Kings draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Vezenkov has been named the Most Valuable Player in the EuroLeague for the 2022/23 season, the league formally announced today.
Vezenkov, a 6’9″ forward, was the EuroLeague’s leading scorer this season, averaging 17.2 points per game with an impressive .538/.385/.879 shooting line in 38 contests for the Greek team Olympiacos. He also grabbed 6.8 rebounds and handed out 1.8 assists per night.
Vezenkov’s strong play helped earn Olympiacos a spot in the EuroLeague Final Four, where they’ll face AS Monaco on Friday for the right to take on either Barcelona or Real Madrid for the EuroLeague championship on Sunday.
The Nets drafted Vezenkov with the 57th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, but his rights were flipped to Cleveland in the 2021 James Harden blockbuster and then to Sacramento last June in exchange for the No. 49 overall pick in the 2022 draft.
If Vezenkov is going to sign an NBA contract, he’ll have to do so with the Kings, and it sounds like there’s mutual interest between the two sides in making that happen this summer. The 27-year-old is under contract with Olympiacos beyond this season, but has a buyout clause in his deal that’s believed to be worth approximately 1.5 million Euros.