Александр Поротников: «Я точно болен баскетболом»
Today the VTB United Youth League announced that Zenit-M guard Alexander Porotnikov has been named the Most Valuable Player of the 2025/26 regular season. Read about his first emotions, the completed regular season, and preparation for the upcoming playoffs in an interview with the MVP on the official website of the blue-white-sky blue club.
— Alexander, congratulations on the award! For the first time, a Zenit youth team player has become the MVP of the regular season. Please share your first emotions.
— Thank you for the congratulations. It’s nice to become the first player from the Zenit system to receive this award. My first emotions are the realization that I did everything right throughout the season.
— How would you evaluate your performance in the regular season, during which you also had an unfortunate injury? How did your game change throughout the championship?
— I would rate my performance as “good.” Because of the injury, just like last season, I missed more than a month and feel a slight lack of games. But in the playoffs, I think I will definitely satisfy my desire to play until the end. Over the season, my game didn’t change much. After the injury, I worked harder on my injured shooting hand and significantly increased my three-point shooting percentage, especially off movement. And although there is still some minor discomfort, it doesn’t really bother me.
— Earlier, you spoke about how your recovery process went. What helped you not only return, but reset and come back to the court even stronger?
— I’m definitely sick with basketball and can’t sit idle. During recovery, I kept analyzing and realized there wouldn’t be much time left, so I needed to give 100%. Of course, I really missed playing, which gave me extra motivation.
— Zenit-M became the regular season champion of the VTB United Youth League for the first time in history. What helped achieve this result? And how did the team celebrate first place?
— I think this result came from the work of the entire Zenit system. The club management and coaching staff do everything for us players. We’ve known each other for years, we have great chemistry, and all we needed to do was give our all on the court, listen to instructions, and simply play basketball. We didn’t celebrate first place because for us it’s only completing part of the journey toward our goal.
— Ahead for the blue-white-sky blues is a quarterfinal series against Minsk-M — an opponent that caused quite a few problems in a recent game. What are your expectations for this matchup? What should be the main focus when playing the Belarusian team?
— Minsk-M is a strong opponent that plays solid basketball. We just need to play our own game, with communication both on defense and offense.
— The VTB United Youth League Final Four will take place in Saint Petersburg this year. Does this affect the team’s mindset?
— Our last two championship years in the Youth Basketball League were held in Saint Petersburg, and the atmosphere at the games was amazing. For us, it’s additional support, which is very important.
— And finally, what do you personally expect from yourself in the decisive part of the season?
— I expect from myself a game that I will personally be satisfied with. I would like to win and prove to myself that the work I put in throughout the season paid off. And every member of our team approaches it with the same mindset.
