2010-11 Eurocup MVP: Dontaye Draper, Cedevita Zagreb

Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce that Dontaye Draper of Cedevita Zagreb has been chosen as the 2010-11 Eurocup MVP. In his debut season, Draper has led Cedevita all the way from the Qualifying Round to the Eurocup Finals as the team’s undisputed floor general and star. Starting even before the season began, when Cedevita had to defeat Dynamo Moscow just to qualify for the Eurocup, Draper has been as dependable as any player in the competition. He finished by leading Cedevita in total points, assists, steals and foul drawn. Moreover, Draper led the Eurocup is performance index rating and assists, while ranking third in steals and fourth in scoring. Draper helped Eurocup newcomer Cedevita to overcome early home losses in both the regular season and the Last 16 to finish with a six-game winning streak good for a place in next week’s finals in Treviso, Italy. All told, his consistent performances and his impact on Cedevita's unexpected success made Dontaye Draper the outstanding player of the 2010-11 Eurocup season.

The Eurocup MVP is part of an awards structure that recognizes the finest Eurocup players for their efforts on the basketball court throughout the season. Draper's selection was made by a panel of Euroleague Basketball's in-house experts based on his and his team's performance during the Eurocup regular season, Last 16 and Quarterfinals rounds. Statistics and performance index ratings were taken into consideration for the award, but did not alone determine the winner. The award was previously given twice, to Chuck Eidson of Lietuvos Rytas as the 2008-09 Eurocup MVP and to Marko Banic of Bizkaia Bilbao Basket last season. Before that, the Eurocup MVP was won by the performance index rating leader at the end of each regular season.

Draper has been rock-solid all season, scoring in double digits in each and every game he played and dishing at least 4 assists every night. He barely missed a triple-double - 10 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists - in his team's first-ever Eurocup win against Azovmash. Draper added 22 points in a home win against Aris and helped his team to stay alive with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a pivotal road win against Hapoel Gilboa Galil. By the time the first make-or-break game of the season arrived, Draper was ready to lead Cedevita to an 88-84 victory against Azovmash with 32 points and 7 assists. Once in the Last 16, Draper helped Cedevita to recover from a 0-2 start with back-to-back double-doubles against Gran Canaria as his team broke Eurocup three-point records - 18 in a road game, 35 in consecutive showdowns. He had 16 points and 11 assists in a 114-110 overtime home win against Gran Canaria and added 11 and 10 to beat the Spanish powerhouse on the road. His 20-point, 5-assist effort in Game 1 of the Quarterfinals against Asefa Estudiantes helped Cedevita to rally from a 17-point deficit and record a critical 90-81 win. Draper has averaged 15.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, a league-high 6.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 6.3 fouls drawn in 12 games.

Draper joins a list of 2010-11 award winners that includes the best players and coaches in the Eurocup this season. Donatas Motiejunas of Benetton Basket Bwin was selected as the 2010-11 Eurocup Rising Star Trophy winner. Aleksandar Petrovic of Cedevita was named Eurocup Coach of the Year. Terrell Lyday and Maciej Lampe of Unics, Devin Smith of Benetton and Tariq Kirksay of Cajasol Sevilla joined Draper on 2010-11 All-Eurocup First Team. The All-Eurocup second team features Bracey Wright of Cedevita, Dwayne Anderson of BG Goettingen, Kelly McCarty of Unics, Nik Caner-Medley of Asefa Estudiantes and Paul Davis of Cajasol. The last of the awards, the Eurocup Finals MVP trophy, will go the best player at that event as voted by accredited journalists in attendance during the title game.