MVP! MVP!
by Dave on May 7, 2008 11:18 AM PDT
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Interesting news from our Finnish sports-writing friend:
Petteri Koponen wins the Finnish MVP award
It's official: Finnish League team captains and head coaches have selected Honka Playboys' Petteri Koponen as the Most Valuable Player in the League. In 36 regular season games, Koponen averaged 19 points, 3,9 assists, 3,6 rebounds and 1,8 steals a game while shooting his 2pt field goals 56,4%, 3pt field goals 42,6% and free throws 78,6%.
In playoffs, Koponen played only six full games before he was sidelined for four games because of broken thumb. Koponen's seventh playoff game was the deciding game of the finals series. Koponen entered the game with 8:30 remaining and scored one point and delivered two assists. His playoff averages were 15,6 points, 4,7 assists, 2,6 rebounds and 2 steals a game (the stat line notably affected by that finals game 4 cameo). Koponen shot in the playoffs even better than during regular season: 2pt fg 57,6%, 3pt fg 47,6%. His free throws dropped a bit to 73,3%.
Despite just turning 20, Koponen isn't the youngest all time winner of the Finnish league MVP award. The youngest winner ever is Finnish national team starting point guard Teemu Rannikko (6-2", 1980). Rannikko won the award in 1999 as an 18-year old. Rannikko is currently the sixth man of Russian powerhouse Khimky, playing alongside former NBA players Daniel Ewing, Maciej Lampe and Pat Burke. Last year Rannikko was the starting point guard of Euroleague team Olimpia Ljubljana and averaged 14,6 points and 3,3 assists a game in Euroleague competition.
The Finnish league MVP vote was very tight this year. Koponen's teammate, Finnish national team forward Jukka Matinen (6-7", 1978) lost the MVP award with just one vote difference. Matinen averaged 17,7 points and 4,5 rebounds a game while draining 53,8% of 2pt shots, 46,3% of 3pt shots and 87,3% of free throws. Matinen has also won the German Bundesleague championship with Frankfurt Skyliners.
Here's a couple of minutes of video footage from Finnish finals game 4 including glimpses of Petteri:
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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hmmm
yay for him, but it stuck out to me that the youngest player who had won the MVP didn’t make it into the NBA and is a sixth man elsewhere.
so… hmmm… i say…. HMMM…
Here's to being hated. Come on #1 pick!
Come on, man! It's the Finnish league!
Everyone from the Finnish league goes on to glory. Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, LEBRON JAMES? All of them started in that league. And I bet if you look up the history you’ll find that NONE of those guys won the MVP either, meaning at this point Petteri is better than they were!
—Dave
Thanks!
See! I KNEW he was the point guard of our future!!!
My confident arrogance has been restored.
Here's to being hated. Come on #1 pick!
good for Petteri
Hopefully he catches on with a team in a higher league so that we can get a true sense of how good he is. Maybe he’ll move to the Spanish League or Italian League?
Boomshakalaka
I'd settle for good minutes in summer league.
Actually, summer league could be interesting this year.
We’ve got way more space for PT than we’ve had in years;
the whole group of Roy/LMA/MarWeb/Trout has finally outgrown it,
while Oden won’t play in it to keep his rehabbed legs fresh,
and Sergio will probably skip it for the Olympics.
Guys like Petteri and McBob will get a LOT of burn this year for once.
Dunno ‘bout Rudy.
He probably should be there, just for the adjustment, but I’m not sure.
Plus, would he be signed and moved in time? I dunno.
Still, I bet we see a LOT of The Petter in Vega$ this year.
Blazers have a five-on-three...and they pull it back and wait for help.
Rudy will be at the olympics too
Rudy will definitely be on Spain’s team. Sergio still doesn’t know if he’ll make the team.
by danielfarrell on May 7, 2008 12:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, but Rudy could make summer league . . .
. . . and STILL be ready for his role with Spain.
As per “Sergio still doesn’t know if he’ll make the team,” he may need to spend summer league time trying to make the team.
Blazers have a five-on-three...and they pull it back and wait for help.
Poor Sergio
You can just tell that if he doesn’t make the Spanish Olympic team he’s going to be devastated. Still, I’m sure he’ll take the news in stride.
A class act. Nothing but a class act, that Sergio. A total class act.
Where have all the flowers gone?
by bilingual octopus on May 8, 2008 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions
I wondered about that yesterday
I wondered if KP can, or knows someone who can, pull some strings, or apply pressure, to ensure he makes the team. My dream for the summer games, is for other teams to drool over Sergio and Rudy, and get Spanish envy.
"Show some respect to this living legend, this hall of famer...Arvydas Sabonis." - Bill Walton
summer play
yea what would people think if Petteri shines in the summer league?
If you dont talk to your cats about catnip, who will?
That he is our point guard god
oh wait… i already think that.
Here's to being hated. Come on #1 pick!
As Rose's backup or at SG again?
One of Two Official Blazer's Edge Poets Laureate for the 2008-2009 Season
"Scholars have long known that fishing eventually turns men into philosophers. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to buy decent tackle on a philosopher's salary." - Patrick McManus
That comment only took two days for me to notice!
One of Two Official Blazer's Edge Poets Laureate for the 2008-2009 Season
"Scholars have long known that fishing eventually turns men into philosophers. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to buy decent tackle on a philosopher's salary." - Patrick McManus
my favorite part
of the video is akeem scott dancing and all the finnish guys watching awkwardly
"Honor Terry Porter." Email me with your TP stories and memories.
Pretty Cool
If you ask me.
"Show some respect to this living legend, this hall of famer...Arvydas Sabonis." - Bill Walton
Whoa! Language Institute?
Hello Language Institute? We need a simultaneous translator for English-Spanish and English-suomen kieli and Spanish-suomen kieli who knows professional basketball language and instructions, is familiar with both European and USA professional basketball and can keep two new players fully up to speed with coaching.
Oh? You have a man called Arsène Lupin who speaks fluent Italian and English and has coached for 17 years in professional basketball in Europe and USA? Wait while I ask Petteri and Rudy if they speak Italian? Rudy says some, Petteri says some. So they can all work in Italian. Ok he is hired—Wait his real name is ….....
Mike D’Antoni and he wants 5 million per year. Tell him to pack his bags, Paul is sending his private jet #3 to pick him up.
Aldridge said. "We feel like we can beat any team. We feel like we can beat the Spurs, Suns, Lakers, Mavericks, whoever any night right now, and we'll still be here when those teams get old and their guys retire. We're going to be here for a long time."
Ohhhhhh great.
The Language Institute just sent Latka Gravas to mediate the Rudy/Petteri fast break.
Blazers have a five-on-three...and they pull it back and wait for help.
Omg
Is there another team that has this much potential?
In the NBA, on the other hand, the vast majority of NBA championships are won by teams led by a player who would be considered the best player in the league at the time, or among the top three players in the league at the time.
CP3+ODEN=DYNASTY
As the great Vonnegut said, more or less... "You are what you pretend to be, so you must be very careful what you pretend to be."
by timbo on Apr 29, 2008 7:33 AM PDT
Dang
I did some research, and found out that a lot of people thought someone else in their league, should have been the MVP. Petteri won as a make good, because he’s had such a long and storied career. It turns out he got in a little trouble a few years back, and his image took a hit. Then this year, he became more of a team player and when a video of him jumping over Smart Car hit the internet, it totally changed his image, people were willing to forget the past, and vote for him as the MVP.
True story. I didn’t make that up at all.
"Reality is for people who can't handle Blazers Edge." - MiledAnimal
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