He is now alone in third place for most MVP of the Month trophies all-time
Sasha Vezenkov named MVP of the Month for January
Awards
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Olympiacos Piraeus forward Sasha Vezenkov has been selected as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP of the Month for January after a dominant set of performances for the Reds.
This is the fourth MVP of the Month award that the 29-year-old has taken home, having previously done so in February 2022, November 2023 and February 2024. Olympiacos has had one of its players named MVP of the Month 13 times, the joint fourth most all-time, and Vezenkov has been the winner of the last four.
In fact, Vezenkov’s fourth MVP of the Month trophy means that he now has the most of any Olympiacos player all-time, as he was previously level on three with legendary guard Vassilis Spanoulis (February 2012, November 2013, October 2014).
Other Olympiacos players to have secured MVP of the Month honors are: Tyus Edney (February 2006), Arvydas Macijauskas (November 2007), Milos Teodosic (January 2010), Rasho Nesterovic (February 2011), Stratos Perperoglou (December 2013), and Georgios Printezis (April 2015).
In EuroLeague history, only Nikola Mirotic and Mike James have more than Vezenkov’s four MVP of the Month trophies, as they have won the award on seven and five occasions, respectively.
A month to remember
In January, Vezenkov was a menace on offense all month long. Not only did he lead the league in scoring with a total of 146 points (24.3 PPG), 33 more than AS Monaco star Mike James in second, but his 66.7% shooting from the field was the best of any non-center who attempted 20 shots or more, having converted 52 of his 78 field-goal attempts.
Notably, the Bulgaria international erupted for a career-high 45 points in a 112-69 beatdown of FC Bayern Munich in his second game in January, which are the third-most points in modern EuroLeague history. That performance came one week after Vezenkov had posted team highs of 24 points and 7 rebounds in an 85-92 win at Zalgiris Kaunas to start the new year.
Speaking of rebounds, Vezenkov was incredibly active on the glass in January by pulling down 39 boards, the third most of any player. He also had the highest plus/minus of any player with +97 in January, +28 better than Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard Sterling Brown in second.
Having opened January with two wins, Olympiacos went to Spain and won back-to-back games in the double-round week. Vezenkov posted 19 points and 5 rebounds in a 101-102 overtime win at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz before the Reds headed to the Spanish capital, where they downed Real Madrid 86-96 in a game that saw January’s MVP of the Month finish with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
A top-of-the-standings clash with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ended in a 77-87 defeat for Olympiacos, ending its seven-game winning streak in the process, but Vezenkov impressed nonetheless with 19 points. He closed out the month by recording team highs of 26 points and 9 rebounds as Olympiacos got back on track with a 92-89 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul.