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Top Scorer candidates: The race is tight

Top Scorer candidates: The race is tight

Awards

14 February 20233 Mins read

Top Scorer candidates: The race is tight

As the final stretch of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season approaches, the race is not only heating up for the playoffs but also for the individual awards that are handed out at the end of the campaign. One of the main prizes up for grabs is the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy, with the league's top stars all in the race for this accolade.

Dwayne Bacon, Panathinaikos Athens (18.7 ppg.)

Since joining Panathinaikos ahead of Round 6, Bacon has torched defense after defense. In fact, in just one of his 17 appearances this season has he failed to reach double digits for points, and he is one of three players in 2022-23 to have scored 30 points or more on two occasions, along with Markus Howard of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and Wade Baldwin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Panathinaikos has largely struggled this year, but Bacon has been a scoring machine for the Greens.

Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus (18.4 ppg.)

Vezenkov is currently in second place in the race for the scoring title. The Olympiacos forward has been one of the key cogs in the Reds' offense and is having a career year, with his scoring average having increased by over 4 points compared to 2021-22 (13.7 ppg.). Vezenkov offers a whole lot more to Olympiacos, but his scoring threat – from both inside and behind the arc, with one of the quickest releases in the sport – has made an already dangerous team even more threatening.

Mike James, AS Monaco (17.3 ppg.)

James continues to wreak havoc for opposing defenses with his incredible skill and unlimited range. In addition to being one of the best passers in the EuroLeague, the Monaco star is once again among the highest scorers in the competition. James is his team's go-to guy on offense on a night-in, night-out basis, and a strong finish to the season could see him increase his scoring average even further.

Will Clyburn, Anadolu Efes Istanbul (17.1 ppg.)

After joining Efes in the offseason, Clyburn hit the ground running with his new team. The 32-year-old currently has his highest scoring average across seven seasons in the EuroLeague, which was particularly vital in the period before Shane Larkin returned from injury. While Clyburn has seen his scoring numbers decrease since the return of Larkin, he will be expected to step up on offense in this final part of the season as Efes looks to secure its place in the playoffs.

Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul (16.8 ppg.)

Last year's Top Scorer Trophy winner is averaging almost 3 fewer points than he did in 2021-22, but Micic remains one of the competition's most potent scorers. Interestingly, despite seeing his numbers decrease, Micic has still reached double figures for points in all 23 games that he has played this season. It is a similar story to Clyburn for Micic, as Efes will be looking to him to steady the ship and help book a spot in the postseason.

Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (16.6 ppg.)

Rounding out the top six in the hunt for the Top Scorer Trophy is Brown, who is putting up career-high numbers in his fourth season in the competition and his first with Maccabi. Fresh off of signing a new deal with Maccabi until 2025, Brown scored the league's second-highest total in a game this season, with 36 points against FC Bayern Munich. Due to return from injury soon, Brown will no doubt have the ball in his hands a lot as Maccabi looks to sneak into the playoffs.