Super League Basketball’s (SLB) reigning Most Valuable Player, Aaryn Rai, is struggling to find his role under new management.

During the SLB inaugural campaign, Aaryn Rai was a standout performer for a London Lions team that dominated the regular season standings and was named the league’s MVP as an award for his efforts.

The explosive forward averaged 14.9 points and seven rebounds per matchup while shooting 55.7% from the floor. Most importantly, Rai was a constant feature in the Lions’ rotation – recording 31.1 minutes over 32 games.

However, the importance of Rai’s role for London is now under scrutiny after the newly appointed head coach, Tautvydas Sabonis, has considerably reduced his time on the court.

From MVP to role player

Much to the surprise of SLB spectators, the British talent now appears to be a player who must do whatever his team requires of him rather than having a clear offensive directive.

Throughout the 2025-26 season so far, Rai has only managed to record three points, 4.3 rebounds and one assist per game.

Sabonis has only unleashed the reigning MVP for an average of around 20 minutes during each fixture, providing little time for Rai to showcase his full skillset.

It is clear that the new head coach is prioritising a defensive stability that the Lions can build off, which appears to be paying dividends in their domestic campaign; however, it has come at the expense of one of the brightest talents in British basketball.

Even during their EuroCup debut 59-86 blowout defeat to Buducnost Voli, Rai was provided little opportunity to test himself against European opposition despite the nature of the loss.

Nevertheless, the 27-year-old chalked up six points while burying two out of three shots from deep to show that if given the minutes on the floor, he can still have a positive effect on a team that has lofty ambitions to become the powerhouse of British basketball.

Due to the level of change in the London Lions’ roster, it may have been expected that Aaryn Rai was going to have a slightly different role in the rotation, but to be named MVP of the SLB after the previous campaign, and all of a sudden the player is scrambling for time on the court is surely an extreme shock to the system.