Jean Montero named 2025–26 EuroLeague Rising Star

Valencia Basket guard Jean Montero has been chosen by the coaches as the winner of the EuroLeague 2025–26 Rising Star trophy, becoming the first player from our club to receive this recognition. This award honors each season the best player who was younger than 22 on July 1 of the previous summer. Jean, who turned 22 on July 3, was eligible for this award for the final time.

The Dominican guard, who received the same distinction last season in the BKT EuroCup, becomes the first player to win the “Rising Star” trophy in both the EuroLeague and the EuroCup, and to do so consecutively. In addition, Montero is the first player from the American continent to receive the EuroLeague Rising Star award.

In the voting for this award, the Valencia player finished ahead of Saliou Niang (Virtus Bologna) and his teammate Sergio De Larrea, who placed third in the coaches’ voting to determine the best young player.

In his first EuroLeague season, Jean Montero has led Valencia Basket in scoring (13.7 points), assists (4.6), and performance rating (16.4 PIR). These numbers made him the top performer among all candidates for this trophy in those categories. League-wide, Montero ranked 11th in PIR and 13th in assists, and his impact only grew when measured per minute, placing seventh in PIR (30.0 per 40 minutes) and 10th in fouls drawn (7.1 per 40 minutes).