Real Madrid started the current campaign strongly, collecting back-to-back wins that rendered them as one of the candidates to get the first spot both in the EuroLeague and the Spanish ACB League regular season.

However, some major setbacks were to appear. Los Blancos gave the impressions of a satiated ensemble, a squad well past their prime. Then, discipline issues were noted, in addition to the ongoing lack of a scorer in the backcourt, especially since Jaycee Carroll never came back to the team for another year.

For the first time in a decade, rumors regarding Pablo Laso's uncertain future started to surface. Those were the ingredients of a losing streak that is considered impermissible at a club of this magnitude. And it's not just the losses. In some cases, it's also the way they came and the negative records that were broken.

Real Madrid lost to the two of EuroLeague's weakest teams (Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and Zalgiris Kaunas), scoring only 47 points against the Lithuanian side and another 51 at Fenerbahce.

Belgrade brings back good memories for Real Madrid. 2018 was the last time Real Madrid won the EuroLeague, and now they return for another title hunt.

However, they will try to do that without one of the biggest EuroLeague stars Luka Doncic, who's now breaking records in the NBA.

Doncic left Europe after completely conquering it. Being 19 years old, Doncic has won EuroBasket, EuroLeague title, EuroLeague regular season MVP, EuroLeague Final Four MVP, three Spanish ACB League titles, and two Spanish Cup titles.

Now, the Slovenian superstar is trying to bring glory to Dallas, where his led Mavericks just started the Western Conference series against the Golden State Warriors.

The beginning wasn't easy as Mavericks lost Game 1 87-112, while Doncic scored 20 points on 6/18 shooting from the field.

However, his performance in the series against the Suns left many people stunned. In a decisive Game 7, Doncic accumulated 35 points (6/8 2PT, 6/11 3PT, 5/5 FT), ten rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two turnovers.

In his fourth year in the NBA and his third playoffs, the 23-year-old Slovenian has already played four elimination games. He averages 38.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. 

38 points per elimination game is by far the best result. In the second place is legendary Michael Jordan, who played 13 such games throughout his career and averaged 31.3 points per duel.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague announced the five players, who entered All-EuroLeague First Team for the 2021-22 season.

The five consists of Shane Larkin (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Mike James (AS Monaco), Sasha Vezenkov (Olympiacos Piraeus), Nikola Mirotic (FC Barcelona), and Walter Tavares (Real Madrid).

The votes were gathered by media, fans, EuroLeague team captains and head coaches.

Mirotic and Tavares made the cut for the second straight year, while Larkin was in the All-EuroLeague Second Team last campaign.

Shane Larkin

Shane Larkin posted the league's second-best average PIR (18.9) this season in leading Anadolu Efes Istanbul to its third consecutive Final Four.

Larkin did it all, ranking fourth in assists (5.3), sixth in scoring (14.6), and seventh in steals (1.3). He was one of only two players in the Top 10 in all three categories.