AS Monaco kept getting ready for its upcoming Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut by inking playmaker Paris Lee, the club announced Wednesday

AS Monaco adds playmaker Lee

Lee (1.83 meters, 26 years old) arrives from Orleans Loiret Basket, where he averaged 14.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 33 French League games last season.

Lee started his career with Telenet Antwerp Giants of Belgium and also played for Brose Bamberg of Germany before joining Orleans. He helped Antwerp win the Belgian Cup title in 2019 and reach the Belgian League finals in 2018 and 2019. An accomplished steals specialist, Lee is set to make his EuroLeague debut Monaco next season.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">✍️ 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗲 s’engage avec l’AS Monaco Basket 🔥 Meneur de jeu créatif et virevoltant (1,83 m, 26 ans), le meilleur passeur du championnat 🇫🇷 a réalisé une saison très solide (14,9 points à 44,6% aux tirs et 7,8 passes décisives) 🔝<br>👋 𝘽𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙚 <a href="https://twitter.com/_plee1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_PLee1</a> 🇲🇨 <a href="https://t.co/Z3M3FBPNOe">pic.twitter.com/Z3M3FBPNOe</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1415200688624308225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

AS Monaco kept getting ready for its upcoming Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut by inking playmaker Paris Lee, the club announced Wednesday.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne continued a frontcourt revamp with the addition of power forward Dylan Osetkowski on a two-year deal, the club announced Wednesday. Osetkowski (2.06 meters, 24 years old) arrives from ratiopharm Ulm where he starred in the 7DAYS EuroCup with 17.9 points on 52% three-point shooting, along with 5.3 rebound and 2.8 assists, and ranked second in the regular season with average PIR of 21.8. He also posted 13.2 points on 41.5% three-point shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in German league action. "Dylan is a real forward, a player with a high basketball IQ", ASVEL head coach T.J. Parker said. "He's versatile, can play both inside positions, and he's also a very good three-point shooter, with high percentages in EuroCup and the German league."

Last season was second professional season for Osetkowski. After finishing his college career at the University of Texas, he started the 2019-20 campaign with BG Goettingen before joining Ulm in the spring of 2020. He is now set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">❗ Effectif 2021-2022 👉 Dylan OSETKOWSKI arrive à LDLC ASVEL !<br><br>Le secteur intérieur de LDLC ASVEL continue de prendre forme avec l’arrivée de l’une des révélations de la saison dernière en EuroCup, Dylan OSETKOWSKI !<br>✍ <a href="https://t.co/BrnKZ3aD20">https://t.co/BrnKZ3aD20</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LDLCASVEL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LDLCASVEL</a></p>&mdash; LDLC ASVEL (@LDLCASVEL) <a href="https://twitter.com/LDLCASVEL/status/1415279130367643656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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ASVEL adds versatile big man Osetkowski

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UNICS Kazan gave bolstered its frontcourt ahead of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague return by signing power forward Will Thomas to a one-year deal, the club announced Wednesday. Thomas (2.03 meters, 35 years old) has spent the last two years with Zenit St Petersburg. Last season, he helped the team reach a historic EuroLeague Playoffs berth by starting in each of the team's 39 games and averaging 9.3 points on 60.3% two-point shooting, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Thomas is a veteran of 144 appearances over five EuroLeague seasons, two with Unicaja Malaga and one with Valencia Basket. With the latter, he also won the 2019 7DAYS EuroCup title, earning EuroCup Finals MVP honors. He also helped the team win a Spanish League title and reached the EuroCup Finals in 2017.

Thomas started his professional career with Belgacom Liege Basket of Belgium. Thomas also played for Telenet Ostend of Belgium, Army Sport Klub Tbilisi of Georgia, Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir of Turkey and Sidigas Avellino of Italy. He helped Army Sport win the Georgian League title in 2012 and took Karsiyaka to the EuroChallenge title game in 2013.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ru" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/the_common_name?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@the_common_name</a> – новый игрок БК УНИКС🔥<br>⠀<br>Контракт с американским форвардом рассчитан на один год. <a href="https://t.co/1bHBAl9rGw">pic.twitter.com/1bHBAl9rGw</a></p>&mdash; BC UNICS Kazan (@unicsbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/unicsbasket/status/1415377751368994824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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UNICS inks veteran forward Thomas

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Israeli champ Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv made official a new one-year contract extension with Oz Blayzer on Wednesday. Blayzer (2.00 meters, 28 years old) averaged 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds last season in 33 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games with Maccabi. Blayzer arrived to Tel Aviv the Summer of 2020 from Maccabi Rishon LeZion, where he had just made his 7DAYS EuroCup debut in 2019-20. He started his pro career in 2011 and has always played in Israel, also with Hapoel Afula, Bnei Hertzeliya and Maccabi Haifa.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">💪 <a href="https://t.co/0JCo8IgCMW">pic.twitter.com/0JCo8IgCMW</a></p>&mdash; Maccabi Tel Aviv BC (@MaccabitlvBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaccabitlvBC/status/1415223597677883396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Maccabi, Blayzer stay together

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UNICS Kazan continued its busy week announcing the addition of power forward Evgeny Valiev for the next campaign. Valiev (2.05 meters, 31 years old) arrives from Khimki Moscow Region, where last season he averaged 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15 minutes over 11 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games. In the VTB League, Valiev played 15 games and averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds for Khimki. He played from 2008 to 2019 with Triumph Lyubertsy / Zenit St Petersburg before moving to Khimki.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ru" dir="ltr">Евгений Валиев – новый игрок в составе УНИКСа✅<br>⠀<br>Контракт с форвардом рассчитан на один год.<br>Добро пожаловать! <a href="https://t.co/XKrLxAeE8K">pic.twitter.com/XKrLxAeE8K</a></p>&mdash; BC UNICS Kazan (@unicsbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/unicsbasket/status/1415232641733959683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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UNICS bulks up with Valiev

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A rematch from the last Final Four, a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague home debut, a first-time Russian derby and a showdown between the reigning and most-crowned continental champions will give fans all they could wish for sooner than ever in the first round of the new 2021-22 season!

The initial steps on the season include five games on Thursday, September 30, marking the very first time this century that Europe's most elite teams play official games before October.

The honor of opening the new season with that night's first tipoff will belong to a unique EuroLeague debutant, AS Monaco. Last season's 7DAYS EuroCup champion, representing a French Riviera principality of fewer than 40,000 inhabitants, will host a neighbor from across the Mediterranean, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, whose six continental titles are the most of Final Four era. It will be the first game ever between them.

Later that night, AX Armani Exchange Milan hosts CSKA Moscow in a rematch of their third-place game at the 2021 Final Four in Cologne, Germany. After both had lost late in the semifinals, Milan snatched its first Final Four victory this century in their consolation game against CSKA, the club with more Final Four appearances, 19, than any other in history.

Six more teams start their seasons that same Thursday, with last season's runner-up, FC Barcelona, hosting German champion ALBA Berlin, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv hosting FC Bayern Munich and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz visiting Olympiacos Piraeus in the 43rd edition of one of the most prolific international rivalries in basketball.

Four more Round 1 games fall on Friday, October 1, starting with two Russian opponents who have never before met on the EuroLeague stage, UNICS Kazan and visiting Zenit St Petersburg. It will be the first national derby of 14 that pepper the regular season calendar going forward.

The first games of the season in Turkey and France come next, with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul hosting Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade while LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne takes on visiting Zalgiris Kaunas.

The opening round ends with a Friday night thriller as Real Madrid, the most decorated club in EuroLeague history, welcoming first-time and reigning champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul to the Spanish capital in their 38th meeting together this century.

The anticipation will be building for the next three months until the day that all 18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague giants take their first steps on the stairway to glory that awaits them!

The stairway to glory commences on Thursday, September 30, marking the first time this century that Europe's most elite teams play official games before October.

September start heralds hot EuroLeague opening round

AS Monaco strengthened its froncourt weeks ahead of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut by re-signing forward Ibrahima Fall-Faye to a one-year deal, the club announced Tuesday

Monaco re-signs forward Faye

Faye (2.07 meters, 24 years old) finished the 2020-21 season with Monaco, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25 games, but not could help the team in the 7DAYS EuroCup. He started the 2020-21 campaign with another EuroCup team, Telenet Giants Antwerp, averaging 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 10 games and tying for second place in blocks (1.7 bpg.) at the end of the Regular Season. Faye started his professional career with Chalon-Sur-Saone of France and also played for Leuven Bears of Belgium before joining Antwerp, to which he helped win the Belgian Cup title in 2020. He is also a member of the Senegalese national team.

"I have adapted very well, but at a club like Monaco it was really not difficult," Faye said. "Here, the team, we are like family. It doesn't stop at simple basketball games on the court. We go out, eat together, and get along very well in everyday life. All the players in this group made it really easy for me. Even though I didn't arrive until March, we did it every three days, and that made my adjustment even easier. It is going to be an intense season. We have good players to annoy a lot of teams in the EuroLeague. We will play this competition to win the most matches."

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">✍️ 𝗜𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗺𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗙𝗮𝘆𝗲 prolonge avec la <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RocaTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RocaTeam</a> ! 💥 Adepte de contres et alley-oops spectaculaires, le pivot international sénégalais (2,06 m, 24 ans) va continuer d’apporter sa puissance et son efficacité 💪<br>🔂 𝗜𝗯𝗼𝘂 𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙡’𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 🇲🇨 <a href="https://t.co/8Ng81Hp4hW">pic.twitter.com/8Ng81Hp4hW</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1414830734368464896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

AS Monaco strengthened its froncourt weeks ahead of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut by re-signing forward Ibrahima Fall-Faye to a one-year deal, the club announced Tuesday.

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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz brought back a familiar face to the team, none other than point guard Jayson Granger, who signed a one-year deal with an option for another season on Tuesday

Baskonia brings back playmaker Granger

Granger (1.89 meters, 31 years old) arrives from ALBA Berlin, where he averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 assists in 28 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He helped ALBA win the German League title, earning Finals MVP honors. He already played for Baskonia in the previous three seasons in which he had two severe injuries - ankle and knee - that kept him sidelined for the best part of two years. Granger could not help Baskonia in the 2019-20 EuroLeague but returned to action in time to win the Spanish League title. He started his career with Estudiantes and played for another Spanish team, Unicaja Malaga, and for Anadolu Efes Istanbul of Turkey before joining Baskonia in 2017. In 176 EuroLeague career games with Unicaja, Efes, Baskonia and ALBA, Granger averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 assists. He is also a regular member of the Uruguayan national team.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jay is 🔙!<br><br>🏀✍🏻 Jayson Granger returns to Baskonia on a two-year deal! <br><br>👋🏻 Welcome back home, <a href="https://twitter.com/jaygranger11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaygranger11</a> 💙❤️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoazenBaskonia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoazenBaskonia</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qnuai9osbq">pic.twitter.com/Qnuai9osbq</a></p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1415020268376952832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz brought back a familiar face to the team, none other than point guard Jayson Granger, who signed a one-year deal with an option for another season on Tuesday.

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FC Bayern Munich and versatile forward Paul Zipser are set to keep working together until the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the German powerhouse announced Tuesday. Zipser (2.03 meters, 27 years old) averaged 9.1 points on 43.8% three-point shooting and 3.0 rebounds in 39 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He helped Bayern become the first German squad to reach the EuroLeague Playoffs this century and take the German Cup last season, but missed the domestic finals after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Zipser is "slowly working back after his operation in June due to a brain hemorrhage and has made a clear decision" to stay with Bayern "regardless of the undefined comeback time," the club said in its official release.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%F0%9D%90%99%F0%9D%90%88%F0%9D%90%8F%F0%9D%90%92%F0%9D%90%84%F0%9D%90%91%F0%9D%9F%90%F0%9D%9F%8E%F0%9D%9F%90%F0%9D%9F%92?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#𝐙𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄𝐑𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒</a><br><br>Pauli bleibt! Der Nationalspieler unterschreibt einen neuen Dreijahres-Vertrag bis 2024! 😍<br><br>🔗 Mehr dazu: <a href="https://t.co/auSHhniYV6">https://t.co/auSHhniYV6</a> <br><br>🎥 Checkt auch die Zipser-Playlist auf YouTube: <a href="https://t.co/OLvtomhIhD">https://t.co/OLvtomhIhD</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FCBB2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FCBB2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Zipser2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Zipser2024</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FCBB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FCBB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kaderupdate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kaderupdate</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/paulzzip?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@paulzzip</a></p>&mdash; FC Bayern Basketball (@FCBBasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBBasketball/status/1414872379986259978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Zipser is in his second stint with Bayern. He previously played for the club from 2013 to 2016, helping it win the German League title in 2014. Zipser went on to play for Chicago of the NBA, Windy City of the G League and San Pablo Burgos of Spain before returning to Bayern in 2019. He also played for USC Heidelberg of his native German. Zipser has also been a member of the German national team. In 85 EuroLeague career games with Bayern, Zipser averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.

Bayern, Zipser stay together through 2024

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