Former Wisconsin basketball star pockets EuroLeague title, Final Four MVP
Former Wisconsin basketball star Nigel Hayes-Davis guided Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul to a 2024-25 EuroLeague title on Sunday.
Fenerbahce clinched the title with an 81-70 victory over Monaco, securing the club's first championship since 2017. Hayes-Davis' 23 points, nine rebounds and two steals across nearly 37 minutes of action netted him 2025 EuroLeague Final Four MVP honors, capping a stellar playoff run for the former Wisconsin star.
Most notably, Hayes-Davis went 14-of-14 from the charity stripe for his squad, a bounce-back effort from his seven-point outing in the semifinals against reigning champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on May 23. Hayes-Davis averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game in the Final Four.
In 39 total games during the 2024-25 slate, Hayes-Davis averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 31.2 minutes per appearance. He did so off 49.8% from the field, 41.0% from beyond the arc and 90.8% from the charity stripe in one of the more efficient individual seasons across EuroLeague action.
Hayes-Davis' recent title comes less than one year after he secured a Turkish League Championship and MVP honor in Turkey's Basketbol Süper Ligi Finals. In that series, the Ohio native averaged over 17 points per game to snag finals MVP honors.
Hayes-Davis also competed alongside the USA Men's National Team during their exhibition schedule prior to the Olympic Games Paris 2024. He and fellow former Badger Micah Potter suited up in exhibitions in Las Vegas, London and Abu Dhabi as practice players for NBA veterans including LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
While Hayes-Davis has already celebrated his 30th birthday, his success overseas could ignite some NBA rumors this offseason. He suited up in nine games for the Kings, Lakers and Raptors during the 2017-18 slate following his career in Madison.
During that four-year tenure, Hayes-Davis was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year (2014), was a two-time third-team All-Big Ten (2015, 2017) honoree and made the All-Big Ten first team in 2016.
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