The sudden dismissal of Sergio Scariolo from Virtus Segafredo Bologna will bring additional changes to the coaching staff. Luca Banchi, who led the Latvian national team to 5th place in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, was hired as the new head coach of the team. He will be joined by another coach from the same tournament.
It is a usual practice for European clubs to lose a couple of best players after a successful season. The same happened to Partizan MozzartBet Belgrade. Mathias Lessort left for Panathinaikos Athens, while Dante Exum managed to carve his way back to the NBA.
Zeljko Obradovic is often regarded as the greatest basketball coach in European history. As such, fans have always wondered how he would fare in the NBA, where the coaching style is much different. In an interview with Arena Sport, the 63-year-old said that there was some interest from the other side of the Atlantic, but it wasn't close to materializing.
Last season, Zalgiris Kaunas surprised pretty much everyone by qualifying for the EuroLeague playoffs, forcing out of the post-season clubs such as Anadolu Efes and Olimpia Milan. In his first season with the Lithuanian powerhouse, head coach Kazys Maksvytis did a remarkable job, taking full advantage of the roster qualities he had at his disposal.
Kevin Punter's decision to turn down FC Barcelona's offer and choose Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade instead was one of the biggest EuroLeague offseason stories this past summer. The player now revealed how the entire process developed.
EuroLeague will see the change in the coach challenge rule, Zalgiris Kaunas head coach Kazys Maksvytis confirmed. The Lithuanian tactician revealed that starting from the 2023-24 season, the head coaches will be allowed to use two coach challenges instead of one.
Partizan MozzartBet Belgrade couldn't capture their first title of the season, but Zeljko Obradovic remained optimistic, arguing that the most important thing – the official games have not begun yet. Partizan suffered a shocking 81-83 defeat in the ABA SuperCup final against SC Derby after Borna Kapusta made a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds to go.
Partizan MozzartBet Belgrade had the first title of the season in their hands, but then SC Derby (also known as KK Studentski centar) made a miracle, upsetting the Serbian powerhouse. Zeljko Obradovic's squad lost the ABA SuperCup final 81-83 (22-25, 18-17, 26-21, 15-20) in Podgorica, Montenegro.
After making a shocking move from Olympiacos Piraeus to its archrivals Panathinaikos Athens, Kostas Sloukas says it wasn't a headache for him. "It was an easy decision," Sloukas told Aleksandra Radivojevic from SportsKlub. "The Panathinaikos people made it even easier for me. I am very proud to have made this move."
Nothing can make Kyle Guy happier than being able to travel the world while playing basketball. That's why it shouldn't come as a surprise that he seemed to be enjoying as much as anyone the location that his club, Panathinaikos Athens, chose to present its brand-new jersey on Monday evening.
Sergio Scariolo was let go of his position as the head coach of Virtus Segafredo Bologna before the start of the season without a single official game in the new year under his belt. Several days later, Virtus owner Massimo Zanetti slammed the coach, citing supposed meetings Scariolo had with the Toronto Raptors and Real Madrid.
On Monday, Panathinaikos Athens presented a new jersey for the upcoming season. The day later, they are all gone from the club's official shop. The club introduced two different kits - a green jersey with darker and lighter green tones, and a white jersey with a transition from white to green.
After a solid showing at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Stefan Jovic has found a new team. Valencia Basket has announced that the Serbian point guard is joining the team on a two-year deal. As Serbia's main point guard, Jovic averaged 5.9 points, 2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game in the World Cup en route to a silver medal finish.
Misko Raznatovic, the founder of the BeoBasket sports agency, is often regarded as one of the most influential basketball agents in the world. Recently, he got into a public conflict with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
A month after returning from an injury, Real Madrid's Gabriel Deck faces another setback. According to Pilar Casado from COPE, the Argentinian forward suffered a hamstring injury in his right leg. The diagnosis was revealed after tests were carried out on Tuesday. The player is expected to miss three weeks of action, Carlos Sánchez Blas notes.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal eyes Real Madrid presidency as a capacity he would like to see himself after he retires from professional sports. "Would I like to be [president]? I think so," Nadal told Movistar in an interview on Monday. "I think I'd like to. But there are a lot of things. Right now, there's nothing to say because we have the best possible president [Florentino Perez]."
AS Monaco guard Jordan Loyd believes he won't miss much time despite undergoing lumbar spine surgery in August. "October sometime is the goal, and we'll go from there. So I won't miss too much basketball. Hopefully," Loyd told the EuroLeague website.
FC Bayern Munich are gearing up for a start to their German Basketball League season. Their opening game against Syntainics MBC is set to take place at BMW Park, while the match will be played on a cutting-edge LED Glassfloor. Never before an official league game was played on this surface.
After a challenging season in which he had limited opportunities to showcase his skills, Darrun Hilliard bid farewell to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in an open interview with Arel Ginsber of Israel Hayom. Hilliard left the Israeli powerhouse during the summer and subsequently joined Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir in Turkey.
