The fans' votes have been counted and the winner of the 7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season is…Jan Vesely!

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's star center takes the award for a spectacular play that came with a lot of help from his teammates during Fenerbahce's home win over Zenit St Petersburg in Round 24.

Receiving the ball on the perimeter, Vesely passed inside to Nando De Colo, who moved it along the baseline to Edgaras Ulanovas in the corner. Ulanovas slipped as he drove inside but was still able to release a perfectly-timed assist into the stride of Vesely, who took delivery on the free-throw line and immediately soared high for a fierce left-handed dunk.

In the final round of voting, Vesely's play overcame a spectacular dunk in Game 4 of the playoffs by Paul Zipser of FC Bayern Munich.

Vesely has now been voted the 7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season winner for the third time in just five seasons of the award's existence. The Czech star also topped the voting in 2017-18 and 2018-19, while Anthony Randolph won the inaugural award in 2017 and Deni Avdija was last season's recipient.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A message from <a href="https://twitter.com/JanVesely24?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JanVesely24</a> after his <a href="https://twitter.com/7DAYSBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@7DAYSBasketball</a> Magic Moment of the Season 🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/2uKLOFWcR9">pic.twitter.com/2uKLOFWcR9</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1397224691551510530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Vesely named 7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season winner

Having reached the Final Four for a fourth time and the second consecutively, following on its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game appearance in 2019, Anadolu Efes Istanbul is looking for its first European trophy in 25 years. Back in 1996, Efes became the first Turkish club in any sport to win a pan-European competition, the Korac Cup. In all those successful seasons, head coach Ergin Ataman was involved in one way or another.

Enjoying his third stint with Efes, Ataman is arguably the most successful coach in Turkish basketball history. He worked for Aydin Ors as an assistant coach when Efes won the Korac Cup in 1996. After he took over as head coach, Efes made it to the Final Four for the first time in 2000. In 2019, Ataman led Efes to bigger heights, playing in its first EuroLeague Championship Game and lifting the Turkish League trophy after a decade.

"It is a completely different psychology for us, Final Four 2019 and Final Four 2021." 

Now, Efes has the opportunity to crown a stellar three-year period during which it rose from the ashes of a 7-23 last-place finish in 2017-18 to win 72 of its last 103 EuroLeague games. Ataman is as ambitious as ever going into the Final Four, but believes that his team's success – win or lose in Cologne, Germany on the last weekend of May – is self-evident.

"I don't think that any Final Four result for Efes will determine a successful or a not successful year. Efes was the most successful team in the last three years in the EuroLeague," Ataman said. "There was a big challenge on the court, with the teams, so it was very competitive. And I believe also that this season's playoffs were very competitive. Three series were determined in the last game. The Final Four will be very competitive but we want to win. It will be competitive, but we will win this Final Four."

Going to Cologne, Efes still has 11 players from the 2018-19 runner-up season, and Ataman believes that they are stronger and more determined than ever now.

"Now, we are more experienced. In 2019, when we played the Final Four, everybody thought we were the surprising team because a year earlier we finished the league in the last position," Ataman said. "This year, everything is different for us. We have a lot of experience. We believe in each other and will go to the Final Four to win the title. It is a completely different psychology for us, Final Four 2019 and Final Four 2021."

For Ataman, it is not just about winning, but doing it in style, which had led Efes to often play what he considers "perfect basketball".

The next step is to try to play perfect basketball at the Final Four, starting in Efes's semifinals showdown with CSKA Moscow, a rematch of their 2019 championship game.

"In the last games of the regular season and in the playoffs, I saw that CSKA found the balance," Ataman said. "Some players who, during the season, they didn't have too big an effect – like Will Clyburn, [Tornike] Shengelia, [Daniel] Hackett – now, they are very effective, and they play much better defense."

Their home blowout wins against each other during the regular season – CSKA beat Efes 100-65 in Moscow and Efes returned the favor with a 100-70 victory in Istanbul – make this game truly unpredictable, as Ataman pointed out.

"We believe that we will win the title, but with all respect to CSKA," he says. "We know it will be a very difficult game, a very tough game. They have big experience in this Final Four."

"Basketball is not just a job for me; it is a lifestyle." 

At the end of what is arguably the most difficult season for anyone involved in the EuroLeague, Efes is no exception. Ataman feels fortunate to be able to do the work he loves and to see his team bring joy to the fans, but he also misses many aspects of pre-pandemic basketball life.

"Basketball is not just a job for me; it is a lifestyle," he says. "But this year, I don't have a chance to live this lifestyle. When I go to some cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, everywhere, I like to go visit the city, to stop and talk with the people, to have a coffee outside, to visit some museums. So everything was very difficult for us but we learned that it was a big experience in life, not only in basketball. We learned to survive in these conditions. I hope that next year everything will be better, the coronavirus will be under control in the world, and we will start enjoying, all together again, basketball in the arenas."

Ataman won the Saporta Cup with Montepaschi Siena in 2002, the EuroChallenge with Besiktas in 2012, and the 7DAYS EuroCup with Galatasaray in 2015. Only two coaches won four different European competitions before: Dusan Ivkovic (EuroLeague, EuroCup, Saporta, Korac) and Aito Garcia Reneses (EuroCup, Saporta, Korac, EuroChallenge). Coach Ataman can become just the third coach to win a European competition with four different teams, joining Ivkovic, Zeljko Obradovic and Bozidar Maljkovic. Of course, lifting the EuroLeague trophy with Efes would be Ataman's biggest highlight.

"I think that this club deserves to take a title now," he says. "It is title time. I hope I will have a chance to give them this title this year," he said. "It would be, for me, the best moment in my basketball life."

At its second consecutive Final Four, Turkish giant Anadolu Efes Istanbul has the opportunity to crown a stellar three-year period of excellence, and head coach Ergin Ataman is convinced that is exactly what his team will do.

Ergin Ataman, Efes: 'This club deserves to take a title now'

As a result of voting that included fans, media and, for the first time in EuroLeague history, head coaches and team captains, Walter Tavares has been selected to the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague First Team!

The Real Madrid center repeated as the EuroLeague Best Defender while producing the most offensive contributions in his four EuroLeague campaigns. Tavares led the league in blocked shots with 1.8 per game, ranked second in rebounding with 8.0 per game and was fifth in the league in performance index rating with 18.1 per game.

The 29-year-old's 11.4 points per game set his career-high, while only one EuroLeague player made more two-point shots than Tavares's fourth-ranked 168 at an accuracy rate higher than his 65.1%. With 37 steals in 36 games, Tavares was one of only three centers to average more than 1 steal per game.

Tavares was the MVP of the Week twice this season. The first came after he posted 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks for a PIR of 29 in a 91-84 victory over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. The second was two weeks later when Tavares led Los Blancos to a 93-97 road win at Panathinaikos OPAP Athens with 20 points and 14 boards for a PIR of 36. That game produced one of the eight double-doubles that he posted this season. He also had 22 points and 12 rebounds in a road win at Zalgiris Kaunas and tied his career high by blocking 5 shots in a road win at Olympiacos Piraeus.

This is the second All-EuroLeague selection for Tavares, whose first came as a member of the 2018-19 second team. A native of the African archipelago Cape Verde, he was just 17 years old when Herbalife Gran Canaria brought him to its academy. By the time he was 20, Tavares was playing for Gran Canaria's first team. He broke out in 2014-15 when he earned All-EuroCup First Team honors and helped Gran Canaria reach that competition's finals. Tavares spent two seasons in the NBA and the G-League before returning to Spain with Real in November 2017. He became a EuroLeague champion in their first season together and has also won two Spanish league championships and the 2019 Copa del Rey with Los Blancos.

Real's Tavares makes the All-EuroLeague First Team!

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Krunoslav Simon of Anadolu Efes Istanbul is enjoying one of the finest seasons of his nine in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. He has averaged 10.5 points, 3.3 assists and a PIR of 12.4 this season, his best numbers since he joined Efes before the start of the 2017-18 campaign. Perhaps most impressive of all is that Simon is playing his best at age 35!

Even Simon himself struggles to find a proper explanation, so he joked about it. "Good question. It is hard to say. Maybe it is that time enjoying every day with these guys, in this team, surrounded by these people," Simon said. "I feel great and I am very happy that I can help the team to reach our goals."

Among his highlights this season was making one of the biggest shots in EuroLeague Playoffs history. It was do-or-die Game 5 of his team's series against Real Madrid. The game was tied at 80-80 and Efes had the ball, but the shot clock was winding down. Simon had just enough time to dribble once and heave a nine-meter prayer over Trey Thompkins... Nothing but net. Efes took the lead for good and that shot was the key to punching its ticket to Cologne.

"I am very happy that I played four years in [Coach Ataman's] system."

"I will always remember that shot. It was a big moment for me, for my team," Simon said. "It was 3 seconds on the shot clock, you must shoot the ball. It is the easiest shot in the world, when you must take it. Fortunately for us, it went in so everything else... you saw! Of course, it was a big thing but still, it was 40 seconds on the clock and we didn't lose our focus. We still knew that it was not a game-winning shot, that we needed to bring the game to the end. And we did it."

Things have not always been bright for Simon in Istanbul, but that ensures he appreciates the team's current journey even more. Simon was one of the three players – along with Bryant Dunston and Dogus Balbay – who were with the team in the 2017-18 season. Coach Ataman joined in late in the season but Efes finished last overall with a 7-23 record (23.3% winning percentage). In the last three seasons, however, Efes has a 72-31 record (68.6% wins).

"It is a big satisfaction. It is not easy to be in the last place. After that year, we changed the team. We brought a lot of new players who showed themselves as great players, so we are now here where we are in the last three years," Simon summed up.

Simon has become just one of four players - along with Nick Calathes, Rudy Fernandez and Dimitris Diamantidis - to record 2,000 points, 700 rebounds and 600 assists in EuroLeague history. He said that he believes Coach Ataman has to do a lot with his current level of play.

"The best thing for me is that he is giving a lot of freedom to his players and he has faith in the players, so it is very good, from that point, to play for him because you know that you can show what you got," Simon explained. "In these new times, some other coaches are thinking more about systems, about changing players and everything, and our coach is not coaching that way. For me, as a player, is a great thing and I am very happy that I played four years in that system."

Up next for Efes in the semifinals is a rematch of the 2019 championship game against CSKA Moscow. Efes has not changed a lot since then and Simon said he felt that is something that could help the team in Cologne.

"It is a big advantage that we have. Almost the whole team has been together for three years and it is much easier to play," Simon said. "Every player knows which role he has, so it is much easier. I think it is our biggest advantage for this Final Four."

The teams' regular-season games make this Final Four showdown even more unpredictable. In December, CSKA overwhelmed Efes 100-65 in the Russian capital. Efes returned the favor with a no-doubt-about-it 100-70 victory in Istanbul on March 4. Even though both games were blowouts, Simon does not expect the semifinal to be anywhere similar to those showdowns.

"It will be a close game. I don't want to compare it with this game two years ago because they changed the team a lot," he added. "We changed a few players, so it will be a different game. I think we are close and details will decide the game. We must be ready. We need to give our best and do everything to win that game."

"I am very happy that we are playing after last year, when everything stopped."

Simon is thankful and blessed to have another opportunity to win at the Final Four. He previously played the competition with Zagreb, Unicaja Malaga, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and AX Armani Exchange Milan and did not even reach the playoffs with any of those teams. Things are different with Efes as Simon is a pillar of one of the powerhouses in the competition.

"First of all, I need to say that the organization is great, that I am very happy that we are playing after last year, when everything stopped," Simon said. "The whole world was in some kind of shock. I think it is a great season, not only for us as a team but for the whole league because all of us see that we can fight with this thing and... Okay, maybe it is hard to play without fans and some things are new, but things are going well, and I am happy that everything is going that way.

"It is a big thing for me, for our club," he concluded. "We need to do our best to try to win it, and to enjoy - that is the most important, you know? This is pure joy, we deserve our place there. We are in the top four teams in the whole league, so let's enjoy two more games and try to win."

Krunoslav Simon, Efes: 'This is pure joy'

...Barcelona will compete in its 15th Final Four? Only CSKA Moscow (19) has more appearances in the Final Four era, which began in 1988.

FC Barcelona's Final Four facts

...Barcelona will compete in its 15th Final Four? Only CSKA Moscow (19) has more appearances in the Final Four era, which began in 1988.

...Barcelona is headed to its first Final Four since 2014? This is the longest gap between appearances in club history.

...Barcelona is looking for its third EuroLeague title? It previously lifted the trophy in 2003 and 2010 and lost championship games in 1984, 1990, 1991, 1996 and 1997.

Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius

...Sarunas Jasikevicius has a chance to become the fourth person to win the EuroLeague as a player and coach? Jasikevicius won four EuroLeague titles as a player. Armenak Alachachan, Lolo Sainz and Svetislav Pesic are the only three members of this exclusive club.

...Coach Jasikevicius is still the only player to win the EuroLeague with three different teams? Jasikevicius lifted the trophy with Barcelona in 2003, Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2004 and 2005, and Panathinaikos Athens in 2009. Kyle Hines and Sergio Rodriguez will join in in this list if Milan wins the 2021 EuroLeague crown.

Barcelona's bigs

...Pau Gasol is back at the EuroLeague Final Four 21 years after his first appearance? No other player has ever gone so long between appearances.

...Gasol has a chance to become the second player to win the EuroLeague, NBA, EuroBasket and World Cup titles? Only Toni Kukoc managed to win them all, with Chicago, Jugoplastika Split and the former Yugoslavia national team, respectively.

...Nikola Mirotic leads the 2020-21 EuroLeague in PIR per 40 minutes (30.6)?

...Mirotic has been chosen as MVP of the month a EuroLeague record five times? He won the award in December 2011, October 2013, December 2019, February 2020 and March 2021. Calathes (November 2017, March 2018) and Davies (April 2017) have also won the award in the past.

...Rolands Smits can become the first Latvian player to win the EuroLeague in the Final Four era? ASK Riga won three EuroLeague titles from 1958 to 1960, but no Latvian player has lifted the trophy since the restoration of Latvian Independence in 1991.

...other Barcelona players with previous Final Four experience are Nikola Mirotic (2011, 2013, 2014 Real Madrid), Brandon Davies (2018 Zalgiris), Adam Hanga (2016 Baskonia) and Victor Claver (2016 Lokomotiv Kuban)?


Barcelona's guards

...Nick Calathes is one of 17 players to win the EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup titles? He won the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos in 2011 and the EuroCup with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in 2013. Jeff Brooks and Vlado Micov will join this exclusive club if Milan wins the title.

...Calathes can join an elite group of Greek players to win the EuroLeague with a foreign team? That list includes Nestoras Kommatos (Maccabi 2005), Theo Papaloukas (CSKA 2006, 2008), Nikos Zisis (CSKA 2008), Ioannis Bourousis (Real 2015) and Kostas Sloukas (Fenerbahce 2017).

...Calathes ranks second all-time in assists with 1,519? Vassilis Spanoulis leads the standings with 1,607 assists. Calathes is also second in steals (336), right behind Dimitris Diamantidis (434).

...Cory Higgins heads to his fifth consecutive Final Four? Only three other players have been to each of the last five Final Fours - Kyle Hines, Luigi Datome and Nikita Kurbanov.

...Higgins can win his third EuroLeague title? He previously lifted the trophy with CSKA in 2016 and 2019. No player ever has won the EuroLeague with both CSKA and Barcelona.

...Kyle Kuric leads the 2020-21 EuroLeague in three-point shooting? Kuric has made 66 of 111 three-point shots (59.5%) so far. The EuroLeague record for three-point accuracy in a single season is 60%, set by Pawel Wiekiera with Idea Slask in 2002-03.

...Adam Hanga is one of the three former EuroLeague Best Defenders at the 2021 Final Four? Hanga won the trophy in 2017. Kyle Hines of Milan (2016, 2018) and Bryant Dunston of Efes (2014, 2015) have also won the award in the past.

...Hanga can become the first Hungarian player to win the EuroLeague title? Kornel David came closest when he reached the championship game with Tau Ceramica in 2005.

...Alex Abrines is the only Barcelona player who has been in the team's last two Final Four appearances? Abrines is in his third Final Four with Barcelona.

As a result of voting that included media, fans and, for the first time in EuroLeague history, team captains and head coaches, Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes, Nando De Colo of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Shavon Shields of AX Armani Exchange Milan, Will Clyburn of CSKA Moscow, and Brandon Davies of FC Barcelona have been chosen to the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague Second Team.

Larkin, 28, ranked 10th in scoring (15.0 ppg.) and ninth in both steals (1.2 spg.) and PIR (17.1) this season. He earned MVP of the Week honors twice. Larkin recorded 23 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds for a PIR of 37 in an 86-79 home victory against FC Barcelona in Round 16. His second MVP of the Week came through a 21-point, 5-assist, 5-rebound effort for a PIR of 32 to beat Olympiacos Piraeus 76-53 in Round 25 at Sinan Erdem Dome. Larkin led Efes to third place in the regular season with the highest average PIR on the team. His 17.2 PIR average in the playoffs was fifth-best in the league. Larkin has made the second-most three-point shots, 85, this season. This is Larkin's first All-EuroLeague nomination in his fourth EuroLeague campaign.


De Colo, 33, is a member of the All-EuroLeague teams for the sixth time in his career, which ties former teammate Milos Teodosic for the third-most in competition history. Only Vassilis Spanoulis (8) and Juan Carlos Navarro (7) have more All-EuroLeague nominations than the Fenerbahce guard. De Colo was fourth in the EuroLeague in PIR with 18.8 per game. He ranked sixth in scoring (15.8 ppg.) and fifth in steals (1.4 spg.). De Colo shot well from all distances for his sixth consecutive 50-40-90 season, making a career-best 58.5% inside the arc and ranking sixth in free throw percentage (93.6%). He led the league in fouls drawn with 5.3 per game. A EuroLeague champion with CSKA in 2016 and 2019, the 2016 EuroLeague MVP was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team in the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons and the Second Team in the 2014-15 and 2018-19 campaigns.


Shields, 26, played a key role in Milan making its first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four appearance since 1992. He led his team in performance index rating, averaging 15.2 per game. Shields also showed great consistency, scoring in double digits in 22 of his team's last 25 games. He improved his numbers in the playoffs against FC Bayern Munich, ranking fourth overall in scoring (16.4 ppg.) and tied for sixth in PIR (16.8) in that stage. Shields was chosen as the MVP of the Week after his monster performance in do-or-die Game 5 against Bayern. He led Milan to a historic triumph while setting career-highs of 34 points and 41 PIR. The PIR was the most in the EuroLeague Playoffs since 2005. This represents Shields's first selection to the All-EuroLeague team in his third season in the competition.


Clyburn, 31, has averaged a career-high 14.1 points per game in his fifth season in the competition. Clyburn helped CSKA punch its ticket to a record ninth consecutive Final Four as the EuroLeague MVP for April. In that month, he led CSKA to a 6-0 record and a playoff sweep of Fenerbahce. Clyburn’s performance index rating of 22.7 per game in the EuroLeague Playoffs was the best in the league. He was also the playoff leader in scoring (21.0 ppg.) and earned MVP of the Week honors after setting a new career-best of 27 points and a PIR of 38 in his team's Final Four-clinching victory. Clyburn had previously been chosen to the 2018-19 All-EuroLeague First Team. He also earned 2019 Final Four MVP honors in helping CSKA take the crown.


Davies, 29, is an All-EuroLeague selection for the second time. His first such honor came when he was voted to the First Team with Zalgiris Kaunas in the 2018-19 campaign. Davies helped Barcelona finish first in the regular season and reach the Final Four for the first time since 2014. He led Barcelona in performance index rating (20.2) and rebounds (6.8 rpg.) in the playoffs, ranking second overall in both categories. Davies was the co-MVP of the Week after producing 22 points and 8 rebounds in Game 2 of the playoffs. He was the 2020-21 EuroLeague leader in fouls drawn per 40 minutes with 9.0. Davies also served as Barcelona's defensive anchor as the team allowed the fewest points (73.2 ppg.) in the competition. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 fouls drawn for an average PIR of 14.2 for the season. His PIR average per 40 minutes, 26.8, ranked seventh overall.

All-EuroLeague Second Team unveiled

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Many things have happened to FC Barcelona shooting ace Kyle Kuric since he made his pro debut almost 10 years ago.

After playing college basketball at the University of Louisville, Kuric crossed the pond and made his pro debut in Spain with Estudiantes in Madrid. After two seasons there, he moved to Gran Canaria, where he became a household name in the 7DAYS EuroCup. In his first season there, he helped the team reach the competition finals for the first time.

However, life would have an unpleasant surprise for him. In November 2015 Kuric was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. He underwent surgery in Barcelona and had most of his recovery there. That is why looking back now at everything that happened, Kuric can see the positive side. 

"I think it took every bit of every player that we had to get past [Zenit] and to beat them." 

"In some ways, it could not have gone better," Kuric said. "Yeah, I did have the tumor, but it really kind of pushed me to get where I wanted to go, which was playing for Barcelona and then become part of a team like the one we have. It's really kind of surprising how quickly it all happened and how quick it all changed."

After his stint in the Canary Islands, Kuric finally left Spain and went to Russia to play for Zenit St Petersburg in 2017-18. He played there for just one season, but as fate would have it, Barca would reach this year's Final Four only after a five-game series precisely against Zenit.

"It was very difficult," Kuric remembered. "I think it was a much more difficult series than both teams really anticipated because they really came out the first game and they played extremely well. I think we were a little, you know, too confident going into the game. They had a very good game plan and it took us out of what we do. It was a very difficult series. I think it took every bit of every player that we had to get past them and to beat them."

The fact that the series even went the distance, was also somewhat surprising for Kuric, who knows the club well.

"Coach told us the first day, the first practice before the series, he said 'This is going to be a five-game series and it's going to take everything we have' and I still think that, you know, we were all like 'Okay, coach is trying to be motivating', but I think he really knew the team well and knew what to expect from them and it was going to be much more difficult than we all thought."

Surviving the series against Zenit has Kuric and Barcelona heading to Cologne for this season's Final Four. It will be Kuric's first time at the big event and the first for Barcelona since 2014. 

"I'm happy that we finally made the Final Four," Kuric stated. "I feel like my first year we were one game away. Last year we had a really good opportunity, but because of COVID we could not get the chance, the opportunity to see it through, but you know, happy to be in the Final Four this year. But we want more."

In the last two seasons, Barcelona made significant roster moves and Kuric has witnessed them all. The biggest one may have been the hiring of Sarunas Jasikevicius as coach last summer. When he arrived, Saras set new guidelines from the get-go.

"From the very beginning, kind of emphasized that this is a team thing. So it's not going to be him that wins games. It's not going to be Niko [Mirotic] that wins games, or Nick [Calathes], or Cory [Higgins] or Brandon [Davies] individually."

And Kuric and Jasikevicius seemed to have settled for the role that suits Kuric best. In his third season in Barcelona, Kuric is having historic shooting numbers. He's made 59.5% of his three-pointers, his Points per Possession (1.419) are the best for any player in the competition since 2008 and he is fourth-best in Adjusted Field Goal Percentage since 2007 at 75.8%.

"I think this year I have a much more defined role than I've had in the past two years. It's basically being a shooter. You know, if I have a good shot, then I can take it, if not, then we kind of like I said before, we play as a team, but he kind of expects me to take shots that are good for the team," Kuric explained. "That's not always shooting, sometimes it's, you know, they're pressuring me too much and I can get by them and create a shot for somebody else. But I think I have adapted pretty well to what he's asking in the role that he's put on me."

Now, the next hurdle will be in the semifinal game against AX Armani Exchange Milan, a team that Barca beat twice during the regular season, but Kuric knows better than using that as a reference for this do-or-die game. 

"I think just this game is going to be like the other games for us - it has to be focused on defense." 

"Especially on the offensive end, they are a very, very deep team. They have two really good point guards and they have really good scorers, so they are going to be very difficult for us to stop on defense. I know we've played well against them this year, but I don't think either game they had a full team, so this will be the first time we play them with the full roster." 

For Kuric the key to the game is a return to basics - defense.

"I think just this game is going to be like the other games for us - it has to be focused on defense. You know if they come out and they're hitting shots and playing easy and getting relaxed early on in the game, it can be a very difficult, long game for us."

Even though this will be Kuric's first Final Four, his experience tells him what will it take Barca to win the first game against Milan in semis and then, an eventual championship game against either CSKA Moscow or Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

"I think it's going to take everything we have," Kuric concluded. "It's not going to be one player, it's going to be a team tournament, if you want to say, and it's going to take everything we have to win."

FC Barcelona sharpshooter Kyle Kuric had life-saving brain surgery in the city he now represents back in 2015. How he heads to his first EuroLeague Final Four eager to return home with the EuroLeague trophy.

Kyle Kuric, Barcelona: 'We play as a team'

Victor Khryapa was the rock of the CSKA defense for nearly two decades as the ultimate team player and a EuroLeague winner in 2008 and 2016.

Final Four club legend: Victor Khryapa, CSKA Moscow

When one thinks about CSKA Moscow, they think about success and excellence. For nearly two decades, one of the main reasons for that was the play of Victor Khryapa. The versatile forward was the rock of the CSKA defense, serving as the ultimate team player whose play not only earned him individual accolades but also EuroLeague titles in 2008 and 2016.

Khyrapa started his career with Khimik Engels and debuted as a professional with Avtodor Saratov in 1999. He joined CSKA in 2002 and make his debut in the EuroLeague at age 20. After helping CSKA reach back-to-back Final Fours, he went overseas and played three and a half seasons in the NBA with Portland and Chicago. He left Chicago during the 2007-08 season to return to his beloved CSKA. The reunification would lead to loads of success.

A menace on the defensive end with his outstanding length and tenacity, Khyrapa went on to help the CSKA to eight Russian League titles as well as seven straight VTB United League crowns. In addition to his club hardware, Khyrapa was a regular with the Russian national team and teamed up with Andrei Kirilenko and CSKA teammate J.R. Holden to win the FIBA EuroBasket 2007 gold medal as well as bronze at both EuroBasket 2011 and the 2012 Olympics Games.

The reserved Khryapa will always be remembered for his iconic moment - a late tip-in that forced overtime in the 2016 championship game against Fenerbahce Istanbul. After the extra session, Khryapa would hoist the trophy as CSKA team captain. He played a total of 240 EuroLeague games over 13 seasons with CSKA before retiring in 2018. Khryapa remains the club's all-time leader in EuroLeague games in rebounds with 1,070 and steals with 241.

During his career, Khryapa was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2009-10 and the Second Team in both 2012-13 and 2013-14. Khryapa also captured the EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy in 2009-10. Khyrapa still holds numerous Final Four records as the all-time leader in games played (23), index rating (208), total rebounds (107) and defensive rebounds (82) while ranking second in steals (22). He will forever be linked to CSKA's success and omnipresence at the Final Four.

As a result of voting that included fans, media and, for the first time in EuroLeague history, head coaches and team captains, Zenit St Petersburg point guard Kevin Pangos is a member of the 2020-21 All-EuroLeague First Team!

Pangos comes off a fantastic season in which he led Zenit to its maiden EuroLeague Playoffs appearance with both his leadership and excellent play. He did not miss a single game all season and led Zenit in scoring (13.5 ppg.), three-pointers made (2.3 per game), assists (6.7 apg.) and PIR (14.8). Pangos ranked third in the league in assists and seventh in threes.

He started the season with a bang with 23 points and 7 assists in an opening-night road win at Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Pangos authored one of the best 10 individual performances of the season with a career-high 33 points plus 11 assists for a PIR of 41 in Zenit's regular-season finale against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, which clinched a playoff berth. Pangos reached double figures in assists seven times and made at least 3 three-pointers 14 times.

The 28-year-old guard took his game up a notch in the playoffs, which he led in assists (7.2 apg.) and ranked fourth in PIR (17.8) and fifth in scoring (16.2 ppg.). Pangos carried Zenit to a Game 1 upset of FC Barcelona with 19 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting plus 9 assists and had 22 and 8 in his team's Game 4 victory to even the series. Pangos's great play helped Zenit become the first eighth-seeded team to win a EuroLeague Playoffs series opener and the first to take a series five games.

This marks Pangos's second All-EuroLeague honor; he was a member of the All-EuroLeague Second Team in 2017-18 after he led Zalgiris Kaunas to the Final Four. He was also named to the 2015-16 All-EuroCup Second Team after he led Herbalife Gran Canaria to the EuroCup Semifinals in his first season as a professional and his only season in that competition. Pangos is one of only 14 players to have been named to both the All-EuroLeague and All-EuroCup teams in his career. He joined Zalgiris in the summer of 2016 and spent two successful seasons there. Pangos signed for Barcelona in 2018, but injuries caused him to miss nearly all of the 2019-20 campaign. He bounced back with a vengeance this season with Zenit as one of the best players in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Kevin Pangos is voted to All-EuroLeague First Team

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