Three games are nowhere near enough to define an MVP race, but they are enough to establish its first hierarchy. With the EuroLeague season beginning to develop patterns, our second MVP Ladder moves away from single-game explosions and looks at what each candidate has produced across all three opening rounds, with winning carrying substantial weight.
The principle remains straightforward: the strongest individual performances should be rewarded most when they come for teams with the strongest records. That gives an immediate advantage to players from Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Valencia and Partizan, the competition’s four remaining undefeated teams at 3-0. Olympiacos, Barcelona and Hapoel Tel Aviv, all 2-1, remain close enough for exceptional individual production to overcome that difference. Players putting up numbers for struggling teams face a much higher bar.
Production alone therefore isn’t enough. Scoring and PIR matter, but so do efficiency, creation, rebounding, turnovers, consistency across the first three games and, above all, whether those performances are translating into victories.
There is also one significant name disappearing from the race altogether. Mike James is no longer eligible for the Ladder after suffering a torn Achilles tendon against Crvena Zvezda. The Anadolu Efes star underwent surgery and is expected to miss seven to nine months, effectively ending his season. It is a brutal conclusion to a campaign in which James had immediately emerged as one of the obvious candidates after his summer move to Istanbul.
With James unfortunately removed from consideration, here is where the early MVP race stands after three games.
1. Carlik Jones — Partizan
18.7 PTS | 6.7 AST | 2.3 REB | 24.0 PIR | 65.1 TS% | Partizan: 3-0
There is no longer much separating the best individual candidates, but Carlik Jones has the cleanest combination of production and winning. Partizan are 3-0 with a +31 differential, and their lead guard has been at the center of everything.
Jones is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 assists in only 25 minutes, while committing just one turnover per game. That translates into an exceptional 6.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, while his 30.3% assist rate illustrates how much of Partizan’s offense runs through his decisions.
The efficiency makes the case even stronger. Jones is shooting 57.7% on 2PT shots, 40% from three and 87.5% at the line for a 65.1% true-shooting percentage. There is almost no waste in his game right now: high-volume creation, efficient scoring and remarkably few possessions surrendered.
After three games, nobody combines an undefeated record, elite playmaking and high-level scoring quite as convincingly. For now, the No. 1 spot belongs to him.
2. TJ Shorts — Valencia Basket
18.3 PTS | 6.0 AST | 1.7 REB | 20.7 PIR | 65.0 TS% | Valencia: 3-0
Valencia being 3-0 is one of the defining stories of the opening weeks, and Shorts is one of the biggest reasons why.
His 18.3 points and six assists per game already tell most of the story, but the efficiency behind them makes his start particularly impressive. Shorts is converting 60.6% of his two-pointers, 50% of his threes and owns a 65% true-shooting percentage. For a small guard who creates so much of his offense with the ball, those are outstanding numbers.
His 27.6% assist rate also underlines that this isn’t simply a scoring run. Shorts is simultaneously Valencia’s primary creator and one of its most dangerous finishers, while the Spanish side has produced 312 points through three games — the highest total in the competition.
Carlik Jones narrowly gets the edge because of his superior PIR, ball security and assist-to-turnover ratio. But if Valencia continue winning and Shorts keeps producing this efficiently, the distance between first and second is negligible.
3. Sasha Vezenkov — Olympiacos
20.0 PTS | 6.3 REB | 26.3 PIR | 77.2 TS% | Olympiacos: 2-1
If this Ladder were based exclusively on individual performance, Vezenkov might already be No. 1.
His efficiency through three games borders on absurd. The Olympiacos forward is averaging 20 points and 6.3 rebounds in just 23:25, shooting 78.6% from two-point range, 90.9% from the free-throw line and posting a staggering 77.2% true-shooting percentage. He has also committed zero turnovers through three games.
His 26.3 PIR ranks among the very best marks in the competition, and perhaps the most impressive element is how little Vezenkov needs the ball to dominate. His production comes through movement, positioning, offensive rebounding, cuts and ruthless finishing rather than possession-heavy creation.
If Olympiacos keep winning, Vezenkov’s individual numbers already look like those of an MVP.
4. Sylvain Francisco — Panathinaikos
16.0 PTS | 3.7 AST | 2.3 REB | 17.3 PIR | 62.9 TS% | Panathinaikos: 3-0
The best team in the EuroLeague standings deserves representation, and Francisco has produced the strongest individual offensive start among Panathinaikos’ candidates.
The Greens aren’t merely 3-0. They have outscored opponents by 65 points, easily the best differential in the competition, and Francisco has averaged 16 points despite playing only 20:46 per game and not starting any of the three contests.
His efficiency has been excellent: 66.7% inside the arc, 35% from three and 78.6% at the line, producing a 62.9% true-shooting mark. Add 3.7 assists and his impact becomes particularly impressive considering his minutes and role.
The argument against placing Francisco even higher is that Panathinaikos’ strength is precisely its depth. His individual statistical footprint doesn’t yet match Jones, Shorts or Vezenkov, and several teammates are contributing heavily to that 3-0 start.
Still, MVP races reward winning. No team has dominated its first three games more emphatically than Panathinaikos, and Francisco has been one of the central figures in that start.
5. Kevin Punter — Barcelona
20.0 PTS | 2.7 REB | 2.3 AST | 23.0 PIR | 71.3 TS% | Barcelona: 2-1
Twenty points per game can sometimes conceal inefficiency. Punter’s 20 points per game are doing precisely the opposite.
Barcelona’s scorer has opened the season shooting 69.2% on two-pointers and 46.2% from three, producing a remarkable 71.3% true-shooting percentage. He is averaging a 23 PIR in fewer than 25 minutes and has combined that scoring with an extraordinary 7.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The volume-efficiency combination is what puts Punter into the five. Defenses know exactly what his primary function is, yet through three rounds they have been unable to prevent him from getting to his spots without forcing him into inefficient possessions.
Barcelona’s 2-1 record keeps him below the leading candidates from undefeated teams, while Vezenkov currently owns an even more extreme statistical profile among the 2-1 contenders.
But Punter is already operating at MVP-level offensive efficiency. If Barcelona joins the very top of the standings and his shooting remains anywhere close to this level, fifth place will not hold him for long.
Honorable mentions
Elijah Bryant has arguably the most impressive all-around raw stat line in the competition: 16.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.7 steals and a league-leading 28.0 PIR while playing 32:26 for 2-1 Hapoel Tel Aviv. His 57.1% true shooting is less spectacular than the efficiency of the five players above, but his rebounding, creation and enormous workload make him impossible to ignore.
Wade Baldwin deserves recognition because Fenerbahce are 3-0 and +44, the second-best differential in the league. His 13 points and 6.3 assists in only 22 minutes, alongside a 17.3 PIR and 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, have given the defending powerhouse controlled playmaking rather than gaudy scoring. He isn’t producing enough individually to crack the five yet, but Fenerbahce’s perfect start keeps him firmly in the conversation.
