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[Black Urum]

Igor Rakocevic was elected as Euroleague January MVP.

In an era when teams rely less and less on scoring stars, it might seem more than enough to state that Euroleague Basketball's choice as January MVP, Igor Rakocevic of Tau Ceramica, is collecting points more efficiently than any player this decade. With the amazing month that Rakocevic just had, however, that would be saying too little. In addition to posting .75 points per minute so far this season - more than any Euroleague player's full-season scoring rate since at least 2000 - Rakocevic spent January harvesting milestones and records at every turn. He started the month by setting a new Euroleague mark for consecutive free throws made while posting his career-high scoring total, 31 points, in a crucial victory that won Tau first place in its regular season group. He finished January by marking his 100th career Euroleague game with 14 points in the first 7 minutes of what became a 22-point blowout victory with which Tau open the Top 16 in style. All told during three victories in January, Rakocevic averaged 23.3 points and 5 rebounds while matching the best three-game scoring span of his six-season Euroleague career. Those stellar performances made Igor Rakocevic a more-than-deserving choice as Euroleague Basketball's MVP for January.