and averaging 21.6 points in 40 games. After a season with Le Mans Sarthe Basket, averaging 20.4 points in 35 games, Morgan joined London this summer.