Olympiacos Piraeus put one of the finishing touches to its roster for the new season on Monday with the announcement of the signing of guard Tyler Dorsey to a one-year deal. Dorsey (1.96 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, where he spent the last two seasons. Last season he played 34 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games, averaging 11.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in almost 22 minutes on the court. Dorsey played college ball in Oregon and then he played in several NBA and G-League teams in the United States until he crossed the pond in 2019 to join Maccabi.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="el" dir="ltr">✍️🏾🔴⚪️ Η ΚΑΕ Ολυμπιακός ανακοινώνει την απόκτηση του Τάιλερ Ντόρσεϊ. Welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/TDORSEY_1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TDORSEY_1</a> ! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a><a href="https://t.co/DVDWJpnk3j">https://t.co/DVDWJpnk3j</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1429745238042624001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Olympiacos inks Tyler Dorsey

tyler-dorsey-maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv-eb20-bfnxoc4pda98sx6i.jpg

Zalgiris Kaunas strengthened its backcourt by signing playmaker Emmanuel Mudiay for the coming season, the club announced late Monday. Mudiay (1.96 meters, 25 years old) averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 assists in 57 games for Utah in the NBA in the 2019-10 campaign. He did not play last season. Mudiay started his professional basketball career with Guangdong Southers Tigers of China, and also played for Denver and New York in the NBA before joining Utah. He was chosen to the NBA all-rookie second team in 2016. In 300 career NBA games over five seasons, Mudiay averaged 11.0 points and 3.8 assists. He has been a member of the DR Congolese national team, too. Mudiay is set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut with Zalgiris this season.



<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Roster: complete! ✅ Zalgiris has added plenty of NBA experience to the roster with the signing of Emmanuel Mudiay! <br><br>📰 <a href="https://t.co/X4TQrAU3qN">https://t.co/X4TQrAU3qN</a> <a href="https://t.co/TRw1eDympu">pic.twitter.com/TRw1eDympu</a></p>&mdash; BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) <a href="https://twitter.com/bczalgiris/status/1429911667450732548?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Zalgiris adds Mudiay to backcourt

After its most successful season ever in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, FC Bayern Munich will be back with some red marks on its calendar. The fans in Munich will be able to see many great teams, though some of them have left a bigger impression on the German squad in the past than others and surely the fans at Audi Dome will be waiting eagerly to see them up close.

## ROUND 6: A playoff rematch

Last season Bayern became the first German team ever to make the EuroLeague Playoffs. Not only that, but it also managed to win two games in a series that went the distance. The opponent, of course, AX Armani Exchange Milan, would end up taking the series and going to the Final Four. Hoping to get at least to the same point that they arrived last season, Bayern and its fans will be hoping to start with some sweet revenge. Could it be the start of a new rivalry in the EuroLeague?

## ROUND 8: Another shot at ‘Los Blancos'

During its stellar 2020-21 season, there was only one team, besides Milan, that Bayern lost more than one game to... Real Madrid. *Los Blancos* had a commanding home win, 100-82, and survived the road game, 76-81, to sweep the series against the German squad. Surely, Bayern will want to have that check on its win column this season. A classic battle of European clubs in football aspires to reach the same heights as these two teams keep forging the same rivalry on the basketball front.

## ROUND 14: The champs have landed

Last season Bayern was one of the few teams in the league that was able to defeat eventual champs Anadolu Efes Istanbul twice during the regular season, including a 71-74 success in Turkey and an 80-79 decision at home. Efes will come back to Munich as the champion, but Coach Trinchieri's team will try to prove that it could be the opponent that becomes a constant thorn in Efes's side.

## ROUND 20: Another round of close encounters?

The story shared by Bayern and Zalgiris Kaunas last season was one to remember. In Round 16, the Lithuanian champs managed a 74-73 win on a Marius Grigonis jumper on the buzzer. In Round 33 it all went down to the wire again and it was Bayern that won 71-70 thanks to a huge block by Vladimir Lucic on the last play that was worth a playoff ticket for the German team. Fans should be in for a treat also this season when Zalgiris arrives for their meeting in Munich.

## ROUND 23: National derby

Being the two German teams in the league, it's only natural that the games between Bayern and ALBA Berlin get full attention. Last season Bayern managed to sweep ALBA in the regular season in commanding fashion, but in the domestic league, it was ALBA who managed to lift the title against the Munich team in the finals, 3-1. It is a never-ending rivalry that will have a new chapter added in 2021-22, and the fans in Munich would not have it any other way.



After its most successful season ever in the EuroLeague, FC Bayern Munich will be back with some red marks on its calendar. The fans in Munich will be able to see many great teams, though some of them have left a bigger impression on the German squad in the past than others and surely the fans at Audi Dome will be waiting eagerly to see them up close.

2021-22 Games to Watch: FC Bayern Munich

andrea-trinchieri-fc-bayern-munich-eb20-b3jsmxhiq7a4qdg5.jpg

FC Barcelona has added more muscle and shooting range with the signing of forward Nigel Hayes on a one-year contract. Hayes (2.03 meters, 26 years old) arrives from Zalgiris Kaunas, where he played 61 EuroLeague games over the last two seasons and averaged 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He started his career with a handful of NBA appearances for several teams before moving to Europe by joining Galatasaray for the 2018-19 season, which saw him average 15.7 points in 10 EuroCup games. The move to Barcelona reunites Hayes with Head Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius after they spent the 2019-20 season together at Zalgiris.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">👋 Hola <a href="https://twitter.com/NIGEL_HAYES?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NIGEL_HAYES</a>! 💙❤<br><br>🔜 Barcelona <a href="https://t.co/xUYRipcR2T">pic.twitter.com/xUYRipcR2T</a></p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket 🏆 (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1429374876373164035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Barca brings in Hayes

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens has added size and athleticism to its frontcourt by signing center Jeremy Evans on a one-year contract. Evans (2.06 meters, 33 years old) has spent the last three seasons with different clubs in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, totaling 59 appearances for Darussafaka Istanbul, Khimki Moscow Region and AX Armani Exchange Milan. He has averaged 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in the competition. Earlier, his career started with more than 250 games in the NBA, mostly for Utah Jazz.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="el" dir="ltr">Η ΚΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός ΟΠΑΠ ανακοινώνει την απόκτηση του Τζέρεμι Έβανς για ένα χρόνο.<br><br>Welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyEvans40?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeremyEvans40</a> 🤝☘<br><br>Διάβασε περισσότερα εδώ: <a href="https://t.co/JPCl73dtTB">https://t.co/JPCl73dtTB</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paobc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paobc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/panathinaikosbcopap?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#panathinaikosbcopap</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheGreens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheGreens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreenOurHome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GreenOurHome</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/panathinaikos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#panathinaikos</a> <a href="https://t.co/J9ppjZGfbM">pic.twitter.com/J9ppjZGfbM</a></p>&mdash; Panathinaikos BC (@paobcgr) <a href="https://twitter.com/paobcgr/status/1429083150265819146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Panathinaikos adds athletic Evans

jeremy-evans-ax-armani-exchange-milan-eb20-bhmammo8nyslr87g.jpg

Every team marks certain games on the calendar when it comes out and continental giant Real Madrid is not an exception. Real Madrid fans have plenty of options to choose from - two of the longest continental battles in basketball, a local hero coming home, a reminder of an epic playoff series that became an instant classic, and of course, the mother of all games against its archrival.

## ROUND 1: blast from the recent past

Even though Real and Efes have been in the European basketball elite for decades, their rivalry opened a new, wonderful chapter last season with one of the best and most interesting playoff series in EuroLeague history. Efes dominated in the first two games and when the sweep was almost certain, leading 61-74 with 5 minutes left in Game 3, Real fought back. Los Blancos rallied to win Games 3 and 4. Then Game 5 came down to small details. It was a series to remember. Now they meet again.

## ROUND 12: Laso comes home

Traveling back to Vitoria-Gasteiz is always special for Real head coach Pablo Laso. He was born there and played for Baskonia from 1985 to 1995. Laso helped Baskonia win its first titles, the 1995 Spanish Copa del Rey and the 1997 Cup Winners' Cup, and started a career that led him to become the Spanish League's all-time leader in assists (2,879) and steals (1,219). It should not be easy, of course - Baskonia has beaten Real in three of their last four EuroLeague games at Buesa Arena.

## ROUND 13: Tradition and respect



It is the most repeated matchup in European competitions. Real and Maccabi have faced each other 62 times - and counting. Their 50th showdown was the 2014 EuroLeague championship game, in which Maccabi prevailed in overtime. Almost 25 years earlier, Real defeated Maccabi in the 1980 EuroLeague final. It is only logical that two of the winningest squads in basketball have great institutional respect for each other. Legendary games have been played and sportsmanship is always top-class when it comes to these two magnificent clubs.

## ROUND 17: Same old-school rivalry
The basketball rivalry between these teams goes back almost 60 years and crossed political barriers: Real was the first Spanish team to visit Moscow in 1963, days before CSKA was the first Russian squad to set foot in the Spanish capital. They then faced each other in the 1963, 1964 and 1969 EuroLeague finals. More recently, Real bested CSKA in the 2018 EuroLeague semifinals and the Russian powerhouse returned the favor in 2019. These teams combine for 18 EuroLeague crowns.

## ROUND 26: 'El Clasico' in Madrid

The first *El Clásico* of any EuroLeague season is always a highly-anticipated showdown. Last season, Barcelona won the Spanish League and Cup double and beat Real twice in EuroLeague action. Real fans should be looking forward to the Clasico at WiZink Center where *Los Blancos* will try to reverse the current trend - Real had won five consecutive EuroLeague *Clasicos* but lost the last three. All-EuroLeague forward Nikola Mirotic started his career in Madrid and now leads Barcelona, which adds even more interest to this always-exciting basketball battle.



Every team marks certain games on the calendar when it comes out and continental giant Real Madrid is not an exception. 

2021-22 Games to Watch: Real Madrid

UNICS Kazan fortified its backcourt by signing Italian Olympian Marco Spissu. The contract is for one season with an option for a second. Spissu (1.84 meters, 26 years old) arrives from boyhood club Dinamo Sassari, where he spent the past four years. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 27 Italian League games last season. Spissu was also a member of the Italian national team this summer at the Tokyo Olympics. He has spent time on loan at Italian clubs Sant'Orsola, CUS Bari, Casalpusterlengo, Reggio Calabria, Derthola and Virtus Bologna. Spissu helped Virtus win the Italian second-division Cup as the MVP in 2017. He won the FIBA Europe Cup in 2019 with Sassari. Spissu, who will make his EuroLeague debut with UNICS, also becomes the first Italian player to ever sign for the club.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ru" dir="ltr">МАРКО СПИССУ <a href="https://twitter.com/minispi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@minispi</a> – новый разыгрывающий УНИКСа! <br>⠀<br>Впервые в истории клуба подписано соглашение с итальянским баскетболистом!🇮🇹 <br>Контракт рассчитан на текущий сезон с опцией продления на следующий. <a href="https://t.co/w4v09iCb4C">pic.twitter.com/w4v09iCb4C</a></p>&mdash; BC UNICS Kazan (@unicsbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/unicsbasket/status/1428379843972960257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

UNICS adds Spissu to backcourt

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz added frontcourt depth by signing big man Steven Enoch on a two-year contract, the club announced Thursday

Baskonia bolsters frontcourt with Enoch

Enoch (2.08 meters, 23 years old) played last season with Monbus Obradoiro and posted 9.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 36 Spanish League games, playing 15.7 minutes per game. That was the first professional season for Enoch, who previously played four years of college basketball for the universities of Connecticut and Louisville. Enoch has also played for the national team of Armenia in youth categories in 2016 and 2017. He is now set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut.



<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👉 Baskonia´s 🆕 guy, <a href="https://twitter.com/StevenEnoch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StevenEnoch</a> ‼️<br><br>Welcome, 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗵! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoazenBaskonia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoazenBaskonia</a> <a href="https://t.co/myjiEehKKI">pic.twitter.com/myjiEehKKI</a></p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1428291698275332097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz added frontcourt depth by signing big man Steven Enoch on a two-year contract, the club announced Thursday.

In its third season in the competition, Zenit goes from the hunter to the hunted. That's what last season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoff appearance will do to the club. Apart from the overall expectations being higher, playing the third consecutive season in the competition also allows certain new rivalries to start to take shape. Here is a look at five Zenit games to keep an eye on this season.

## Round 3: Challenging CSKA

Some of the clashes between Zenit and CSKA Moscow have turned into the greatest Russian derbies. And while domestically Zenit had its share of success against CSKA, the Muscovites have dominated their EuroLeague encounters: four games and as many wins by an average margin of 13.8 points with each win by at least 8 points. Zenit cannot wait to get another crack at CSKA.

## Round 5: A playoff rematch

Zenit and Barcelona played a fantastic five-game playoff series in May with Zenit becoming the first No. eight seed to force a deciding Game 5. The two teams also split regular-season wins and it all led to a bit of a long-distance rivalry developing. And don't forget that Zenit head coach Xavi Pascual coached Barcelona from 2008 until 2016. In those seven-plus seasons, he guided the club to 19 trophies, including the 2010 EuroLeague title.

## Round 8: Giving the champs another fight
Last season Zenit was tied for the second-best road record in the EuroLeague with 10 wins in 17 regular-season away games. That included a 69-73 win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the season opener. It was a part of Zenit's season sweep against the eventual EuroLeague champs. A year earlier at Sinan Erdem Dome, Zenit rallied before Efes pulled out a 90-88 decision. Coach Xavi Pascual's team obviously like splaying against Efes and facing the reigning champs will make this trip extra intriguing.

## Round 18: Loyd's Belgrade homecoming

Jordan Loyd left quite a mark on the Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade record books last season when he set a club record with an average of 17.3 points per game. He will now return for the first time to play his former club. He should be able to get plenty of advice about how to deal with the emotions from teammate Billy Baron, who spent two seasons with Zvezda and had 7 points last season when Zenit pulled out a thrilling 75-76 road win. Loyd missed the potential game-winner for Zvezda that night.

## Round 32: Emerging rivalry

Playoff newcomers last season, both Zenit and FC Bayern Munich want to prove they are contenders for good. In their first playoff appearances, both took their respective series to the maximum five games, but were eventually ousted. The two clubs are very familiar with each other as their rivalry dates back to their 7DAYS EuroCup days. They have faced off eight times since 2016 and both feel they have something to prove in this game. Last season both games were decided by 4 points or less. This one, coming so late in the season, could have major playoff implications.



Playing a third consecutive season in the EuroLeague allows certain new rivalries to start to take shape. Here is a look at five Zenit games to keep an eye on this season.