As the first half of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season is behind us, besides team records, rankings and performances, it is also interesting to consider individual player achievements. An intriguing category always is that of the Most Improved Player of the Year (MIP).
Such players can be the next stars of European basketball and disrupt the status quo of the EuroLeague teams either by carrying their team to the best possible position in the standings, or by making a transfer to an established European basketball powerhouse.
At this article a list of the Top-5 Most Improved Player of the Year candidates will be presented. My criteria for the selection are:
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A player has to be playing in a EuroLeague level the last two seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24).
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The player’s status has to be clearly elevated through his individual performances and his role has to be upgraded compared to his career at this level.
All stats presented below are accurate as of Round 21 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.
Top-5 candidates for Most Improved Player award in the EuroLeague
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Joel Bolomboy (Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, Center)
After an uneventful season with EuroLeague finalists Olympiacos Piraeus, Joel Bolomboy seems to have found a perfect fit for him. His averages, especially on points-per-game, have skyrocketed, something not unusual when playing with on-court pick-and-roll maestro Milos Teodosic. Bolomboy is 11th in offensive rebounds per game in the competition with 2, and 13th in two-point percentage (65.4%).
The relative gap in Crvena Zvezda’s frontcourt allows him to be the starting center of the team in almost all games so far, something that happens for the first time in Bolomboy’s 6-year EuroLeague career.
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SEASON
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PIR
23-24
10.5
5.2
0.9
0.9
0.5
14.0
22-23
3.8
3.0
0.5
0.2
0.3
5.4
CAREER
5.3
3.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
7.0
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Johannes Thiemann (ALBA Berlin, Power Forward/Center)
The 30-year-old German has proven since playing with FIBA World Cup winners Germany this summer that he is definitely a late bloomer case. Thiemann is one of EuroLeague’s most efficient scoring players with a 62% True Shooting percentage (55.9% in two-pointers, 40.4% in three-pointers and 75.5% in free-throw shooting).
He is also attempting the most field-goal attempts per game in his EuroEeague career (9.1) and is his team’s starting center for the first time in his career. The most impressive stat is probably that he is eighth in Performance Index Rating (PIR) with 17.8.
ALBA is not a very competitive team, but Johannes Thiemann proved his consistency against almost all opponents by posting double-figure scoring in 17 of 21 games played so far. In my opinion, he can be potentially a backup center for a contending team if used correctly.
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SEASON
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PIR
23-24
13.8
5.2
2.0
1.0
0.0
17.8
22-23
8.0
4.1
1.3
0.5
0.1
10.6
CAREER
8.5
4.0
1.5
0.6
0.0
10.6
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Tadas Sedekerskis (Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Small/Power Forward)
After three years behind Rokas Giedraitis, Tadas Sedekerskis found the space to prove his talent and help his team challenge for a playoff spot. The 26-year-old Lithuanian has been this season’s top rebounder while being versatile on the floor and playing well on both forward positions. On top of that, Sedekerskis is probably one of the league’s best defenders.
One negative is that he is not a confident shooter (only 1.3 attempts per game behind the arc this season). However, he has proven to be one of the most efficient players in the league flirting with the rare 50-40-90 stat line (an outstanding 70.2% in two-pointers, 53.8% in three-pointers, 80.4% in free-throw shooting with 17.2 PIR).
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SEASON
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PIR
23-24
10.6
7.4
1.3
0.6
0.3
17.2
22-23
5.9
4.2
1.0
0.8
0.0
9.7
CAREER
5.2
4.0
1.1
0.5
0.2
8.5
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Alec Peters (Olympiacos Piraeus, Power Forward)
With Sasha Vezenkov, the reigning EuroLeague MVP, leaving Europe this summer, coach Giorgos Bartzokas was left with the difficult job to replace him. Instead of signing a top starting forward, Olympiacos’ coach chose that the starting PF spot would be filled internally by upgrading Alec Peter’s role.
Undoubtedly, the fact that the 29-year-old American possesses very similar offensive qualities (great shooting and off-ball movement) with Vezenkov’s game helped a lot with Bartzokas’ system. Alec Peters, though, grabbed the chance by being extremely efficient (outstanding 72% True Shooting this season, eighth in points-per-game) in a season that the “Reds” needed offensive versatility as their two best offensive players left.
Alec Peters has started every game he played this season and despite his defensive weaknesses, he has a positive Net Rating per 100 possessions (+4.8) while he is on the floor.
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SEASON
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PIR
23-24
15.0
5.2
1.8
0.7
0.1
17.2
22-23
4.6
2.5
0.4
0.4
0.1
4.5
CAREER
7.7
3.2
1.0
0.5
0.1
8.1
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Chima Moneke (Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Small/Power Forward)
Chima Moneke is probably the clear choice for the Most Improved Player, as from a mostly defensive anchor role last season, when he played for AS Monaco, he is one of the most impactful players in Europe today, in only his second EuroLeague season. One very interesting fact is that last season he only shot a total of three three-pointers in the competition, while this season he has over 2.5 attempts behind the arc per game.
Chima Moneke has clearly worked a lot to improve his game in almost every aspect (shooting, ball handling) and has been very effective while being on court (+6.2 positive Net Rating per 100 possessions and 19.4 PIR) leading Baskonia to a winning record so far (11 wins, 10 losses).
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SEASON
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PIR
23-24
14.2
7.2
1.6
1.2
0.8
19.4
22-23
3.9
3.1
0.5
0.2
0.2
4.6
CAREER
9.6
5.4
1.1
0.8
0.5
12.9
