MIES (Switzerland) - Four gamedays in, we already have a sample size to line up the top performers of the Basketball Champions League Season 9. We have dubbed it the Ode to Basketball, the Ninth Symphony, and we will be following the progress of the main MVP candidates on a monthly basis.
To figure out who has the best chances to win the award, we have to take a look at the profiles of previous MVPs in the Basketball Champions League.
Jordan Theodore, Manny Harris, Tyrese Rice, Keith Langford, Bonzie Colson, Chima Moneke, TJ Shorts II and Marcelinho Huertas all reached the Final Four, all played crucial roles in their teams getting there, all made clutch shots during the seasons and had the numbers to prove they were the Most Valuable Players.
With that in mind, during the MVP Race, we will have four serious questions to help us figure out who the leader is at each checkpoint:
(1) Does his team have a winning record? (2) Is he the reason why? (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it?
Since this is a column and not in any way an official ranking, we need the grand separator to figure out the leader. That's why the fifth question will always be random, to give you a hint of who's the guy in the lead.
This week, it's pure and simple:
(5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined?
(See, number five is truly random.)
#10 Saben Lee (Manisa Basket)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yes and no. (1.33) ...meaning? Yes, 6-4 overall, no, 0-2 in the Round of 16. (1.66) Okay, so if they're 0-2, that means he's not the leader of the MVP Race right now? Nope. But at 24.8 points per game, he's still the leading scorer of the BCL this season, and definitely deserves a mention in the Top 10 here. (5) Just out of curiosity, how many Instagram followers are we talking about? Just over 24k.
#9 James Palmer Jr (Galatasaray)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yep, 7-4 overall, 1-1 in the Round of 16, yeah, yeah, "1-1 is not a winning record," but he's still closer to the Quarter-Finals than any team at 0-2. (2) Is he the reason why? Ehm... Yes? (2.25) That doesn't sound convincing. It's just that Will Cummings was their best player in the Play-Ins, actually he was the MVP of the Play-Ins, so hard to say James is the reason why they have a winning record when another player won the MVP honors of that stage. (2.5) So why is he here? Because he's been in double digits in all but three games, including a 20-point, 10-rebound, 7-assist performance against Manisa Basket. So yeah, he could be there if they keep winning and he's producing these numbers. (2.75) But he's not the MVP Race leader? Nope. (5) IG followers? 17k.
#8 Zac Seljaas (FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yes, 6-2 overall, 2-0 in the Round of 16. (2) Is he the reason why? Not really. (2.33) ...okay. Yeah, because he went down with an injury and didn't play in those two R16 games. (2.66) So what's he doing on this list, my man? He's leading the BCL in efficiency rating, and he'll be back for the remaining four Round of 16 games, so keep an eye on him. But no, not the leader at checkpoint 3. (5) IG? 6k.
#7 Hunter Hale (AEK Betsson BC)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yep, 6-2. (2) Is he the reason why? Oh yes. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 14.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 13.9 efficiency rating. (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? See, this is where we stumble. Because it could be that Hale is not even the MVP of AEK, as Prentiss Hubb has been incredible in their most recent BCL game, and RaiQuan Gray may have a thing or two to say. So, just based on their depth in terms of more than one potential MVP, Hale is not the MVP Race leader this time. (5) Hit me with the IG numbers? 13k.
#6 Derrick Alston Jr (BAXI Manresa)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yep, 6-2... But 1-1 in the Round of 16. (2) Is he the reason why? Oh yes. The only two games where he scored less than 16, they lost 'em both. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 17.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 16.5 efficiency rating, all done in just 23.3 minutes per game. (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? Sure. (5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined? Nope. He's at 7k. Not our leader. But could be if that 1-1 turns into 5-1 at the end of this phase.
#5 Gytis Radzevicius (Rytas Vilnius)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yep, same as Alston. (2) Is he the reason why? Yep, MVP of the Group Phase. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 13.6 points, 62 percent shooting from the field, 50 percent from deep, 7.0 rebounds, 18.6 efficiency rating. (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? No, but he's the one getting the offensive rebound and the putback game-winner. (5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined? Nope. Just 3k for Gytis.
#4 Jhivvan Jackson (FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Yep, 6-2 overall, 2-0 in the Round of 16. (2) Is he the reason why? Yep, not one, but two huge clutch performances to win both R16 games. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 19.6 points, 51-39-100 shooting splits, yes, that's 100 percent from the free throw line, yes, 24/24, deal with it; 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 20.8 efficiency rating. Double digits in all eight games. (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? Oh yes. (5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined? Nope. 12k for Jay-Jay. (It rhymes.)
#3 Jaromir Bohacik (ERA Nymburk)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? Trying to think of a season when a Jaromir Bohacik-led team did not have a winning record. Anyway, 7-1. (2) Is he the reason why? Bro. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 12.1 points, 2.4 threes per game - he never had more than 1.6 in his previous five BCL seasons - 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 14.3 efficiency rating. (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? We'll never know because they keep winning by 10+ points. (5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined? Just 4k for J-Boh. No? You don't like J-Boh? How about Heat-Čík? As in Heat Check, but Čík from his last name? No!? Okay. Let's keep it at JB then.
#2 Tyson Carter (Unicaja)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? LOL. (2) Is he the reason why? The first player to get 25+ points while playing less than 19 minutes in BCL history, and he's done it by taking over what was a 64-64 game against Rytas Vilnius in the final quarter, turning it into a 92-74 win. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 12.8 points, 51-46-89 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 14.1 efficiency rating while playing 19.8 minutes per game. Think that's crazy? Get this. Unicaja are a +79 team in Tyson's 158 minutes this season. Crazy. (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? We'll never know because they keep winning by 10+ points. (5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined? 12k for TC. Actually, no, the only TC is that guy with the helicopter in Magnum PI, so let's come up with some other nickname for Tyson. (You don't have to do it now.)
#1 Marcelinho Huertas (La Laguna Tenerife)
(1) Does his team have a winning record? 8-0 this season. (2) Is he the reason why? Ask Pallacanestro Reggiana or BAXI Manresa. (3) Does he have the numbers to be the MVP? 15.0 points, 52-37-100 shooting splits, 5.8 assists, 15.7 efficiency rating. Let's remove the first two games of the season, just for fun, shall we? We shall: 19.0 points, 59.6 percent shooting from the field, 6.3 assists, 20.1 efficiency rating. He's turning 42 in three months, you know that, right? (4) If his team's season is on the line and they need one shot to save it, is he the one taking it? You know it. Any time they need something special, the ball is in his hands. (5) Does he have more IG followers than the other nine guys combined? YES! Marce is at 122k followers, which is kinda understandable when you look at his entire career and everything he's done and accomplished.
We've never had a two-time MVP of the season, so yeah, maybe that's up next for him if he keeps this going on until May. Simply incredible.
Oh, and in case you're wondering - the remaining nine guys are at 87k. I know you aren't. But still.
###
The Basketball Champions League's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA or the Basketball Champions League.
The Basketball Champions League's takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.