Few players anywhere have his unique combination of size, versatility, ballhandling and shooting skills. Nemanja Bjelica re-defined the power forward position as he earned the vote of fans and media to become the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP of the 2014-15 season. He led Fenerbahce Istanbul to its first-ever Final Four appearance, averaging 12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 29 games for an average performance index rating of 18.3.
Bjelica played five full EuroLeague seasons this decade. Added to the MVP trophy, Bjelica was chosen to the All-EuroLeague First Team and earned the MVP for March honor in the 2014-15 season while averaging 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists that month. He had a solid Final Four debut, too, averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds and getting a double-double – 18 points, 10 rebounds – in the Third Place Game against CSKA Moscow.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS
- EuroLeague MVP, 2014-15
- All-EuroLeague First Team, 2014-15
- EuroLeague March MVP, 2014-15
Bejlica started the decade with Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and made his EuroLeague debut with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in the 2010-11 season. He played there for three campaigns, joining Fenerbahce along with head coach Zeljko Obradovic in the 2013-14 season. Bjelica was the first cornerstone of the Fenerbahce teams that have now reached five consecutive Final Fours and won the EuroLeague title in 2017.