The championship game pregame and halftime shows at the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas aim to once again send shockwaves around the world with its first-in-class entertainment. This year, the internationally renowned [DJ Dynoro](https://www.instagram.com/dynoro/) and award-winning dance troupe [V-Team](https://www.instagram.com/megustavteam/) will take center stage.

By using cutting-edge technology, including augmented reality and kinetic set elements for the very first time during a pregame show, they will add an extra layer of excitement for basketball fans from all over the world.

"The choice of involving artists from Lithuania, such as DJ Dynoro and the V-Team dancers, is Euroleague Basketball's way of paying tribute to the host city of Kaunas, which deserves a special place in the hearts and minds of fans from all over Europe due to its passionate support for the Final Four and its devotion to basketball," Roser Queralto, Chief Business Officer of Euroleague Basketball.

The shows are produced by Filmmaster Events, which is an expert in the field and also produced the pregame shows at the Final Fours in Vitoria (2019), Cologne (2021) and Belgrade (2022), for which it captured prized for international Best Event Awards in the categories of Best Sports Events (Vitoria), and Use of Technology and Digital Transformation (Cologne, for the use of Augmented Reality).

Fans will be able to spot the catchy key messages and visual content, but the show also embodies the very essence of a constantly evolving brand that is in dialogue with its audience. The creative theme of the show, 'Echoes of Glory', conveys the idea of an energetic wave that comes from the DJ booth, flows across the court and splashes in the stands, while also getting fans watching at home excited about the top-tier basketball that is set to take place. The spectacle begins with DJ Dynoro playing a mashup that includes some of his most successful hits before an epic finale sees the unveiling of the EuroLeague Trophy.

Pregame and halftime shows feature Lithuanian artists

Witness Final Four games from a first-person perspective

EuroLeague fans will have the chance to experience the most thrilling momentum of the season from a first-person perspective as the referees officiating the two semifinals and the championship game at the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas will do so while wearing revolutionary Mindfly AI ultralight-powered bodycams during the action.

The semifinals, which will be played on May 19, will mark the first time that Mindfly technology will be deployed in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game, with the bodycams poised to capture an immersive experience that provides both video and audio feeds, replicating the closest experience that anyone can have on the court.

All fans will have the possibility to experience the immersive content that will be created with this revolutionary technology with the special clips that will be created and published on Euroleague Basketball's official web and social media platforms.

EuroLeague x Mindfly!

Euroleague Basketball and Mindfly bodycam to transport fans onto the court

If you are wondering what common denominator might predict a Final Four team's success, look first at the playmakers.

Euro playmakers have thrived at Final Fours

If you are wondering what common denominator might predict a Final Four team's success, look first at the playmakers.

In 20 editions of the Final Four since 2002, the MVP list is dominated by guards who either played the point full-time or had the ball in their hands consistently as double threats to score and pass. Such players have walked away as champions and MVPs on 13 of those 20 occasions.

The list includes the only three-time MVP this century, Vassilis Spanoulis, and a pair of two-time honorees as voted by the media on hand at the event, Dimitris Diamantidis and [Vasilije Micic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vasilije-micic/002580/).

A closer look shows that all but one of those 13 MVPs, with the exception of Tyrese Rice in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, were European. Whether formally listed as point guards or not, one-time Final Four MVPs like Luka Doncic and Juan Carlos Navarro more than met the criteria as playmakers.

Of course, that's not to say that playmakers from outside of Europe haven't had major impact on title runs.

Besides Rice, whose main running mate for Maccabi in 2014 was Ricky Hickman, one of the finest Final Four performers of the late 2000s was CSKA Moscow floor general J.R. Holden. Although he shared the point guard role with another of the MVPs, Theo Papaloukas, it is Holden who still holds the record for total points in Final Fours since 2002. In the same light, Acie Law had the highest PIR when Olympiacos repeated as champion in 2013 and Spanoulis won his third MVP award.

Some of the single Final Four MVPs – like Sarunas Jasikevicius, who won it with Maccabi in 2005, and [Nando De Colo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nando-de-colo/002100/), with CSKA in 2016 – were also instrumental in more than one title run. That was the case with Jasikevicius, in both 2003 with Barcelona and 2009 with Panathinaikos Athens, and De Colo in 2019 with CSKA. In other cases, the presence of European point guards who never won the MVP award was crucial to winning teams. That was the case for Ricky Rubio with Barcelona in 2011, [Sergio Llull](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sergio-llull/tgb/) and [Sergio Rodriguez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sergio-rodriguez/cvm/) with Real Madrid in 2015, especially, and [Milos Teodosic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/milos-teodosic/jdr/) for CSKA in 2017, when he had the highest PIR in the championship game.

Why European playmakers? Experience, mainly.

While non-European point guards usually have to learn the nuances of the game here – defensive freedom, spacing dynamics, tempo shifts and pacing – those who grew up here are steeped in those nuances from an early age. And, course, the intricacies of the high-speed chess match that is elite European basketball are most pronounced at the Final Four.

Sergio Rodriguez's Game 5 second half highlights

When an opponent successfully shuts down one aspect of a team's offense, another advantage usually opens up. The head coach may say as much in a timeout, but it takes the player with the ball in his hands to expose the defense's new weakness. Skills are essential, yes, but many years’ worth of playing high-pressure games in similar situations gives the point guard a sixth sense as to when to pull and when to push, and what arrows to pull out of his quiver.

A great example of such decision-making virtuosity was on display in the second half of Real's Game 5 win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in the playoffs. Down 18 points early in the second half, Real's 36-year-old point guard, Sergio Rodriguez, started pulling all the strings he has used over the years. He exploited perimeter openings to hit and feed his teammates for three-pointers. When Partizan pressured outside, he practically found paths to the basket, where spaces had opened, to score what looked like easy layups. And when Partizan sent help defense at him to stop the layups, El Chacho lobbed to teammates for dunks. He found the hot hand of Llull for a crucial three-pointer off an inbounds with dwindling seconds on the shot clock. And he generally outfoxed Partizan at every turn and Real became the first team ever to come back from a 0-2 deficit to the Final Four. That was experience at work.

Every Final Four is different, but most winning teams have depended on Euro playmakers to a large extent. Let's see if that holds true this weekend in Kaunas, too.

When Olympiacos point guard Kostas Sloukas and Real Madrid playmaker Sergio Llull enter their respective games this weekend at Zalgirio Arena, each will appear in his ninth EuroLeague Final Four. That will tie them for second-most all-time with Theo Papaloukas, Kyle Hines and Andrey Vorontsevich, behind only Victor Khryapa, who is the all-time leader having played at 12 Final Fours.

Sloukas, a three-time EuroLeague champion, and Llull, who has two continental crowns to his name, enter this Final Four with 16 appearances apiece, which is [tied for fourth all-time](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=GamesPlayed&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF). If they play in two games this weekend, they will move into a tie with Hines and Papaloukas for second place, with Khryapa safely in first place having played in 23 Final Four games.

The more time Llull and Sloukas spend on the floor, the better chances they will have to move up the all-time Final Four charts.

Llull currently [sits at 191 points](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=Score&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF) at the Final Four and with 3 more he will catch J.R. Holden who scored 194, the most in Final Fours since 2002. Real Madrid's former EuroLeague MVP has an outside shot to even catch Nikos Galis, who sits in first place in scoring in the Final Four era with 231 points.

Sergio Llull's Final Four scoring

Llull is already [the all-time Final Four leader in assists](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=Assistances&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF) with 62, a category where Sloukas ranks fourth (51). Lull is also tied with his teammate Sergio Rodriguez as well as Milos Teodosic for third in three-pointers made with 26. Only Juan Carlos Navarro (31) and J.R. Holden (30) have made more triples in Final Four history.

Rodriguez, who shined in Games 4 and 5 of the playoffs when he totaled 13 assists, is in third place in Final Fours all-time with 56 helpers and needs 4 more to pass second-placed Papaloukas (59). Rodriguez also has 163 career points in the Final Four and 10 more in Kaunas will get him behind only Galis, Llull and Holden on the all-time list.

That's not the end of the list of Real Madrid players who have a chance to shoot up the Final Four rankings.

Another Los Blancos veteran, Rudy Fernandez, is in [third place in Final Fours all-time](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=Steals&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF) with 21 steals, which is 1 behind Victor Khryapa and 3 behind the all-time leader J.R. Holden (24).

All-EuroLeague First Team center and this season's EuroLeague Best Defender Walter Tavares enters the Final Four tied with Sasha Kaun for [fourth place all-time with 12 blocks](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=BlocksFavour&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF); Maceo Baston and Ekpe Udoh are tied for second with 15, while Kyle Hines is the all-time leader with 16. It gives Tavares, who averaged 2.2 blocks this season, a clear shot to become the all-time Final Four shot-blocking leader.

Jan Vesely to go up two-point charts

FC Barcelona center Jan Vesely, who will play his first Final Four in four years, ranks fourth in Finals Fours since 2002 in [two-point shots made](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=FieldGoalsMade2&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF) (48), and with 9 more would tie David Andersen's mark of 57. When it comes to the entire Final Four era, it would leave him behind only Galis and his record 87 two-pointers made.

Former EuroLeague MVPs Vesely and his teammate Nikola Mirotic are closing in on [the top five all-time in rebounds](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=TotalRebounds&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF), with Mirotic ranking sixth (56) and Vesely seventh (54), just behind fifth-placed Mike Batiste (58). Vesely is also tied with Batiste for [seventh place with 20 offensive rebounds](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/key-stats-players/?size=25&misc=&category=OffensiveRebounds&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated&phase=FF), with Gustavo Ayon and David Andersen tied for fifth with 21 apiece. Victor Khryapa and Luis Scola are tied for second (25) in this category; Kyle Hines is the runaway all-time leader with 39 offensive rebounds.

Llull, Sloukas among players nearing major Final Four milestones

Both Arvydas Sabonis and Walter Tavares will be in the same building, Zalgirio Arena, this weekend, which sparks the imagination to wonder: What if they played each other? 

Imagine that: Sabonis vs. Tavares

One was raised up in Kaunas, Lithuania, perhaps the one city in the world where basketball is indisputably the king of sports.

The other was discovered on a sparsely populated island in Cape Verde that is dedicated to salt production. He didn't touch a basketball until age 17.

Both grew to be more than 2.20 meters tall and came to dominate either end of the court at basketball cathedrals across Europe.

Arvydas Sabonis is widely considered the greatest offensive player his size in European basketball history. The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four takes place this week in his home city, where he is an icon like no other.

Walter Tavares continues making a claim as the greatest defensive player his size that the EuroLeague has known. He will aim for his second continental title this week for the team with whom Sabonis lifted his only such trophy, Real Madrid.

Both will be in the same building, Zalgirio Arena, this weekend, which sparks the imagination to wonder: What if they played each other?

### The legend of Sabonis

Sabonis dominated in three different decades. In the mid-1980s, in his early 20s, he was a freak of nature, a super-sized center who could run the floor like a guard and jump through the roof. He led Zalgiris Kaunas to the 1986 EuroLeague championship game, but lost to Cibona Zagreb.

A series of injuries, including two Achilles tendon tears, limited his explosiveness and mobility. Still, Sabonis made the most out of his magic passing skills and extremely deep shooting range to find other ways to be dominant. After moving to Spain, he would become the 1995 Final Four MVP for what was Real's only EuroLeague title between 1981 and 2015. After going to the NBA to average 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in 420 career games with Portland, he returned to Zalgiris for his final season, in 2003-04. About to turn 40 years old, he averaged 16.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 blocks in 18 games, coming up seconds short of taking his hometown team back to the Final Four.

In his international career, Sabonis won three Olympic medals: gold with Soviet Union in 1988, bronze with Lithuania in 1992 and 1996. He has been honored as a member of both the FIBA Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame.

Arvydas Sabonis Highlights

### The odyssey of Tavares

From being discovered by chance in Cape Verde, the teenage Tavares learned basketball with Gran Canaria, the club that recently won the 7DAYS EuroCup, and made the All-EuroCup First Team in his debut 2015-16 season in that competition, at age 23. He went from Gran Canaria to the NBA for a couple of years before returning to Europe with Real as an injury replacement early in the 2017-18 season. Six months later, he and Real were lifting the EuroLeague trophy together.

Tavares arrives to Kaunas in the prime of his career and in a very sweet moment. He was just tabbed as the EuroLeague MVP for April and May, was voted to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the third consecutive season, and was chosen by EuroLeague head coaches for his third Best Defender Trophy in six seasons.

### Sabonis: many ways to attack Tavares

Sabonis was a much better defender than most people remember, using his big body to box out and making the most out of his extremely high basketball IQ to find advantages. Tavares is an elite rim protector, so Sabonis would have to make the most out of his passing skills and mid-range shooting to keep Tavares honest. He would also probably find ways to put Tavares in foul trouble. Curiosly, however, Sabonis rarely played against taller opponents in Europe, and when he faced a taller player, his numbers weren't as great.

That happened in the 1992-93 season, when Real played against Pau-Orthez and 22-year-old center Gheorghe Muresan twice. At 2.30 meters, Muresan was likely the tallest opponent Sabonis ever faced. Real won both games, but Sabonis was outpowered by Muresan. Sabonis averaged 11.0 points and 11.5 rebounds to Muresan's 22.0 and 12.5, respectively, over those two games.

### Tavares: an underrated offensive player

Tavares would match up, size-wise, against Sabonis and could match his mobility even at his prime. This season, he set a single-season EuroLeague mark with 84 blocks and moved into first place all-time with 368 -- and counting. His quick feet and great timing to block shots would work in Tavares's favor, but he's also better and better on offense.

Tavares ranks third overall in two-point shooting percentage (69.0%) all-time in the EuroLeague. That includes loads of dunks, yes, but Tavares developed a nice array of effective shots in the paint, from mid-range jumpers to jump hooks. He has also improved his free throw shooting percentage to reach 79.0% this season.

Walter Tavares of Real Madrid has been chosen as the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender for the third time in his career.

2022-23 EuroLeague Best Defender: Walter Tavares

### What if they met on the floor?

Tavares is in the prime of his career and beginning to establish himself as an all-time great and perhaps the greatest defensive center in EuroLeague history. If ever there was a player who an opposing coach might tap to stop Sabonis, it would be Tavares. However, no player in EuroLeague history has ever stopped Sabonis.

 More than an all-time great, Sabonis is a living legend. The numbers he posted as a 39-year-old with limited mobility far exceed those of the best season of Tavares's career. Sabonis fused a combination – never seen before or since – of size, strength, understanding of the game, passing ability and overall skills. While it's true Tavares would challenge Sabonis, if they met in their primes, no one could ever stop Sabonis. 

For some players competing in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, returning to Zalgirio Arena will bring back good memories. Kaunas is the hometown of FC Barcelona head coach Saras Jasikevicius and Zalgiris – the team of the city – is where the likes of Barca's Rokas Jokubaitis, Olympiacos Piraeus's Thomas Walkup and AS Monaco's Donatas Motiejunas all played, yet for a select few players, they had performances to remember at Zalgirio Arena. Here are the top five!

 

### No. 5: John Brown stole the show

Going into his first EuroLeague Final Four in his second year in the competition, Monaco big man John Brown returns to a venue where he had one of the best games of his career. In February 2022, while playing for UNICS Kazan, Brown led his team to a [67-76](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2021-22/zalgiris-kaunas-unics-kazan/E2021/223/) win at Zalgirio Arena and amassed 15 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and also 5 steals. To this day, it is Brown's only double-double in EuroLeague action. He scored 15 points by shooting 7-of-14 from the field, while he was the tone setter on defense for UNICS, which allowed just 41 points over the final 30 minutes of the game. Brown finished the game with a team-high PIR of 23. This display is one of Brown's best four performances in road games when it comes to PIR and two-point shots made, and he's never beaten the 5 steals he recorded when playing away from home.

John Brown stole the show at Zalgirio Arena

### No. 4: Rudy caught fire at Zalgirio Arena in crunch time

Real Madrid has had its fair share of success when playing at Zalgirio Arena, and veteran forward Rudy Fernandez is a big reason why. One of his most impressive performances came in Round 5 of the 2018-19 season, as the then-defending champs rolled into Kaunas. Real never led through the first three quarters, but the game was tied at 73-73 with 5 minutes to go. At that moment Fernandez had 3 points to his tally, but before the game's final buzzer, Rudy buried 4 more triples on as many attempts, helping Real pull away to a [79-90](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2018-19/zalgiris-kaunas-real-madrid/E2018/38/) win. Fernandez finished with 15 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting and 7 assists, one of which came in that final 5-minute span. It was one of the best road games in Rudy's career in terms of three-point shooting and assists. Interestingly, Fernandez set his career high of 9 assists five years earlier during Real's 2013-14 season-opening [63-83](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2013-14/zalgiris-kaunas-real-madrid/E2013/6/) win.

Rudy got hot in Zalgirio Arena clutch-time

### No. 3: Vezenkov's two-point best and a game-winner

The last time Olympiacos Piraeus and Sasha Vezenkov visited Zalgirio Arena, exactly two months ago in Round 29, they pulled out a thrilling [72-74](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2022-23/zalgiris-kaunas-olympiacos-piraeus/E2022/255/) win over the Lithuanian hosts. Vezenkov was the Reds' hero that day, not only helping the Reds rally in a game that they trailed but hitting the game-winning shot, too. With the game tied at 72-72, Vezenkov buried a contested baseline jumper with 6.7 seconds remaining, and finished the game with 25 points, shooting a career-best 9-of-9 on two-pointers as well as making 2-of-7 three-pointers and making his sole free-throw attempt. He also added 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 32. During that game at Zalgirio Arena, Vezenkov also passed the 2,000-point mark in his EuroLeague career. Now, he returns to that same venue, hoping to lead Olympiacos to its fourth EuroLeague crown.

Sasha Vezenkov (25 points) highlights vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 03/16/2023

Vezenkov leads Olympiacos to a big road win

### No. 2: James's career high in assists

The first-ever meeting between AS Monaco and Zalgiris on December 15, 2021 – the French side's first visit to Zalgirio Arena – produced a dramatic 98-107 overtime win, led by star guard Mike James, who dished a career-high 14 assists in the victory. James played almost 38 minutes in that Round 15 contest, scoring 20 points, making 6-of-11 twos, 1-of-4 threes and 5-of-6 free throws. He also pulled down 5 rebounds and had 1 steal for a PIR of 31, earning co-MVP of the Round honors in the process. However, the most impressive of all was the 14 assists produced by James, which is not only his personal best but is also the most recorded by any player in a EuroLeague game at Zalgirio Arena. What's more, it is the most assists a player has dished against Zalgiris in the EuroLeague this century!

James's career-high in assists

### No. 1: Mirotic sets all-time free throw marks

The first time Zalgirio Arena saw an overtime game in the EuroLeague came on March 7, 2013, when Real Madrid came to town for a Top 16 Round 10 showdown. *Los Blancos* won [104-105](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2012-13/zalgiris-kaunas-real-madrid/E2012/194/), led by current FC Barcelona star Nikola Mirotic, who had one of his best and memorable performances of his career. Mirotic finished with 31 points, which he has matched once in his career but still stands as his career high in scoring, along with 11 rebounds and 2 assists. It was Mirotic's lone double-double of that 2012-13 season, his third full campaign in the EuroLeague. He earned the second MVP of the Round honor of his career, too. Mirotic was 2-for-6 on two-pointers and 3-for-9 on threes in that contest, but was also perfect 18-for-18 from the free throw line. He made 6 free throws in the final 33 seconds of the regulation, including a pair with 3.4 seconds left, to send the game into overtime. In that game, Mirotic set two free-throw shooting records that no one has ever matched in a EuroLeague game, making the most-ever free throws in a single game and also the most free throws without a miss in a single game.

Top five performances at Zalgirio Arena by 2023 Final Four attendees

FC Barcelona v Real Madrid (2023-05-19T18:00:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus v AS Monaco (2023-05-19T15:00:00.000Z)

"I thought we were gonna win it," Olympiacos Piraeus guard Thomas Walkup recalled when thinking back to last year's semifinal defeat against Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. Olympiacos lost in heartbreaking fashion to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Vasilije Micic, meaning that Efes booked its place in the championship game at the Reds' expense. However, fast-forward one year and Olympiacos has the chance to make amends during the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Olympiacos seeks redemption after last year's Final Four heartbreak

Vasilije Micic sends Efes to the Championship Game with a wild three-pointer - WOW!

7DAYS Magic Moment of the Night: Micic wins it!

In terms of the story, being triumphant during last year's Final Four would have meant so much to Olympiacos. Prior to the 2022 Final Four at Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, the Reds had gone five years without reaching Europe's showpiece club basketball event – an eternity for a club their size. Plus, it marked the last-ever Final Four for legendary player Georgios Printezis, the author of the most consequential shot in basketball history, a game-winning floater at the buzzer in the 2012 championship game. With 12,000 Olympiacos fans in the stands for the semifinals, everything was set up for a memorable occasion… until Micic decided to tear up the script.

Yet, having now achieved successive Final Four appearances for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, the club has plenty of reason to feel optimistic about marking the 10th anniversary of its last EuroLeague title with another European crown. Rather than feel down in the dumps about losing to Efes in last season's semifinals, Olympiacos had a league-best 24-10 record in the 2022-23 regular season before downing Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 3-2 in the playoffs to secure its spot at the Final Four.

The Reds have been arguably the best team in the EuroLeague this season, but the Final Four is a different beast; one shot going in or not can decide an entire season's work. Unfortunately for Olympiacos, it learned that lesson the hard way last year, courtesy of Mr. Micic.

"We had 12,000 red and white \[fans\] in there. I thought we were gonna win it. That was a difficult game to play in, emotionally I would say," Walkup continued.

From 21/22,  the point guard completely bought into a new system and become an integral part of the team's return to the Final Four and push to go even further as soon as possible.

Thomas Walkup: 'We're just a pack of hungry dogs'

Once again, the Olympiacos fans are set to travel en masse to cheer on their team, with thousands expected to arrive in Kaunas for the Final Four. These supporters were just as upset as the players last season following the semifinal loss to Efes, but their love for the Reds means that they are ready to once again act as the sixth man on the floor. There are always high expectations at Olympiacos, and that is something that Walkup has discovered is part of the club's DNA.

"Right away \[when joining Olympiacos\], I could tell what the standard was, and the standard was Final Four," he stated. "It's always \[to be\] EuroLeague champs, it's always what we're striving for. To be a part of that and be a part of those high expectations were great, but now it's to another level. Now, I feel like we're just a pack of hungry dogs going for it."

<center>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">Opaaaaa!!! Kalimera! Kalispera! Kalinixta! And… Hello Kaunas! 😜<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://t.co/bGbNGwRYgz">pic.twitter.com/bGbNGwRYgz</a></p>&mdash; OLYMPIACOS BC (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1656094854244454403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Bartzokas has not only instilled an offensive scheme that has helped Olympiacos return to its former heights, but he has also helped cultivate a group that plays as a team. Always. Led by MVP candidate Sasha Vezenkov and with the always impressive Kostas Sloukas coming off the bench, it would be easy to point to those two, but the secret to Olympiacos's success is its team-first approach; anybody can be the star on any given night.

"One of the things I feel like has worked very well is the fact that we have a lot of veteran guys, guys who have played for years who have understanding and experience in the EuroLeague," explained Tarik Black. "Not only in the EuroLeague but just have been playing basketball for a long time, and we all respect each other. We don't look down on each other, but we have an even playing field with each other and we all look forward to filling our roles of what we need to do to help us win as a whole and I think that has worked very well.

"Obviously, Coach implemented that culture – he wanted that, right? He pushed it forward, he implemented that and he got guys, then we have guys on this team that bought into it. That's the beautiful part about it and, honestly, that's what has led us to the Final Four."

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. Tarik Black of Olympiacos Piraeus talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

First-time feelings: Tarik Black, Olympiacos

At the Final Four, Olympiacos takes on AS Monaco in the semifinals – the side it defeated 3-2 in a dramatic five-game series in the 2022 EuroLeague Playoffs – before a potential championship game matchup with either FC Barcelona or Real Madrid. Curiously, Olympiacos went 4-0 in the regular season against Barca and Real, the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, but it was 0-2 against Monaco, the No. 4 seed. Nevertheless, Olympiacos heads into the Final Four with redemption on its mind – and there's very few who would bet against Coach Bartzokas and his squad.

Whether or not you are in Kaunas for the festivities, you can find out all about the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four by accessing the digital Final Four Magazine here. Learn all about the on- and off-court events that will be turning Lithuania's second-biggest city into a world basketball party all weekend long.

 Check out the digital Final Four Magazine! 

Whether or not you are in Kaunas for the festivities, you can find out all about the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four by accessing the digital Final Four Magazine [here](https://publications.euroleague.net/). Learn all about the on- and off-court events that will be turning Lithuania's second-biggest city into a world basketball party all weekend long.

Check out the digital Final Four Magazine!

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four bracket is set with teams that separated themselves during the regular season surviving the playoffs to advance to Kaunas. With the Spanish derby on one side and AS Monaco making its Final Four debut against an Olympiacos Piraeus team seeking its first championship since 2013 on the other, this season's semifinals hold no shortage of intrigue.

How the semifinalists did against each other this season

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four bracket is set with teams that separated themselves during the regular season surviving the playoffs to advance to Kaunas. With the Spanish derby on one side and AS Monaco making its Final Four debut against an Olympiacos Piraeus team seeking its first championship since 2013 on the other, this season's semifinals hold no shortage of intrigue.

The regular season matchups between these teams also add an interesting layer of depth to both games. The statistics below show how each team fared against their peers still playing for a chance to lift the EuroLeague trophy.

As the team at the top of the regular season standings and the lone member of the cohort headed to Lithuania who secured a winning record against the remaining field, Olympiacos would seem to hold the upper hand coming into the weekend on paper. That would overlook, however, that Monaco was the lone team that the Reds did not beat at least once during the regular season. While they went 4-0 against the Spanish powerhouses, Monaco beat them by 5 and 4 points in Rounds 5 and 18, respectively.

That sets up a fascinating opportunity for Monaco in its first Final Four run. Not only did Monaco manage to beat Olympiacos twice in the regular season, but it did so with neither Mike James nor Jordan Loyd playing particularly well on the offensive end. The Monaco defense rose to the occasion both times, holding Sasha Vezenkov to just 17 points over two games – well below his EuroLeague-best 17.2 points-per-game standard on the season. As a result, Monaco was one of the few teams to get the best of Olympiacos on that side of the floor, holding the Reds to just 0.87 points per possession – a far cry from the third-ranked 1.05 per possession that the team from Piraeus averaged overall.

Monaco's ability to lean on defense in those victories stands in stark contrast to how its hard-fought five-game series with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv played out. James and Loyd combined for 39 points per game in Monaco's three wins but only 17 on average in the team's two playoff losses. The offensive output of James and Loyd was the clear-cut x-factor in nearly every game.

Which version of Monaco shows up in Kaunas figures to play an influential role in what this weekend's opening game looks like against an Olympiacos team that otherwise was this season's most dominant unit.

The Spanish derby has delivered drama twice this season already, with the first matchup between these teams, in Round 2, resulting in a 2-point win for Barcelona and the second ending in an overtime victory for Madrid. Defense was a factor in both games as these usually prolific teams combined to score just 0.95 points per possession – well off their near-1.00 per possession pace the rest of the season.

That puts a spotlight on the contrast in styles between Barca and Real on the defensive end of the floor. While both finished among the five best teams in overall defensive efficiency, Barcelona did so by limiting opponents to a league-low 15.4 points per game on catch-and-shoot jump shots. Not only did Barca do a stellar job chasing opposing shooters off the three-point line, but contested at a high level whatever shots those opponents did manage to release. Real, by comparison, allowed a league-low 24.9 points per game in finishing situations.

With their defensive merits falling on opposite ends of the spectrum but both teams doing a similarly good job limiting the other's offense, it will be interesting to see how the unique level of familiarity these teams have with one another plays out. This figures to be a chess match for the ages as Barcelona seeks to gain a measure of revenge for its Final Four loss to Real last year.