

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne forward Raymar Morgan is set to be sidelined for three weeks due to a back injury. Morgan, who is set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in the upcoming 2021-22 season, has a recurring back pain and is expected to be away from the court until mid-October, when a new medical appointment should be taken to evaluate his status. Morgan joined ASVEL from Turkish side Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir. He brings plenty of 7DAYS EuroCup experience, as he averaged 12.9 points in 68 career games with ratiopharm Ulm, Tofas Bursa and UNICS Kazan.


ASVEL: Morgan, three weeks out

Zenit St Petersburg guard Shabazz Napier is set to miss the start of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season due to an ankle injury. Napier went down in the VTB League Supercup final against CSKA Moscow and left the game with an ankle injury. "Shabazz Napier underwent a comprehensive examination. He has a rather serious injury to the ligaments of the right ankle joint," general manager Alexander Tserkovny said. On the positive side, I can say that there is no fracture and, therefore, there is no need for surgery, of the minuses, the recovery time is still unknown. We have all the necessary conditions to get him back on the floor quickly. All is needed is the support of the fans,” he added. As such, Napier is out indefinitely and should wait for his EuroLeague debut. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🙌🏾 BC Zenit <a href="https://twitter.com/alekschurchill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alekschurchill</a>: &quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/ShabazzNapier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShabazzNapier</a> underwent a comprehensive examination. He has a rather serious injury to the ligaments of the right ankle joint. <a href="https://t.co/IpnG7jutf1">pic.twitter.com/IpnG7jutf1</a></p>&mdash; Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket/status/1439901456728051713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 

Zenit St Petersburg guard Shabazz Napier is set to miss the start of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season due to an ankle injury.

Zenit: Napier, out indefinitely 

FC Bayern Munich enters this Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season coming off its best performance ever in 2020-21 when it became the first German team to reach the playoffs. Many of its main assets from last season have moved elsewhere, but Bayern is back strong to try to, at least, match its success.

### BACKCOURT

While Nick Weiler-Babb, Nihad Dedovic and Zan Sisko remain in the backcourt, Bayern made a few moves over the summer to bring in some scoring power. Corey Walden reunites with Coach Andrea Trinchieri after a strong season with Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade. Ognjen Jaramaz also played under Trinchieri in Belgrade a couple of seasons ago and has come to Munich to strengthen the guard position. Sharpshooter Andreas Obst arrives from ratiopharm Ulm after averaging 11.0 points in the 7DAYS EuroCup last season, while Darrun Hilliard landed from CSKA Moscow, which he helped reach the Final Four. Young guns Joshua Obiesie and Jason George will provide depth in the backcourt for Bayern. The German team also brought in more experience at small forward with DeShaun Thomas, who will be playing his seventh EuroLeague season.

### FRONTCOURT

All-EuroLeague First Team selection Vladimir Lucic will remain the main threat for Bayern in the frontcourt and he will be backed by Paul Zipser, who also had his best season in 2020-21 before he suffered a brain hemorrhage in June during the German League playoffs. He should be back and ready to battle. Augustine Rubit is back in Germany for his third EuroLeague season after averaging 8.1 points with Zalgiris Kaunas in 2020-21. Marvin Ogunsipe returns from two years on loan at Hamburg Towers, ready to contribute from the start, as will be Gavin Schilling, a rebounding ace who shined in Germany last season. At center, Bayern has brought in valuable EuroLeague experience with Othello Hunter, who will play his ninth season on the top European stage. The team has also retained Leon Radosevic, an 11-season EuroLeague veteran who will play his fourth straight season in Munich after signing a new contract over the summer.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Corey Walden comes to Munich with a difficult task: making the fans forget about Wade Baldwin IV, who moved to Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz during the summer. Walden knows how to play under Coach Trinchieri and he had a solid EuroLeague debut season with Crvena Zvezda averaging 10.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 30 appearances in 2020-21. He averaged 39% from beyond the arc and 9.9 PIR in his 30 games, which makes him a reliable option for Coach Trinchieri on the offensive end. Walden also has the built-in advantage of playing alongside his old Partizan Belgrade teammate Ognjen Jaramaz Bayern has operated as a unit when it has been more successful and there's no denying that Walden will be expected to be an important piece in that unit.

### OUTLOOK

Bayern comes off its most successful EuroLeague season ever, so matching the outcome in 2021-22 will be hard, at the very least. Coach Trinchieri will have to rebuild the team chemistry that worked so well last season, but there are more than enough players remaining from last year to have kept most of that. Bayern will have four of its first five games on the road, so if the team wants to have the momentum from the very beginning, it will have to snag road wins at places like Tel Aviv, Kazan, St Petersburg and Kaunas.

Roster rundown: FC Bayern Munich

After finishing last season as runner-up following a fine campaign, FC Barcelona will be back with even more motivation to go one better and claim the title. Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius has restocked his roster and another season among the leading contenders is the target.

### BACKCOURT

Nick Calathes will continue to be Barça's leader on the floor, embodying the philosophy of his coach's team-first mentality. Calathes set a new club record for assists last season and his smooth orchestration of play, along with his underrated defensive skills, will give the team its heartbeat. Another key component is the relentlessly consistent Cory Higgins, who once again demonstrated his nerveless ability to come up with big plays at clutch moments by scoring the game-winning basket in the dying seconds of May's semifinal against AX Armani Exchange Milan. Calathes and Higgins will have two new backcourt teammates this season following the recruitment of Nicolas Laprovittola and Rokas Jokubaitis. Laprovittola is a creative passer who has gotten better and better every year since first appearing in the competition with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz five years ago Young Jokubaitis can be counted upon to rapidly develop after being reunited with his mentor Jasikevicius. Swingmen Alex Abrines and Kyle Kuric - who led the league in three-point shooting accuracy last season - add energy and scoring range.

### FRONTCOURT

Barça can again count on Nikola Mirotic to lead from the front. Mirotic ranked third in the league in rebounding and eighth in scoring last season; his combination of pure physical power with great dexterity and a smooth shooting stroke make him a nightmare match-up for any opponent. The same can be said for Brandon Davies, whose endless variety of highlight-reel dunks is matched by great athleticism and an insatiable work ethic. A new face in the frontcourt is summer signing Sertac Sanli, who will look to maintain his rapid recent rise towards becoming one of Europe's top centers and claim a second successive championship. Captain Pierre Oriola brings determined defense and a deceptive shooting range, while Rolands Smits and Sergi Martinez are both big bodies and selfless performers who maintain Barça's intensity when Mirotic needs a rest. Another new signing is Nigel Hayes, whose gutsy rebounding and three-point shooting threat are well known to Jasikevicius following their time together in Kaunas a couple of seasons ago.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Many observers would claim that Nikola Mirotic is the best power forward in European basketball and his consistently productive performances over the last two seasons certainly back up that argument. Nobody has a higher average performance index rating than Mirotic (20.9, followed by Shane Larkin with 20.7) since he returned to the league a couple of years ago, and he ranks second in rebounding and third in scoring during that timeframe. For everything he has achieved, though, Mirotic is perfectly well aware that the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title has so far eluded him and, as he approaches his 31st birthday, time might be starting to run out. Nobody will be more determined than Mirotic to take Barça all the way and he will surely continue to be one of the most decisive players in the competition. When Mirotic plays well, Barça plays well. And fortunately for the Blaugrana, that is pretty much always.

### OUTLOOK

With the core of last season's highly successful team still in place, the motivation of narrowly missing out in last season's title decider and the addition of some exciting new talents, all the ingredients are in place for Jasikevicius to lead his team on another serious challenge for the EuroLeague crown. If Barça can hit its best form when it matters the most next spring, the Catalan club will take some stopping.

Roster rundown: FC Barcelona

players-fc-barcelona-media-day-2021-eb21.jpg

AS Monaco added firepower to its lineup by signing former Ford Trophy winner Mike James, the club announced Friday. James (1.85 meters, 31 years old) arrives after being released from CSKA Moscow, where the guard had spent the past two seasons. In 2020-21, James poured in 19.3 points per game to go along with 5.7 assists for an index rating of 19.7 over 27 games. He was the second-best scorer in the EuroLeague last season, led the league in PIR and ranked sixth in assists. James finished the season with Brooklyn of the NBA where he was worth 7.7 points and 4.2 assists in 13 games. He won the Alphonso Ford Trophy in 2018-19 as the EuroLeague’s top scorer with 19.8 ppg with AX Armani Exchange Milan - gaining him a spot on the 2018-19 All-EuroLeague Second Team.

After playing college basketball at Eastern Arizona JC and Lamar, James began his European career with KK Zagreb in Croatia. He also played in Israel, Italy and Greece before making his EuroLeague debut with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2014. He played one season with Panathinaikos Athens before a brief stint in the NBA with Phoenix and New Orleans, after which he returned to Panathinaikos.

“I was really looking for a different and exciting challenge,” James said. “I wanted to start on something new compared to what I have already experienced during my career. It's a real opportunity for me to start a new adventure and to prove what I'm worth as a player in this beautiful place. My goal is to win as many games as possible and to be very competitive in EuroLeague. I am very happy to join Monaco, and I can't wait to do what I love in France, in a great atmosphere. I can't wait to join the guys and discover the team, hoping to do great things for Monegasque basketball. We are outsiders, but I come here to have ambitions and to take the team to the highest possible level."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">✍️ 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 a choisi l’AS Monaco Basket ! 💣 Le meneur 🇺🇸 (1,85 m, 31 ans), un des tous meilleurs joueurs et scoreurs de l&#39;<a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> de ces dernières années, sort d’une pige <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a> réussie au printemps dernier avec <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrooklynNets</a> ✔️<br>👋 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNatural_05?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheNatural_05</a> 🇲🇨 <a href="https://t.co/4dfvh8MA5U">pic.twitter.com/4dfvh8MA5U</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1438788791939080192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Monaco adds firepower with James

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv made a lot of roster changes over the summer and enters the 2021-22 campaign with a more athletic and more experienced team. Coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos leads a deep, competitive roster ready to fight for a playoff spot.

### BACKCOURT

Scottie Wilbekin is once again Maccabi's backcourt leader. An all-around scorer with unlimited shooting range, experience and great determination, Wilbekin should have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. Maccabi signed two EuroLeague newcomers to help Wilbekin in the backcourt. Keenan Evans was one of the best players in the Israeli League last season, ranking fifth in scoring (18.5 ppg.), third in assists (6.4 apg.) and second in steals (2.1 spg.). Kameron Taylor is a tall, versatile swingman who is aggressive on defense and uses his physicality to help on the boards. Coach Sfairopoulos looked for more athletic players and Taylor definitely fits in. Team captain John DiBartolomeo is an experienced guard and tenacious defender with a high basketball IQ, which has made him a fan favorite in Tel Aviv. Yiftach Ziv is a talented, aggressive guard looking to leave his mark in his first season in the competition. A product of the club's youth department, Ido Ben Harush adds depth t the backcourt.

### FRONTCOURT

Maccabi brought in very experienced players around the baskets. Derrick Williams is an explosive power forward with outstanding athleticism, who can open the floor with his three-point shots, run like a guard in transition and ignite Maccabi fans with his high-flying dunks. Jalen Reynolds returns to Maccabi after a great season with FC Bayern Munich in which he averaged 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds over 39 games. He scored more two-point shots (222) than any other EuroLeague player last season, with great effectiveness (59.8% 2FG). EuroLeague champion James Nunnally is an elite three-point shooter (48.5% career 3FG) who also plays hard on defense and knows what it takes to be successful in the competition. Big man Jake Cohen is also back after a season in Spain. He offers reliable shooting, rebounds and experience. Ante Zizic is an excellent offensive rebounder and a great finisher around the basket. He runs the floor well for a player his size. Versatile forward Angelo Caloiaro should play a critical role at both ends, while Oz Blayzer and Roman Sorkin round out a deep, versatile frontcourt.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Maccabi is already Derrick Williams's fourth EuroLeague team, after previous stops with FC Bayern Munich, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Valencia Basket. Williams has all it takes to be a superstar in the competition. He is the kind of energy player that brings his team's fans into the game with his highlights. An outstanding dunker, Williams can play above the rim, finishing alley-oops and bringing fans to their feet with his high-flying blocks. He needs to improve his three-point shooting (34.7% career) to become a bigger threat, but playing for Maccabi and its trademark fans can only mean good news for Williams. Expect him to take a big step forward. At age 30, he is right at the prime of his career.

### OUTLOOK

Two years ago, Maccabi had a 19-9 record when the 2019-20 campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many saw Maccabi as a Final Four candidate last season, but it ended up 13th with a 14-20 record. By signing athletic players who know the competition well like Nunnally, Reynolds and Williams, Maccabi has made sure it will be very competitive from the start of the season. If Evans and Taylor step up and adjust to the EuroLeague level right away, Maccabi should have all it takes to be competitive against anyone, anywhere. Having an experienced coach, a very physical team ready to fight for 40 minutes and of course, some of the best fans in the world is a combination that should work really well.

Maccabi.jpg

Roster rundown: Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

AX Armani Exchange Milan will be without guard Troy Daniels to start the season, the club announced Friday. Daniels, 30, suffered an injury to his right hamstring, which will require three weeks before it can be reevaluated. Milan is due to open the season on September 30 at home against CSKA Moscow. Accordingly, Daniels's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut will be delayed until at least the second week of October.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">📝 Comunicato Olimpia Milano su Troy Daniels ➡ <a href="https://t.co/ABw0fWuAmv">https://t.co/ABw0fWuAmv</a><br><br>📝 Olimpia Milano&#39;s Official Statement regarding Troy Daniels ➡ <a href="https://t.co/0taiLswcki">https://t.co/0taiLswcki</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://t.co/elelpwDSpD">pic.twitter.com/elelpwDSpD</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1438828349963620354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Milan's Daniels to miss start of season

With a heavy heart, Euroleague Basketball joins the world basketball family in mourning Dusan "Duda" Ivkovic, the two-time EuroLeague champion and dean of the coaching profession, who died in his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia, on Thursday, six weeks before his 78th birthday.

After following his late older brother Slobodan into coaching at age 25 in 1968, Mr. Ivkovic served at the head of benches around Europe in different five decades from 1978 to 2017. He coached at 12 pro clubs in his native Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Russia and Turkey, as well as leading the Yugoslav and Serbian national teams in three different decades. His impact on the sport and his status among his fellow coaches was such that he served as president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches in the mid-2000s.

"We at Euroleague Basketball are beyond sad to know that a close friend and a true giant of our sport, Duda Ivkovic, has left us too soon," Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball CEO, said. "It is no exaggeration to say that Duda impacted European basketball as much as any coach ever, growing up in one of the cradles of the sport, Belgrade, and taking many teams to the heights of success. Even more than his accomplishments, however, Duda will be remembered as a true leader to his thousands of players and to generations of coaches. Basketball has lost one of its pioneers, but Coach Ivkovic's legacy lives on in a thriving European game that he helped lift to where it is today."

Mr. Ivkovic, a relative of the world-renowned inventor Nikola Tesla, grew up on the same street in the Belgrade neighborhood of Crveni Krst as the open basketball courts belonging to Radnicki, the club where he would coach youth categories from 1968 to 1978, when he moved across town to Partizan, with whom he won the Yugoslav League and Cup, as well as the FIBA Korac Cup, in his first season at the head of a bench.

Mr. Ivkovic alternated between Serbia and Greece for the next decades, then started winning titles in bunches with four Greek teams in between 1990 and 2001. His first Greek League title came with PAOK in 1992 and his first EuroLeague crown with Olympiacos in 1997, when he won the national league and cup, as well, for a triple crown. He then added a FIBA Saporta Cup title in 2000 with AEK Athens.

In 2002, Mr. Ivkovic moved to Russia and led CSKA Moscow into three consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours while winning the national title each of those seasons. He moved next to Dynamo Moscow, with whom he won the 2006 EuroCup, making him the only coach ever to collect four different European competition trophies. But he was far from done.

Younger generations will remember Mr. Ivkovic as the mastermind behind one of the most unlikely EuroLeague titles ever won, when he guided Olympiacos to an upset of his old team, CSKA, in the 2012 championship game despite trailing by 19 points with 11 minutes left to play. He took a break from coaching after that but came back to lead Anadolu Efes Istanbul for two seasons before retiring officially in 2017. He was honored soon after as the first and still-only coach to be named an official Euroleague Basketball Legend.

In addition to his long list of championship victories as a club coach, Mr. Ivkovic had another one as head coach of Yugoslav and Serbian national teams, starting with a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Yugoslavia went on to win FIBA EuroBasket gold medals in 1989 and 1992 with Mr. Ivkovic on the bench, while in between his team climbed to the top of the sport globally by winning the 1990 FIBA World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He would add another EuroBasket title with FR Yugoslavia in 1995.

Rest in peace, Duda.

Euroleague Basketball mourns Dusan Ivkovic

FC Barcelona forward Alex Abrines is expected to miss the next four months of action after undergoing surgery for a patellofemoral injury in his left knee, the club announced Thursday. Abrines averaged 6.1 points on 42.3% three-point shooting as well as 1.8 rebounds in 39 games for Barcelona last season.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">❗ COMUNICAT MÈDIC - <a href="https://twitter.com/alexabrines?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alexabrines</a><br>Consulta tots els detalls<br>➡ <a href="https://t.co/3U8GrDuJWg">https://t.co/3U8GrDuJWg</a><br><br>❗ COMUNICADO MÉDICO - <a href="https://twitter.com/alexabrines?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alexabrines</a><br>Consulta todos los detalles<br>➡ <a href="https://t.co/m2WStSHSG1">https://t.co/m2WStSHSG1</a> <a href="https://t.co/KyF2MgoUGn">pic.twitter.com/KyF2MgoUGn</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1438589427601846276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </center>
