AX Armani Exchange Milan was back on the big stage last season as it reached the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four for the first time since 1992. Once there, it fell in semis, but Coach Ettore Messina and his roster full of talent and experience made a statement that they will seek to back up in 2021-22. Like every season, Milan will have a few stops that will catch the eye of the fans across the continent. These are the five that stand atop the list.

## ROUND 6 - Cementing a new rivalry

The duels between Milan and FC Bayern Munich only go back to 2014. Since then, however, they have faced each other 13 times and seven of them were in 2020-21. Milan was one of the two only teams to sweep Bayern in the regular season and later they squared off in a five-game playoff series that Milan won 3-2. There is no doubt that last season took the rivalry between these two teams, both of them coached by Italian bosses, Ettore Messina and Andrea Trinchieri, to another level. The rivalry resumes when they meet in Round 6.

## ROUND 8 - Avenging Cologne
## 

After the longest regular season ever and a similarly long and tough playoff series, Milan finally was back in the Final Four in Cologne. The problem was that its opponent in the semifinals was FC Barcelona, the regular-season champ. It was a tough battle that was decided down the stretch when Cory Higgins hit a memorable jumper. Even though Milan fell in the semis, the team and its fans will be eager to welcome Barca to the Italian fashion capital and try to make up for that painful loss.

## ROUND 15 - Getting back at the Greens

A game between Milan and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens is always a marquee duel. The former is a three-time EuroLeague champion while the latter lifted the trophy six times. Despite the big picture rivalry between these two classics, there's also the issue that last season the Greens managed to sweep Milan in the regular season. And not only that, but Panathinaikos won the two games by 3 points each. So expect Milan to be ready to get back at Panathinaikos as it tries to go as deep, at least, as it did last season.

## ROUND 22 - Messina, Hines return to Moscow
When Milan visits the Russian capital, two of the most important men for CSKA Moscow in the last two decades will be returning to what used to be their former home. Coach Messina lifted CSKA back to the European elite; he guided the team to the 2006 and 2008 EuroLeague titles. Kyle Hines was a cornerstone on the CSKA teams that won in 2016 and 2019. Messina coached CSKA for a total of six seasons, while Hines played there one more. CSKA fans will surely receive them with a standing ovation.

## ROUND 29 - As classic as it gets

The duels between Milan and Real Madrid had filled lots of pages in the history books since they first faced each other in 1963. Their duels even include finals and semifinals and in 2021-22 their history together will add another chapter. In 2020-21 Coach Messina and his team managed to sweep Real in the regular season with a 78-70 win at home and a 76-80 success in Madrid. Of course, one must not forget that Messina and Sergio Rodriguez were also on Madrid's side a few years ago, the latter even winning a EuroLeague title and season MVP honors with Los Blancos. The return of Milan to Madrid is as classic as it gets.



2021-22 Games to Watch: AX Armani Exchange Milan

ax-armani-exchange-milan-celebrates-eb20-b9niflejb38hpsrw.jpg

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz bolstered its frontcourt with the addition of center Landry Nnoko for the coming season, the club announced on Sunday

Baskonia gets bigger with Nnoko

Nnoko (2.08 meters, 27 years old) played for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade last season. After missing the first part of the season due to health issues, Nnoko appeared in 10 games in the second part of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season and averaged 7.1 points and 5.2 rebounds. He also posted 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in the Adriatic League to help Zvezda win the title. Nnoko had spent the previous two seasons in Germany with ALBA Berlin. He helped ALBA reach the 2018 EuroCup Finals and made his EuroLeague debut in the 2019-20 campaign when he ranked ninth in the league with 5.8 rebounds per game. Earlier in his career, Nnoko played professionally for Grand Rapids in the D-League and Sakarya in Turkey.



<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">🏀✍ ¡Oficial!<br><br>Baskonia refuerza su juego interior con 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗻𝗼𝗸𝗼.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoazenBaskonia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoazenBaskonia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoEchabasDeMenos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LoEchabasDeMenos</a></p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1426923105373597697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz bolstered its frontcourt with the addition of center Landry Nnoko for the coming season, the club announced on Sunday.

landry-nnoko-crvena-zvezda-mts-belgrade-eb20-bfbsoujjw4dqi6c3.jpg

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz will have a different look this season as it rebuilds on the fly after losing fundamental pieces to other teams. However, the tried-and-true Baskonia character that the club, Coach Dusko Ivanovic and their fans effuse will make for excitement every time Baskonia takes the floor – and for a tough night for all of its opponents. Here are some of the must-see games that the team from Basque country will play during the regular season.

## Round 9: Another Spanish classic
As years have gone by, the duels between Baskonia and FC Barcelona have become a new Spanish classic in their own right. Their countless clashes in domestic competitions have included title games and that rivalry has permeated to the European stage. Last season Baskonia was swept by Barca in the regular season. To that, include that Coach Dusko Ivanovic spent almost three seasons in Barcelona as the bench boss and you get the perfect ingredients for a must-watch all-Spanish League affair.

## Round 12: Facing a homegrown ace and his charges

Baskonia and Real Madrid go back a long way. Of course, they have faced each other countless times in domestic games. But their rivalry goes one step beyond that. Real coach Pablo Laso is a Vitoria native who played many years for Baskonia and this season, Los Blancos will have Thomas Heurtel, a player who had his breakout in the Basque club, as one of its star guards. As if that was not enough, Baskonia swept Real in the regular season in 2020-21, so expect the winningest club in European history to come back to Vitoria looking for revenge.

## Round 23: Dusko meets the Greens again
Since Baskonia stole a playoff series in Game 3 in Athens in front of a packed OAKA in 2007, the rivalry between the Spanish team and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens has been a thing. Last season, Baskonia managed to sweep the Greens in the regular season, including a painful 82-97 road win in Athens that the Greek team will surely want retribution for. Not to mention that Coach Dusko Ivanovic fronted the Greens' bench in 2014-15. The duel between these classic EuroLeague sides will be as interesting as ever.

## Round 31: Playing with Henry, this time on opposing sides

An argument could be made that the most decisive player for Baskonia in the last couple of seasons was guard Pierria Henry. Last season he averaged 10.5 points and led the team with 7.3 assists in 34 regular-season games. He could not accomplish the goal to take the team to the playoffs but became a fan-favorite nonetheless. When this summer it was announced that he would join Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, it was clear that the duel between these two teams would become a focal point as Henry will be sizing up against his old teammates.

## Round 34: The eternal foe in European grounds

Baskonia and CSKA Moscow have developed a continental rivalry these last two decades that could stand up against any of the classics in the sport. Since 2002, these teams have played each other 43 times in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague alone with many playoff contests, including Final Four games twice. Last season, Baskonia and CSKA split wins in the regular season and in 2021-22 that European-forged rivalry will surely live new exciting chapters.



2021-22 Games to Watch: Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

Zalgiris Kaunas legend and the EuroLeague's all-time leader in rebounds and games played, Paulius Jankunas, will remain with his hometown team for another season after signing a deal for the 2021-22 campaign. Jankunas (2.05 meters, 37 years old) debuted with Zalgiris in 2003 and has played for the club in all but one season since. In that time, he has been party to all of Zalgiris's greatest triumphs and collected a series of personal accolades, too.

Jankunas leads the career EuroLeague standings with 1,965 rebounds and 375 games played. His place atop those tables is safe for now with the closest active players trailing him by 499 rebounds (Kyle Hines) and 35 games played (Georgios Printezis). Jankunas is also ranked third in performance index rating (3,993), fifth in both free throws made (738) and two-pointers made (998), sixth in scoring (3,178 points) and 14th in steals (241). Last season he averaged 3.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 34 EuroLeague games.

He was a driving force behind Zalgiris reaching the Final Four in 2018 when he earned All-EuroLeague honors and was EuroLeague MVP for December. Jankunas has also helped Zalgiris to 15 Lithuanian League championships and nine Lithuanian Cups. As a long-time member of the Lithuanian national team, Jankunas won a bronze medal at the Basketball World Cup in 2010, a silver medal at EuroBasket 2015 and a bronze at EuroBasket 2007.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The captain&#39;s illustrious career in Kaunas continues! <a href="https://twitter.com/P_Jankunas13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@P_Jankunas13</a> has officially extended his contract with Zalgiris. ✍️<br><br>📰 <a href="https://t.co/YVP4iBSfC4">https://t.co/YVP4iBSfC4</a> <a href="https://t.co/3EVTwNCTiK">pic.twitter.com/3EVTwNCTiK</a></p>&mdash; BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) <a href="https://twitter.com/bczalgiris/status/1425815499074465796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Zalgiris, Jankunas sign up for 18th season together

paulius-jankunas-zalgiris-kaunas-eb20-bchriybapgp9wonw.jpg

In the blockbuster move of the summer, superstar guard Alexey Shved is returning to CSKA Moscow, with which he made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut almost 15 years ago, the club announced on Thursday. Their contract is for one season with an option for 2022-23. Shved (1.98 meters, 32 years old) is an offensive tsunami who has won the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy twice, including last season, when he averaged league-highs of 19.8 points and 7.7 assists for Khimki Moscow Region. As such, he was the first EuroLeague player ever to lead the competition in both of those statistical categories, let alone in one season.

"We have talked with Alexey several times already. He has expressed great motivation and a big desire to come here, help the team win more titles, and play good basketball. Alexey has obvious respect for CSKA's organization," CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. "He understands what it means to work in the CSKA environment, to work alongside our important players who brought many titles to the club, who have played here for many years. He is ready to add his skills to the team equation, to work on the common goal. We welcome Alexey and wish him health and success together with our team."

Shved was crowned a EuroLeague champion as a 19-year-old with CSKA in 2008 after contributing in eight games that season, one of five at the start of his career in which he played part-time with the club. In his first full-time role, Shved averaged 10.6 points in the 2011-12 season, which ended in disappointment when Olympiacos Piraeus upset CSKA in the championship game on the season's final shot. Shved moved to the NBA for stints with Minnesota, Philadelphia, Houston and New York before returning home in 2015 to Khimki and averaging 15.9 points in EuroLeague play. The next season, Shved led the 7DAYS EuroCup in scoring with 22.1 points per game, then he and Khimki returned to the EuroLeague for the last four seasons. 

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ru" dir="ltr">Алексей Швед возвращается в ЦСКА! ⚡<br><br>Лучший бомбардир Евролиги минувшего сезона, защитник <a href="https://twitter.com/Shved23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Shved23</a> (32 года, 198 см) подписал с нашим клубом контракт по схеме «1+1». <a href="https://t.co/qCRKYmep6o">pic.twitter.com/qCRKYmep6o</a></p>&mdash; CSKA Moscow (@cskabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/cskabasket/status/1425713934145835009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </center>

During his latest EuroLeague span from 2017 forward, Shved has averaged 21.3 points per game, more than any other player, and 6.3 assists, second behind only Nick Calathes. In 2017-18, he set the EuroLeague record for total points in any season, 643, while averaging 21.8 for his first Top Scorer Trophy. The next season, Shved averaged the fifth-most points in EuroLeague history, 23.4 over 14 games, but was ineligible for another Top Scorer Trophy due to his season being shortened by more than half due to injury. He came back with 21.4 points per game in 2019-20 making him the only EuroLeague player to average 20 points or more in three seasons, which he did consecutively. His 19.8 points last season, however, were good enough for Shved to become just the second multiple winner since the award debuted in 2005.

Superstar Shved, CSKA together again

ALBA Berlin heads into its third consecutive season in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague eager to continue working its way up the standings. Slowly but surely, history is playing its role in hyping up games in each new season. Based on previous results and the histories of its players and coaches, some games bring more buzz than others for the team and its fans alike. Here are five such games for the 2021-22 season.

## Round 1: Coach Aito faces his ex


ALBA has lost five in a row against FC Barcelona, with its last victory over the Catalan power coming in January 2015. Last season, Barca won both games by double figures, including a 67-103 smackdown in the German capital. However, what these teams share is great growth under Coach Aito Garcia Reneses. Aito helped build Barcelona into a power in the 1980s and ‘90s and over the last four years has been doing the same with ALBA.

## Round 5: Will the run against Zvezda continue?
Since ALBA returned to the EuroLeague in the summer of 2019, it has faced Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade four times. And it has won each of those games. That is the best record ALBA has against any EuroLeague team. Three of those games have been won by double figures, including an 81-58 rout in the final game of last season. Can ALBA make it five in a row?

## Round 7: The best in Germany

FC Bayern Munich got the best of ALBA last season in the EuroLeague when it swept their two regular-season meetings and made history as the first German club to make the EuroLeague Playoffs. ALBA, however, had the last laugh when it won the best-of-five German League finals in four games. These teams know each other well and are always geared up for this clash.

## Round 20: Back in Tel Aviv

When ALBA visits Tel Aviv this season, it well have two players to serve as its tour guides. Yovel Zoosman spent the past four seasons in a Maccabi uniform, while Tamir Blatt's father, David, guided Maccabi to its most-recent EuroLeague crown in 2014 as its head coach. Many curious eyes will be eager to see how these two bright young Israeli stars perform with ALBA in a place they know so well. 

## Round 28: Hosting the captain


After seven seasons with his boyhood club – including several as the team captain, Niels Giffey signed with Zalgiris Kaunas over the summer and this will be the first time ALBA welcomes him back home to the German capital. It should be a warm welcome to set the stage for an exciting game as ALBA looks to end a three-game slide against the Lithuanian champs.

Based on previous results and the histories of its players and coaches, some games bring more buzz than others for the team and its fans alike. Here are five such games for ALBA Berlin in the 2021-22 season.

2021-22 Games to Watch: ALBA Berlin

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and Nate Wolters are together again after the point guard signed a deal for the 2021-22 season

Zvezda, Wolters join forces again

Wolters (1.93 meters, 30 years old) made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut with Zvezda during the 2016-17 season, and also helped Zvezda to a domestic triple crown, winning the Adriatic League as well as the Serbian League and Cup double that season. Has also played for Zalgiris Kaunas and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague, and has 70 career appearances in the competition, averaging 8.8 points, 2.9 assists and 2.3 rebounds. Wolters arrives from Russian side UNICS Kazan, which he helped win the 7DAYS EuroCup last season. He averaged 7.1 points on 43.3% three-point shooting and 2.4 assists in 16 EuroCup contests with UNICS. He also posted 9.4 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in VTB League action, helping the team reach league playoff finals.

Wolters has also played for Besiktas Istanbul in Turkey, Milwaukee, New Orleans and Utah in the NBA, Grand Rapids and Salt Lake City in the D-League and Chalon in France. He won the Adriatic League and the Serbian League and Cup double in his time with Zvezda as well as the Lithuanian championship with Zalgiris.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">Američki bek Nejt Volters vraća se u Crvenu zvezdu sa kojom je u utorak potpisao jednogodišnji ugovor!<br><br>Detaljnije: <a href="https://t.co/PjLFOygplJ">https://t.co/PjLFOygplJ</a><br><br>Welcome back, <a href="https://twitter.com/NateWolters?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NateWolters</a>! 🔴⚪️🙌🏻<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kkcz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kkcz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeCan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeCan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTheTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreTheTeam</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ABA_League?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABA_League</a> <a href="https://t.co/krt74jWlBD">pic.twitter.com/krt74jWlBD</a></p>&mdash; KK Crvena zvezda (@kkcrvenazvezda) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkcrvenazvezda/status/1425153843315232769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and Nate Wolters are together again after the point guard signed a deal for the 2021-22 season.

nate-wolters-crvena-zvezda-mts-belgrade-eb16-7pmu7ji4bgfifyio.jpg

AS Monaco is set to make its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in the 2021-22 season and of course, it will meet some of the competition's giants for the first time. Some dates are marked in red in its calendar - facing the reigning EuroLeague champion and the two winningest teams in the competition, meeting a recent opponent and being part of a rare All-French League showdown.

## ROUND 2: Good memories

It will be special for Monaco to return to Russia and face UNICS Kazan at Basket Hall. Monaco recorded arguably its biggest win ever in that building, downing UNICS 83-86 to lift its first continental trophy: the 2020-21 7DAYS EuroCup. Monaco had previously defeated UNICS 89-87 in Game 1 in the Principality. These teams are facing each other for the first time since the EuroCup Finals. UNICS should be highly motivated, as its four games against Monaco in the last two seasons prevented it from winning a prestigious European trophy.

## ROUND 3: Real Madrid, 33 years later
Monaco is set to face 10-time EuroLeague champion Real Madrid for the first time since 1988. These teams previously only faced each other in the 1987-88 Korac Cup. Real downed Monaco 117-81 in the Spanish capital behind 27 points from Brad Branson. Things were different at Stade Louis II, where Monaco led 55-43 at halftime. Real rallied to record an 84-87 victory behind 29 points from Wendell Alexis. Philippe Szanyiel led Monaco with 22 points. Real went on to win the Korac Cup in 1988 - and is set to face Monaco 33 years later!

## ROUND 7: A new powerhouse

One of the main attractions for any new EuroLeague squad is to face those teams that you cannot possibly go against unless you are in Europe's marquee competition. That should be the case when CSKA Moscow visits Monaco. It is not the only big club that never played against the Principality squad, but has more EuroLeague titles than Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus, FC Barcelona, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, AX Armani Exchange Milan or Zalgiris Kaunas, just to name some of the teams that have never faced Monaco in the past.

## ROUND 11: A clash of winners

For any team, it is always special to face the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions and of course, things have changed since Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Monaco faced each other. It was 1987 and both teams were trying to qualify to the Korac Cup group stage. The then-called Efes Pilsen topped Monaco 69-67 in the first leg of a two-game total-points series. Monaco prevailed at home, 59-54, and won the series by an aggregate score of 126-123. This is a very different showdown between the reigning EuroLeague and EuroCup champions!

## ROUND 12: Familiar faces

For the first time in the 21st century, two French League teams are set to face each other in the EuroLeague regular season. You have to go back to the 1999-00 EuroLeague campaign to find a matchup between two French teams, ASVEL and Pau-Orthez. There are a lot of links between both teams, but the strongest one comes through Monaco head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, who led ASVEL from 2018 to 2020. Mitrovic helped ASVEL win the French League and French Cup in the 2019-20 season. Monaco and ASVEL face each other in Europe for the first time since 1975!



AS Monaco is set to make its EuroLeague debut in this season and it will meet some of the competition's giants for the first time. Some dates are marked in red in its calendar.

2021-22 Games to Watch: AS Monaco

zvezdan-mitrovic-as-monaco-photo-andorra-martin-imatge-ec20.jpg

AS Monaco is set to make its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in the 2021-22 season and of course, it will meet some of the competition's giants for the first time. Some dates are marked in red in its calendar - facing the reigning EuroLeague champion and the two winningest teams in the competition, meeting a recent opponent and being part of a rare All-French League showdown.

**ROUND 2: Good memories**

It will be special for Monaco to return to Russia and face UNICS Kazan at Basket Hall. Monaco recorded arguably its biggest win ever in that building, downing UNICS 83-86 to lift its first continental trophy: the 2020-21 7DAYS EuroCup. Monaco had previously defeated UNICS 89-87 in Game 1 in the Principality. These teams are facing each other for the first time since the EuroCup Finals. UNICS should be highly motivated, as its four games against Monaco in the last two seasons prevented it from winning a prestigious European trophy.

**ROUND 3: Real, 33 years later**

Monaco is set to face 10-time EuroLeague champion Real Madrid for the first time since 1988. These teams previously only faced each other in the 1987-88 Korac Cup. Real downed Monaco 117-81 in the Spanish capital behind 27 points from Brad Branson. Things were different at Stade Louis II, where Monaco led 55-43 at halftime. Real rallied to record an 84-87 victory behind 29 points from Wendell Alexis. Philippe Szanyiel led Monaco with 22 points. Real went on to win the Korac Cup in 1988 - and is set to face Monaco 33 years later!

**ROUND 7: A new powerhouse**

One of the main attractions for any new EuroLeague squad is to face those teams that you cannot possibly go against unless you are in Europe's marquee competition. That should be the case when CSKA Moscow visits Monaco. It is not the only big club that never played against the Principality squad, but has more EuroLeague titles than Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus, FC Barcelona, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, AX Armani Exchange Milan or Zalgiris Kaunas, just to name some of the teams that have never faced Monaco in the past.

**ROUND 11: A clash of winners**

For any team, it is always special to face the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions and of course, things have changed since Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Monaco faced each other. It was 1987 and both teams were trying to qualify to the Korac Cup group stage. The then-called Efes Pilsen topped Monaco 69-67 in the first leg of a two-game total-points series. Monaco prevailed at home, 59-54, and won the series by an aggregate score of 126-123. This is a very different showdown between the reigning EuroLeague and EuroCup champions!

**ROUND 12: Familiar faces**

For the first time in the 21st century, two French League teams are set to face each other in the EuroLeague regular season. You have to go back to the 1999-00 EuroLeague campaign to find a matchup between two French teams, ASVEL and Pau-Orthez. There are a lot of links between both teams, but the strongest one comes through Monaco head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, who led ASVEL from 2018 to 2020. Mitrovic helped ASVEL win the French League and French Cup in the 2019-20 season. Monaco and ASVEL face each other in Europe for the first time since 1975!

