He is the hottest player in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague right now and after his big game on Wednesday in Istanbul, Keith Langford of Unics Kazan is also the MVP for Round 5 of the regular season.
Langford led his team to a stunning 73-81 upset of last season’s runner-up, Fenerbahce Istanbul, with 28 points, 10 rebounds and a performance index rating of 36, which was the most of any player on a winning team in Round 5.
The league’s top scorer, Langford also dished 4 assists and took a beating as he drew 10 fouls in ending Fenerbahce’s 23-game home-court winning streak. Zalgiris Kaunas big man Paulius Jankunas matched Langford’s 36 index rating, but his team fell 80-83 at home to Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. Jankunas scored 21 points in 7-of-9 shooting, plus 7 for 7 from the free throw line. He also posted 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Langford had competition for the week’s best performance from teammate Art Parakhouski, who amassed a 33 index with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Rakim Sanders of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan set a few career highs in his return to Bamberg, with which he made his EuroLeague debut three years ago, but it wasn’t enough as his team fell 106-102. Nonetheless, Sanders racked up the fourth-highest index rating of the week with 31. He scored 25 points with 3-of-4 three-point shooting and added 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Rounding out the top performances of the week was Tyler Honeycutt of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, who erupted for 15 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists in a double-overtime 91-83 victory over Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens. Honeycutt finished with a performance index rating of 28.
