Bulgarian basketball star wins Euroleague MVP for second time

Bulgarian basketball player Aleksandar "Sasha" Vezenkov is the recipient of the 2025-2026 EuroLeague Most Valuable Player award. He earned the league’s top individual honour after leading Olympiacos Piraeus to the best regular‑season record and delivering one of the most complete campaigns of his career.

The award, determined by votes from EuroLeague team captains and head coaches (35% each), accredited media (20%) and fans (10%), placed 30-year-old Vezenkov ahead of Zalgiris Kaunas guard Sylvain Francisco, who came second, and Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv’s Elijah Bryant, who finished in third position, CE Report quotes BTA.

This marks Vezenkov’s second MVP honour as he also won the award in 2022-2023, making him just the second player to claim it twice, joining Anthony Parker, who won in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. The Bulgarian led the league in scoring with 19.4 points per game, topped the PIR rankings at 23.1, finished fifth in rebounds (6.6 rpg.), and ranked third in two‑point field goals made (4.9).

Vezenkov scored in double figures in 33 of his 34 appearances and reached 20 points or more 19 times. He recorded four double‑doubles and anchored Olympiacos’ 26-12 finish – the club’s third time topping the regular‑season standings in the last four years.

January was the stretch that crystallized his MVP case, according to EuroLeague. Vezenkov averaged 23.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and a PIR of 29.0 as Olympiacos went 6-1, earning him the EuroLeague MVP of the Month award. He collected three MVP of the Round awards – in Round 3 against Dubai Basketball (PIR of 34), Round 5 against Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv (31), and Round 21 against FC Bayern Munich (35) – and posted a PIR of 30 or higher eight times. Between Rounds 20 and 23, he became the first player since 2000-2001 to record a PIR of 32 or more in four consecutive games.

The Bulgarian also earned a place on the All‑EuroLeague First Team for the fourth time in his career, matching Dimitris Diamantidis and trailing only Juan Carlos Navarro, who made the first team five times. He becomes the third Olympiacos player to win the EuroLeague MVP, joining Milos Teodosic (2009-2010) and Vassilis Spanoulis (2012-2013).