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Turkish Airlines EuroLeague RS - Round 34 MVP: Kostas Sloukas, James Nunnally, Markus Howard

The final round of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season saw three players lead their respective teams to victories, each accumulating PIR of 27 and sharing the honor of being the MVP of Round 34.

First, Kostas Sloukas stepped up and led Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to an 84-75 win over the visiting ALBA Berlin, which guaranteed the Greens a second-place finish and a secured home-court advantage in the playoffs. Sloukas paced the team to the tune of 16 points, making 2-of-3 two-pointers, 3-of-3 threes and 3-of-4 free throws while also dishing a game-high 7 assists and pulling down 4 rebounds. For the veteran point guard, it is his second MVP of the Round honor this season and the fourth such award of his career.

Then, it was Markus Howard exploding with 34 points for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in a crucial come-from-behind 91-95 win at Virtus Segafredo Bologna, locking up eighth place in the standings in the process. Howard was 1 point shy of his career high, hitting 6-of-9 twos, 5-of-13 threes and 7-of-8 free throws while dishing 3 assists and drawing 7 fouls. For Howard, this is his first career MVP of the Round honor.

Finally, James Nunnally led Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade to a 79-66 win over Valencia Basket in his team’s season finale. Nunnally had a game-high 19 points, making 4-of-4 two-pointers, 2-of-4 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. He also had 4 assists, 2 rebounds and drew 6 fouls. It is Nunnally's second such award, with the first coming in the 2021-22 season.

The next best mark in this final round belongs to Partizan's Jaleen Smith and Isaiah Canaan of Olympiacos Piraeus, both of whom had a PIR of 26. Smith amassed 15 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. Canaan netted 27 points on 3-of-3 two-pointers and 5-of-7 triples in an 84-81 win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

Individual highs: Mike James, Monaco, 12 assists

Markus Howard led all scorers in Round 34 with 34 points. Howard finished the regular season as the EuroLeague’s top scorer with 19.4 points per game.

Four players – Josh Nebo of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Alex Poythress of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Matt Costello of Baskonia and James Nnaji of FC Barcelona – each had 9 rebounds, the most in this round. Nebo ended the regular season the league leader in this statistic, averaging 7.3 rebounds per contest.

Mike James of AS Monaco dished 12 assists, his season high and more than any other player in Round 34. Baskonia's Codi Miller-McIntyre was this season’s best assists man, averaging 7.2 per night.

Partizan's Jaleen Smith had 4 steals, the most in Round 34. Paris Lee of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne finished with a league-best 1.7 steals per game.

Panathinaikos center Kostas Antetokounmpo posted 4 blocks, leading all players in Round 34. Real Madrid center Vincent Poirier finished as the EuroLeague’s top shot-blocker with 1.5 rejections per game.

Round 34's lone double-double belongs to Mike James, who had 17 points and 12 assists.

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the BKT EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational activities, led by the One Team program, in alignment with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On the academic side, the EB Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.