Valencia basketball player Jean Montero has been named the EuroLeague Rising Star of the Year for the 2025/26 season, the competition announced today.
The 21-year-old Valencia guard became the first player to be named the best young basketball player in both the EuroLeague and the EuroCup.
The "Rising Star" award, decided by the coaches of Euroleague clubs, is awarded each season to a player who was under the age of 22 on July 1 of the previous summer, and Montero was a clear winner in the voting this season.
Second place went to Saliu Niang from Virtus, third was his teammate Sergio De Larea, while fourth was Momo Faje from Paris.
Montero was the most productive player eligible for this award throughout the entire tournament, leading the group in points (13,7 points per game), assists (4,6 per game) and utility index (16,4).
He had several great performances this season, including the one in the 27th round in Valencia's away win against Hapoel Tel Aviv (104:99) when he recorded 29 points and eight assists for an index of 38. That game was one of four in which Montero had at least 30 index points.
Montero arrived in the EuroLeague after being named the EuroCup Rising Star for the 2024/25 season, an award he earned after leading Valencia in points (13,2), assists (5,3) and steals (1,7).
He began his career in the Dominican Republic, moving to Spain in 2019 when he signed for Gran Canaria. He then played for Real Betis and Andorra, before signing for Valencia in 2024.
In addition to this recognition, Montero was named the best young player in the Spanish league three times (2023, 2024, 2025), and last season he was in the ideal five of the competition.
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