CSKA Moscow and power forward Johannes Voigtmann have agreed to terms on a deal that will keep them together through the end of the 2022-23 season, the club announced Friday. Voigtmann (2.11 meters, 28 years old) averaged 8.5 points on excellent shooting percentages (61.1% 2FG, 46.4% 3FG, 86.3% FT) plus 4.9 rebounds in 37 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season, his second with the club. He ranked fourth in the league in defensive boards per 40 minutes (7.2) in helping CSKA win the VTB United League and reach the EuroLeague championship game.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Johannes Voigtmann remains at CSKA!<br><br>Forward/center <a href="https://twitter.com/jumbo_jo7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jumbo_jo7</a> (28 years old, 211 cm) has signed a new two-year agreement with our club. <a href="https://t.co/2ajDdtNbYk">pic.twitter.com/2ajDdtNbYk</a></p>&mdash; CSKA Moscow (@cskabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/cskabasket/status/1403263460717350912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Voigtmann started his professional basketball career with Science City Jena of his native Germany. He also played for Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt of Germany and TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz of Spain before joining CSKA. He helped Skyliners win the FIBA Europe Cup in 2016 and is a member of the German national team. In 165 EuroLeague career games with Baskonia and CSKA, Voigtmann has amassed 1,404 points (8.5 ppg.) and 903 rebounds (5.5 rpg.).

CSKA extends big man Voigtmann

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Zalgiris Kaunas reached a new agreement with guard Lukas Lekavicius to keep working together for one more season with an option to extend the deal until the 2022-23 campaign, the club announced Wednesday. Lekavicius (1.80 meters, 27 years old) averaged 8.2 points on 50% three-point and 86.4% free-throw shooting in 33 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games coming off Zalgiris's bench last season. He is in his second stint with the club. Lekavicius starting his career with Zalgiris and became a full-time member of its first squad in the 2014-15 season. In 199 EuroLeague career games since then, Lekavicius has averaged 6.5 points on 41.2% three-point shooting.

Lekavicius won three consecutive Lithuanian Leagues and lifted the Lithuanian Cup trophy twice with Zalgiris from 2015 to 2017. He went on to play for Panathinaikos Athens, lifting back-to-back Greek League trophies in 2018 and 2019. In his two seasons with Panathinaikos, Lekavicius also won the Greek League Cup in 2019 and made it to the EuroLeague Playoffs twice. Lekavicius returned to Zalgiris and has won the Lithuanian League and cup titles in both 2020 and 2021. He has helped his teams win the domestic league title in each of the last seven seasons.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lukas Lekavicius will be returning to Zalgiris next season! ✍️<br><br>Read more 👉 <a href="https://t.co/ARRAOQ9RZw">https://t.co/ARRAOQ9RZw</a> <a href="https://t.co/1yTLxCrKyk">pic.twitter.com/1yTLxCrKyk</a></p>&mdash; BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) <a href="https://twitter.com/bczalgiris/status/1402517902981582850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Lekavicius helped the Lithuanian national team win a silver medal at EuroBasket 2015. He won three other medals with Lithuania in youth categories: silver at the 2010 U16 and 2012 U18 European Championships and bronze at the 2013 U19 World Cup.



Zalgiris keeps scoring guard Lekavicius

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Zenit St Petersburg brought back a familiar face by signing shooting guard Sergey Karasev to a one-year contract on Monday. Karasev (2.01 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Khimki Moscow Region, where he averaged 5.7 points on 61.7% two-point shooting and 2.0 rebounds in 28 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. Born in St Petersburg, this will be Karasev's third stint with the club where he started his career.

Karasev played for the then-called Triumph Lyubertsy until 2013 before spending time in the United States with from Brooklyn and Cleveland of the NBA and Canton of the G League. He returned to Zenit, where he played from 2016 to 2019. Karasev is also a member of the Russian national team and helped it win a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

In 50 EuroLeague games with Khimki, Karasev averaged 4.8 points. He played four 7DAYS EuroCup seasons with Zenit - one of them as Triumph – in which he averaged 15.3 points in 49 games. Only three players have a better scoring average with as many games played - former teammate Errick McCollum (17.0 ppg.), David Logan (16.1 ppg.) and Mire Chatman (15.8 ppg.). He is the son of Vasiliy Karasev, a Russian basketball legend and Sergey's former coach.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🖊️ Welcome, Sergey Karasev.<a href="https://t.co/3M5G7TH9v0">https://t.co/3M5G7TH9v0</a> <a href="https://t.co/8NNYJpsHu1">pic.twitter.com/8NNYJpsHu1</a></p>&mdash; Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket/status/1401827537106444296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Zenit brings back shooting guard Karasev

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Zenit St Petersburg announced it signed a new contract with forward Mateusz Ponitka, which ties the two sides together for another three seasons. Ponitka (1.98 meters, 27 years old) has spent the past two years with Zenit and has helped the team make history last season reaching the EuroLeague Playoffs, where Zenit as an eight-seed was ousted in five games against the eventual runner-up FC Barcelona. However, Ponitka missed the playoffs due to an injury. Ponitka did not miss a single game during the regular season and averaged 8.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists while starting in 26 games. He debuted in the EuroLeague as a teenager with Asseco Prokom Gdynia of his native Poland in 2012, and later played for Stelmet Zielona Gora in the 2015-16 campaign. Later that season, Ponitka led Zielona Gora to the EuroCup Quarterfinals and was named the EuroCup Rising Star and to the All-EuroCup Second Team. Ponitka has also played for Ostend in Belgium, Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey, Iberostar Tenerife in Spain and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in Russia. He’s a member of the Polish national team, too.



Zenit re-signs forward Ponitka

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Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade added depth to its squad by bringing back homegrown swingman Stefan Lazarevic, the club announced on Saturday

Crvena Zvezda brings back Lazarevic

Lazarevic (1.98 meters, 24 years old) arrives from FMP Zeleznik, where he has mostly played since 2015. Last season he averaged 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in the Adriatic League action. Stefanovic made his EuroLeague debut with Zvezda in the 2017-18 season when he made four appearances, and now returns to the club where he grew up. Stefanovic was a team captain of the U18 Crvena Zvezda team that won the 2014 Adidas Next Generation Tournament crown. He has also won a bronze medal at the U16 European Championship in 2013, and a silver medal at the U18 European Championship a year later.



<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">Stefan Lazarević, dete Crvene zvezde i kapiten ekipe koja je postala juniorski šampion <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>, novo je pojačanje crveno-belih!<br><br>Stefane, dobro došao kući! 🔴⚪️🙌🏼<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kkcz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kkcz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeStand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeStand</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTheTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreTheTeam</a> <a href="https://t.co/2ieM1jkhch">pic.twitter.com/2ieM1jkhch</a></p>&mdash; KK Crvena zvezda (@kkcrvenazvezda) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkcrvenazvezda/status/1411380496991465476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade added depth to its squad by bringing back homegrown swingman Stefan Lazarevic, the club announced on Saturday.

TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and head coach Dusko Ivanovic signed a contract that will keep them together for another season, the club announced on Saturday

Baskonia, coach Ivanovic stay together

Ivanovic, 63, is in his third stint with the club, which he re-joined in December 2019 and went on to guide to the 2020 Spanish League title. Last season under Ivanovic, Baskonia remained in EuroLeague playoff contention until the final round of the regular season, but eventually missed out by finishing in 10th place with an 18-16 record.

Ivanovic has a 177-137 career record in the EuroLeague, with 125 of those wins coming on Baskonia's bench. He previously coached the club from 2000 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2012. Ivanovic has led the club to three of its four Spanish League titles with the first two coming in 2002 and 2010. He also coached Baskonia to the EuroLeague Finals in 2001 and to the EuroLeague championship game in 2005. Together they won the Spanish Copa del Rey three times (2002, 2004 and 2009).

A two-time EuroLeague champion as a player with Jugoplastika Split, Ivanovic started his head coaching career with Fribourg Olympic of Switzerland and has also coached Limoges CSP of France, FC Barcelona of Spain, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens of Greece, Khimki Moscow Region of Russia and Besiktas JK Istanbul of Turkey, as well as the Swiss and the Bosnian national teams. He helped Fribourg win three consecutive Swiss League titles from 1997 to 1999. Ivanovic won three titles - the French League, French Cup and Korac Cup - with Limoges in 1999-00. He also lifted the Spanish Copa del Rey with Barcelona in 2006 and won back-to-back Swiss Cups with Fribourg in 1998 and 1999.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">🚨 Breaking news‼<br><br>Dusko Ivanovic seguirá al frente de la nave azulgrana<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoazenBaskonia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoazenBaskonia</a> 🔵🔴</p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1401181250363310082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and head coach Dusko Ivanovic signed a contract that will keep them together for another season, the club announced on Saturday.

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Zenit St Petersburg continued adding veteran depth to its roster, signing forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas on a one-year deal, the club announced on Monday. Kuzminskas (2.05 meters, 31 years old) arrives from Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar where he averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the 7DAYS EuroCup, and also posted 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in the VTB League action. Kuzminskas now returns to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague where he has 164 appearances over nine seasons.

Kuzminskas has a career average of 8.0 points and 2.9 rebounds having played three seasons apiece with Zalgiris Kaunas and Unicaja Malaga, two seasons with AX Armani Exchange Milan, as well as six games with Olympiacos Piraeus at the start of the 2019-20 campaign before he joined Lokomotiv. He also spent the entire 2016-17 with New York of the NBA, averaging 6.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 68 games. Kuzminskas started his pro career with Sakalai in Lithuania, also played for Siauliai, and is a member of the Lithuanian national team.

It's very nice to play in the EuroLeague again. Zenit is an excellent coach, professional club and very good teammates. It's usually very difficult for me to make decisions, but this time it was pretty easy. I am glad to join the team and I hope that BC Zenit will be able to achieve the highest goals in the new season.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="lt" dir="ltr">📰 Sveiki <a href="https://twitter.com/MKuzminskas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MKuzminskas</a> !<a href="https://t.co/FPA4ld6HMA">https://t.co/FPA4ld6HMA</a> <a href="https://t.co/gBzAKs6Bqd">pic.twitter.com/gBzAKs6Bqd</a></p>&mdash; Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket/status/1411975675368685573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Zenit adds forward Kuzminskas to the mix

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The 2021 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Cologne, Germany, followed the script that had been written throughout the regular season and the playoffs, making the 2020-21 season the most competitive on record.

Starting from the finishing points, both semifinals and the championship game at Lanxess Arena came down to the final minutes, if not the final seconds. Will Clyburn missed a go-ahead three late in the first semifinal for CSKA Moscow and Cory Higgins score the game-winner for FC Barcelona in the last season and the second semifinal. The total margins victory, 5 points, in the semifinals were the closest ever.

Together with the championship game, which was tied with 4 minutes remaining and saw Barcelona give chase until the final buzzer, the margin of victory of the three decisive games was just 10 points. That made it the third-closest Final Four in history. The only closer ones were in 2012 in Istanbul and 2009 in Berlin. On both of those occasions, the semifinals finished with a combined 6-point difference. In 2012, Olympiacos Piraeus famously rallied from a double-digit deficit to edge CSKA Moscow on Georgios Printezis's legendary shot. In 2009, Panathinaikos Athens edged CSKA only when Ramunas Siskauskas's three-pointer rimmed out.

Such a close Final Four should not have been a surprise given the performances of the teams that competed in the EuroLeague's longest ever regular season. The expansion of the league to 18 teams – the most in the era of a full round-robin regular season – only strengthened the level of play. The proof can be seen from the final regular-season standings, in which only four wins separated regular-season champion FC Barcelona (24-10) from its playoff opponent, eight-placed Zenit St Petersburg (20-14). The previous closest difference came in 2016-17 when Real Madrid's 23-7 record gave it seven wins more than eighth-placed Darussafaka Istanbul (16-14).

The competitiveness from the regular season only rose in the playoffs, where for the first time since the quarterfinals stage went to a best-of-five format in 2009, three of the series went the distance. Twice before two of the four series reached Game 5, but never before had the EuroLeague Playoffs witnessed as many as three decisive fifth games.

And even in those three Game 5s, eventual champion Efes only reached the Final Four after a fourth quarter that featured six lead changes and wasn't decided until Krunoslav Simon broke an 80-80 tie with a desperation three-pointer with 38.6 seconds remaining. Later, FC Bayern Munich had possession of the ball down just 2 points in the final 14 seconds before Kyle Hines came up big on defense to protect a Milan victory.

There is no other way to look at it other than to say that this season was the most competitive and closest on record. Indeed, the tightest regular season, most Game 5s in the playoffs, closest pair of semifinals ever and a championship game that was in the balance till the final minute all gave countless thrills to fans across the globe and ensure that 2020-21 was a season to savor. 

The 2021 Final Four followed the script that had been written throughout the regular season and the playoffs, making the 2020-21 season the most competitive on record.

Closer Look: Cologne thrillers cap most competitive season

An athlete rarely wins a title as big as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's in his hometown, but that unique moment came to center Tibor Pleiss of Anadolu Efes Istanbul on...

Cologne crowned native son Pleiss



It is the rare athlete in any sport who gets to win a title as big as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's while playing the final game of the season in his hometown. That unique moment came to center Tibor Pleiss of Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Sunday night in Cologne, Germany, the city where he took his first steps in the sport.

"When I grew up and started playing basketball here, I was just focused on getting to be a pro, and now being here and having just won the biggest title in Europe is an incredible feeling," Pleiss said moments after Efes outlasted FC Barcelona 81-86 in the championship game. "Having it happen here in my hometown just makes it more special."

Pleiss was born in nearby Bergisch Gladbach but his family moved to Cologne within a matter of days, and it's there that he grew into a 2.20-meter player whose EuroLeague career has now spanned a decade and taken him to Spain and Turkey. Pleiss seemed to draw energy from his hometown, visiting the Rhine River several times during the week.

"The last time I was able to come home during the basketball season is 11 years ago," he said. "Just being here during the season in my hometown is something special."

Pleiss did not get off the Efes bench in the team's tight semifinal win over CSKA Moscow on Friday. He finally entered the Final Four action at the start of the second quarter on Sunday, and by the time he missed his first 2 shots, Efes was behind 25-15 to FC Barcelona. But that would be as bad as it got as Pleiss helped spark Efes with 5 points and 3 rebounds in the next 8 minutes, by which time his team led 29-34.

"When I entered the court, I was kind of relaxed and I wasn't expecting that from myself because I remember when we played a Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz, I was more nervous," Pleiss said. "Today, I stepped on the court and wanted to have fun and give my best, and that's what I did and I think I helped my team win the game today."

Being a spark of the game's key 4-19 turnaround run would have to suffice, though, because Pleiss was injured late in the same second quarter and went to the locker room even before halftime with his left calf wrapped in ice. He did not return to the game because of the injury, but when his team won, the pain was a distant memory already.

"When we were celebrating, I forgot about my calf," he said. "Right now, there is just so much adrenaline and emotions, the leg is not important. Right now, it is important to celebrate and enjoy the moment."
