MVP trophy handed to Janković

Ahead of the opening of the 2016/17 ABA League Playoffs, the regular season MVP Nikola Janković was honoured for his achievement with the trophy for his achievements this season, when he was named the best player of the regional competition.

Nikola Janković is the player with the highest average valuation this season in the ABA League, having achieved an index rating of 19.24 per game (almost a point more than the runner up Ryan Boatright of Cedevita). He did it by collecting 16.6 points, 7.3 boards, 1.4 steals and 1.1 assists per contest. By this, he has also become the fifth best scorer and fifth best rebounder of the competition!

The 205 cm tall man from Vranje has previously won the MVP of the month award in December and has also become the MVP of the 13th round!

While receiving the trophy, Janković stated that he is honoured by the prize and that it gave him a lot of self-confidence. “It means lots to me, since I have received a huge dose of self-confidence thanks to that. The honour is hugely important for motivation for my future work, but it would be even more important to me if my team were better placed after regular season.”

Janković is convinced that returning to the ABA League after several years abroad has been the right decision for me: “I decided to return to get back to the domestic scene. I was kind of forgotten when being in Belgium. Now I have proven myself again in Mega Leks and now Union Olimpija and proven that the decision was right.”

Nikola was the most dominant player of the regular season. However, his impact this season could have been even more significant if he was more efficient from the free-throw line what many have spotted. “I am aware of this weakness,” he admitted and then added: “I have improved in this element of the game since the last season, but there have been two or three games that have been really terrible. I am satisfied with my progress in this part of the game, though, and I have been shooting the free throws better than last season. The following summer I will work to improve it even more and it will have to be evident.”

In the end, Janković revealed his expectations for the Playoffs: “To be honest, Zvezda are the favourites. They were dominant in the regular season. Cedevita also has good squad and deserves the finals. Budućnost VOLI also have the opportunity to upset someone just like we did it against them last season. Everyone can beat anyone in the Playoffs.”