Just a few days after reportedly agreeing to extend his contract with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens through 2028, Kendrick Nunn decided to celebrate this huge news for the Greens fans with an unreal outing away at AS Monaco on Thursday evening.

Panathinaikos enjoyed another one-Nunn-show in win over Monaco

Just a few days after reportedly agreeing to extend his contract with [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-bc-athens/roster/pan/?season=2024-25) through 2028, [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) decided to celebrate this huge news for the Greens fans with an unreal outing away at [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/roster/mco/?season=2024-25) on Thursday evening.

Panathinaikos took to the Salle Gaston Medecin with their backs against the wall after a [98-101 home loss](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/paris-stuns-panathinaikos-in-thriller-98-101/) to [Paris Basketball](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/paris-basketball/roster/prs/?season=2024-25) last week. Ergin Ataman’s side needed a victory in their bid to clinch home-court advantage and Nunn delivered on the floor from the off.

He scored 9 of his team’s 32 points in the first quarter and finished the first half on 18 points. Panathinaikos were leading by as many as 17 (32-49) with 4 minutes left in the second quarter, but Monaco responded with a 16-0 surge that saw the hosts cut the deficit to 48-49 midway through the third.

Kendrick Nunn with 37 Points vs. AS Monaco, 04/03/2025

Kendrick Nunn scored 37 points at AS Monaco

Enter a red-hot Nunn, who scored 9 points and set up [Omer Yurtseven](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/omer-yurtseven/005353/) for a slam, restoring a 48-60 lead for the reigning champion. The Panathinaikos guard went on to finish the game with 37 points and a career-high PIR of 43.

“Amazing teamwork, but also amazing performance by Kendrick Nunn,” Ataman told EuroLeague TV. “He played a final game for us to get the home-court advantage, \[scored\] 37 points and these field goals. Kendrick Nunn’s performance today is one of the best performances I’ve seen so far in the EuroLeague.”

Nunn went 9-for-12 from inside the arc and 5-for-5 from deep, also making 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. To his impressive stat-line he added 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal to grab the spotlight for yet another night.

Game Videos

“An MVP performance by Kendrick Nunn,” his teammate, [Jerian Grant](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jerian-grant/011204/), told EuroLeague TV. “He’s our MVP. In a game like this, on the road, when you need to win to get third or second place, MVPs step up and that’s what he did.”

A tireless Nunn missed only 45 seconds of action, staying on the floor for a season-high 39:15. Asked about his decision not to rest his star, Ataman joked about Nunn’s game time.

“He was lucky because he rested for 45 seconds,” he added. “If you talk with [Shane Larkin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/shane-larkin/007200/), he understood \[when I coached him at [Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/anadolu-efes-istanbul/roster/ist/?season=2024-25)\] that many games he’d play for 40-45 minutes. It’s basketball. Your player is playing well, letting him play. He didn’t feel tired. He was on an amazing day. Why should I make rotation and lose time?”

Nunn demonstrated (again) why he’s rightfully in the conversation for the EuroLeague MVP award. When it mattered most, the 29-year-old guard almost single-handedly led Panathinaikos to a huge victory for yet another time.

Game News

The Greens' superstar the game with 37 points and a career-high PIR of 43

AS Monaco v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2025-04-03T17:00:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas ground out a rugged 70-66 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in the penultimate round of the Turkish Airlines regular season and vanquished the Serbian team’s hopes of sneaking into the postseason picture.

Partizan out of postseason after 70-66 loss at Zalgiris 

Zalgiris Kaunas ground out a rugged 70-66 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in the penultimate round of the Turkish Airlines regular season and vanquished the Serbian team’s hopes of sneaking into the postseason picture.

With Zalgiris already eliminated and having only pride to play for, Partizan needed a win to keep alive an outside chance of making the top 10 but the visitors went ice cold from the floor when the chips were down, while the home team prevailed thanks to ironclad defense.

Sylvain Francisco paced Zalgiris on a team high 15 points and Partizan’s former big man Alen Smailagic chipped in with 14, with the duo instrumental at both ends in a strength-sapping finish when baskets were extremely difficult to come by.

At the other end, Carlik Jones led Partizan on a game high 23 points, including 16 in a blistering first half when the South Sudan playmaker toyed with his markers, lighting up the contest with a series of spectacular layups and mid-range jumpers.

Brandon Davies added 10 points and 6 boards for Partizan but the rest of the visiting team’s roster struggled heavily on offense, as the Serbian outfit dropped to 16-17 after a fifth loss in its last six games. Zalgiris improved to 15-18 after clawing out the win in front of a fervent crowd in its last home game of the season.

Zalgiris took full advantage of big man Tyrique Jones’s absence from Partizan’s ranks to dominate inside early on, racing into a 6-0 lead before Jones took over and started pulling the strings for the visitors.

Having shot 5 of 5 from inside, the hosts engineered a 24-21 advantage at the end of the first quarter but Partizan ramped up its defense in the second. The Serbian team turned the tide with a 0-10 run and took a commanding 31-39 lead before Zalgiris closed the gap to 35-40 at the interval, setting the stage for a titanic second-half tussle.

A slow start in the third quarter cost Partizan again as Zalgiris netted 8 points without reply and kept the visitors scoreless for more than 5 minutes, with Aleksej Pokusevski ending the drought with a pair of free throws followed by a three-pointer.

The rivals were all square, 49-49, heading into the final 10 minutes and the contest which resembled a wrestling match was clearly headed for a dramatic climax, as Partizan nosed ahead 59-62 with the home straight around the corner.

Zalgiris then forced the final twist with a 7-0 run which gave the home team a 66-62 lead on the back of a Francisco three-pointer and the guard sank a tough floater soon after to make it 68-64.  

Isaac Bonga kept Partizan afloat with a pair of free throws but Smailagic delivered the killer blow at the other end to delight the home fans in the Zalgirio Arena and force his former club into submission.

Defeat by the Lithuanian giant left the 1992 EuroLeague champs with no chance of squeezing into the Play-In Showdown 

Zalgiris Kaunas v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2025-04-03T17:00:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has secured home-court advantage in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs by defeating AS Monaco 76-88 at Salle Gaston Medecin  behind 37 points from Kendrick Nunn

Panathinaikos downs Monaco, 76-88, secures top-four spot

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has secured home-court advantage in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs by defeating AS Monaco 76-88 at Salle Gaston Medecin on Thursday evening. The Greens led for the majority of the game, with Kendrick Nunn pulling off an extraordinary display that inspired his team’s victory.

Panathinaikos also claimed head-to-head advantage over Monaco and improved its record to 21-12. The hosts saw their three-game winning streak come to a close and dropped to 20-13.

Nunn led all scorers with 37 points and a career-high PIR of 43, with Jerian Grant adding 14 points. Daniel Theis paced Monaco with 18 points, Alpha Diallo scored 16, Elie Okobo had 13 and Jaron Blossomgame netted 12.

An exchange of blows in the opening stages saw Monaco take a 7-4 lead, with Theis netting 5 points. Okobo and Nunn opened their accounts from inside before buckets from Blossomgame and Diallo made it 13-9. But Panathinaikos responded with a 0-7 run fueled by Cedi Osman, who scored 5 points in transition. Back-to-back baskets from Konstantinos Mitoglou were followed by a Grant triple that opened a 18-27 lead. Blossomgame responded from deep, but Nunn netted 5 straight points for a 21-32 cushion after 10 minutes.

Nunn hit the ground running in the second quarter, taking his tally to 13 points and extending Panathinaikos’s lead to 25-40. Okobo and Nunn traded triples before 4 points by Theis slightly cut the difference to 36-49. Mike James scored his first points of the game from beyond the arc and Okobo netted a buzzer-beating jumper that brought Monaco within 41-49 thanks to an 11-2 surge to finish the first half.

Okobo opened the third quarter with a three before buckets by Blossomgame and Diallo slashed the deficit to 48-49. Panathinaikos was held scoreless for 9 minutes across the second and third quarters before 9 points and an assist by Nunn restored a 48-60 lead. Blossomgame answered with a triple, but Omer Yurtseven’s second straight dunk allowed the visitors to maintain a 51-62 cushion. Then, an on-fire Nunn completed a three-point play to make it 53-65 heading into the closing quarter.

Buckets by Yurtseven sandwiched a Matthew Strazel triple before a Diallo layup in transition brought Monaco within 64-71. A three-point play from Kostas Sloukas was followed by a triple from Okobo, who made it 69-74. Grant and Nunn replied with back-to-back midrange jumpers, 69-78. Then, Nunn nailed another three and Grant made 2 of 3 from the charity stripe to finish the game off.

The Greens also claimed head-to-head advantage over Vassilis Spanoulis’s side

Joel Parra had a career night as FC Barcelona beat Fenerbahçe Beko on the road in Round 33.

Joel Parra powered Barcelona’s crucial comeback in Istanbul

[FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/bar/) headed into Wednesday’s penultimate regular-season meeting with [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) locked in a five-way tie for sixth place, and it ensured it will stay in that position heading into the final week by grabbing [a vital 75-83 road victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/barcelona-downs-fenerbahce-for-key-road-win-75-83/).

For a long time, that didn’t look likely. Fenerbahce took control of the game in the second quarter and stretched the advantage to 15 points, 69-54, midway through the third.

Defeat would have left Barcelona with very slim hopes of securing a top-six finish, instead probably condemning the *Blaugrana* to the perils of the play-in, so there was no lack of motivation for Joan Penarroya’s men to summon a major comeback.

And that’s exactly what transpired thanks to a 9-21 fourth quarter, sparked by a 0-11 run which kept Fenerbahce scoreless for nearly 5 minutes and allowed the visiting team to take control for good.

The unexpected hero during that key phase of the game was [Joel Parra](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/joel-parra/007464/). The former Joventut Badalona forward’s playing time has significantly increased following injuries to Jan Vesely and Chimezie Metu, and he made the very most of his opportunity by netting 11 points in the final period, finishing with his first-ever EuroLeague double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, also taking a career-high 3 steals to compile a personal-best PIR of 26.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚 ha superat els seus millors registres a l’Eurolliga en rebots (12) i en valoració (26) ✅<br><br>Els anteriors registres van ser 7 rebots, aconseguits aquest any en el duel del passat 27 de març contra l&#39;Armani Milà, i 23 de valoració, aconseguits el passat 27 de… <a href="https://t.co/5IU1YGP7wm">pic.twitter.com/5IU1YGP7wm</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1907537522697318560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Parra, who turns 25 on Friday, stayed modest after the game as he insisted that collective effort and a defense that allowed only 25 second half points, rather than his heroics, were the keys to the victory.

“I only play for the team, thinking of the win that the team needs,” he said. “I bring my energy on defense, take the rebounds, that’s it. It’s a great win, we needed this win, I’m so happy for the team, but the work is not finished.

“I think the key is to play like in the second half. In the first half we didn’t play with energy, we let Fenerbahce play easily. In the second half we brought a lot of energy on defense. We have a good team, offensively we have 90 points per game, but when we don’t have defense it’s more difficult. When we are focused on the game and thinking of the defense, the offense is easy.”

Barcelona knows that not all its direct rivals can win this week, with matchups between Real Madrid-Paris Basketball and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Anadolu Efes Istanbul ensuring that two of them will lose.

That does, of course, also mean that two of them will win so, however those results fall, Barcelona will still hold a share of sixth place when the final round rolls around – on paper, a very winnable home game against lowly Virtus Segafredo Bologna.

And that’s not all: with AS Monaco and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, currently third and fourth, facing each other on Thursday night, there’s still a chance that Barcelona could finish fourth and take home-court advantage for the playoffs, because it holds the head-to-head advantage over both those teams – although that also requires FC Bayern Munich, which has head to head over Barcelona, to lose twice.

So there are plenty of permutations and it’s impossible to state with any confidence exactly where Barcelona will finish the regular season. What can be said, however, is that the Spanish team’s chances of avoiding the play-in and advancing directly into the playoffs have been significantly boosted by Wednesday’s win.

And with more of the will to win shown especially by Parra in the fourth quarter at Fenerbahce, there’s no limit to how the season might end.

The forward scored 11 fourth-quarter points as his team turned around a 15-point deficit

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v FC Barcelona (2025-04-02T17:45:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona overturned a 15-point deficit to grab a vital road victory, 75-83, at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 33 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Barcelona downs Fenerbahce for key road win, 75-83

FC Barcelona overturned a 15-point deficit to grab a vital road victory, 75-83, at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Wednesday night. Barcelona improved to 19-14 to boost its playoff hopes, while Fenerbahce dropped to 22-11 after ending an eight-game home winning streak.

The opening stages were closely contested before Fenerbahce dominated the second quarter for a solid halftime lead, 50-39. But Barca rallied after the break and flew into the lead with a 0-11 fourth-quarter run which ultimately proved enough. 

Joel Parra was the inspiration with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Jabari Parker top-scored with 24 points. Tomas Satoransky added 15 points and Willy Hernangomez scored 10. Nigel Hayes-Davis paced the hosts with 20 points, and Wade Baldwin netted 14.

Parker’s triple gave Barca a fast start, before Hayes-Davis and Tarik Biberovic provided Fenerbahce’s first lead. Satoransky’s threeball was answered by Marko Guduric’s layup, before Youssoupha Fall and Baldwin traded midrange scores for a 10-10 tie. Arturs Zagars struck from deep and Devon Hall added a layup, but free throws kept Barca close, 17-16. Dario Brizuela and Kevin Punter netted their first field goals, before Khem Birch and Bonzie Colson made it 23-21 after ten minutes.

Three-pointers from Hayes-Davis and Biberovic pushed Fener further ahead, 31-23, but Barca fought back inside through Parra, Hernangomez and Punter. Biberovic and Parra scored at the rim, before Baldwin took over with seven straight points for a double-digit lead, 42-31. Justin Anderson’s driving layup rescued Barca, but Colson added a three-pointer and Hall netted a fadeaway jumper. Parker scored three quick baskets, helping make it 50-39 at the break.

Parker’s layup and Satoransky’s triple narrowed the gap early in the third, but jumpers from Sanli and Hayes-Davis stretched the lead to 59-44. Barca bounced back with two baskets apiece from Hernangomez and Satoransky, making it 61-55. Punter’s midrange strike completed a 2-13 run, but Baldwin reignited Fener from deep. The visitor kept pushing with Parker’s transition layup, but Hayes-Davis netted again for a 66-62 lead to finish the quarter.

Parra’s three-point play plus a technical free throw tied the game early in the fourth, and Parra’s dunk followed by Parker’s triple made it 68-73. Parra stayed hot with a tip-in, before Nicolo Melli ended Fener’s five-minute drought and a 0-11 run. Parra threw down another slam for a 70-77 lead with 3 minutes remaining and added a fastbreak layup to seal the deal despite Hayes-Davis striking from deep.

The Spanish team delivered a big fourth quarter to keep its top-four hopes alive

The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas returns with 25th anniversary specials!

The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas opens a special season that will focus on the EuroLeague's 25th anniversary. With a one-hour format of exclusive interviews, The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas is an award-winning podcast that goes beyond what happened on the court and tells behind-the-scenes stories, some of them for the first time! In this first episode, Arlauckas hosts Coach David Blatt and Tyrese Rice, who led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague crown in 2014.

Coach Blatt and Rice join Arlauckas for an insightful, relaxed conversation about how Maccabi became a EuroLeague champion against all odds. The team struggled at first and Rice was close to parting ways with Maccabi. He was ready to join EA7 Emporio Armani Milan when he learned he had to replace lifelong friend MarQuez Haynes. Rice joked about his "irrational confidence".

Inevitably, talk rolled around to Rice's game-winning shot in the semifinals against CSKA Moscow. Coach Blatt laughed about the teams' previous matchup in Moscow, when he was awarded the Russian Federation’s Order of Friendship right before losing by 35 points.

Arlauckas, Rice and Coach Blatt also talked about Game 1 of the playoff series against Milan, in which Maccabi rallied from a 12-point deficit to force overtime and steal the home-court advantage, and, of course, the championship game, which Maccabi won in overtime. Real Madrid was the favorite but Maccabi found a way.

The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas is available on Youtube, iTunes, Audioboom, Spotify, Deezer, RadioPublic, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Stitcher, CastBox, iVoox and other platforms.

Joe Arlauckas hosts Maccabi legends David Blatt and Tyrese Rice in this season's first episode

One team has managed to stand out from the rest, thanks to the remarkable form they've shown in recent weeks. That team is none other than Anadolu Efes Istanbul.


Five reasons why Efes is the hottest EuroLeague team right now

We’ve now reached the most critical stretch of the regular season in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. With just two games remaining, we are witnessing an exceptionally intense battle for the top four, the Playoffs, and the Play-In Showdown at an unprecedented level.

Naturally, at this point in the season, every team is fighting hard to reach their goals. However, one team specifically has managed to stand out from the rest, thanks to the remarkable form they've shown in recent weeks.

As you might have guessed, that team is none other than Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

Read more [HERE](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1806087/five-reasons-why-anadolu-efes-is-the-hottest-euroleague-team-right-now/).

No team in the EuroLeague is hotter than Efes. Eurohoops takes a closer look at the key reasons behind the Turkish side’s recent surge

Virtus Segafredo Bologna announced on Wednesday it has extended the contract with head coach Dusko Ivanovic for the next season. 

Virtus renews head coach Dusko Ivanovic

Virtus Segafredo Bologna announced on Wednesday it has extended the contract with head coach [Dusko Ivanovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/virtus-segafredo-bologna/vir/ivanovic-dusko?season=E2024) for the next season. Ivanovic replaced Luca Banchi in early December, signing the contract until the end of this season, and now is set to lead the club in the 2025-26 campaign, too.

Ivanovic's first game on Virtus bench was in Round 15, having taken over a team with a 2-12 record. Ivanovic won in his debut at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on a [miracle four-point play](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/videos/mm-bas-vir-tae2425-rs15/) from [Will Clyburn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/will-clyburn/004888/).

Virtus won three of the first four games with Ivanovic on the bench, and five of the first eight, before going on a nine-game losing streak, which ended last week with [a record-breaking win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/virtus-set-all-time-marks-in-44-point-win-at-alba/) at ALBA Berlin. In the Italian League, Virtus is in a share of the first place with a 17-7 record.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐊𝐎 𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐈 🧢<br>Coach Dusko Ivanovic rinnova e sarà ancora il nostro allenatore anche per la prossima stagione 🤍🖤 <a href="https://t.co/WaG9lAFDgo">pic.twitter.com/WaG9lAFDgo</a></p>&mdash; Virtus Segafredo Bologna (@VirtusSegafredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/VirtusSegafredo/status/1907359721939435523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Prior to Virtus, Ivanoviccoached Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, a team he led in four different stints. Over the years, Ivanovic helped Baskonia win the Spanish championship in 2002, 2010 and 2020, Spanish Cups in 2002, 2004 and 2009 and reach the EuroLeague Finals in 2001 and the EuroLeague Championship Game in 2005, losing against Virtus and Maccabi Tel Aviv, respectively.

Ivanovic started his coaching career with Benetton Fribourg of Switzerland, and also coached Limoges CSP of France, FC Barcelona of Spain, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens of Greece, Khimki Moscow Region of Russia, Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul of Turkiye and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade of Serbia.

In his first three years as a full-time head coach, Ivanovic led Fribourg to back-to-back Swiss League titles in 1998 and 1999 and lifted the French League and the Korac Cup trophies with Limoges in 2000. Ivanovic won another Spanish Cup with Barca in 2007, a Greek Cup with Panathinaikos in 2015, and the Serbian League and Cup double with Zvezda in 2023.

As a player, Ivanovic helped Split win back-to-back EuroLeague championships in 1989 and 1990.

Ivanovic ranks fourth in all-time games coached in the EuroLeague with 398, only trailing Zeljko Obraovic (540), Ettore Messina (483) and Ergin Ataman (440). His coaching record is 220-178 (55.3%).

More Virtus News

Ivanovic will lead Virtus next season, too

The Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals will once again bring together the world's top U18 basketball talents as part of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four celebration, which will be held in Abu Dhabi this May

2024-25 NextGen Finals Teams and Calendar Announced

- Overtime Elite representing the USA and Dubai Basketball representing the Middle East to participate
- NextGen Finals to take place from May 22 to 25 in Abu Dhabi, alongside the EuroLeague Final Four

The Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals will once again bring together the world's top U18 basketball talents as part of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four celebration, which will be held in Abu Dhabi this May. This marks the second time a NextGen Tournament is hosted in the Middle East, following the successful 2023-24 Qualifier in Dubai. The NextGen Finals will be played at Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City, a premier sports complex known for hosting a wide range of sports events and activities.

The NextGen Finals, the world's premier club-based junior basketball event, will feature eight elite teams:

- Dubai Basketball
- EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
- FC Barcelona (Winner of NextGen Ulm)
- Mega SuperBet Belgrade (Winner of NextGen Istanbul)
- Overtime Elite
- Pole France INSEP Paris (Winner of NextGen Belgrade)
- Real Madrid
- Zalgiris Kaunas

This marks the second consecutive year an Overtime Elite representative will compete in the NextGen Finals. Overtime Elite, an elite U16 to U20 league, features many of the top young talents from the United States and beyond. The league, consisting of eight teams, recently completed its fourth season.

Dubai Basketball, a newly established project founded in 2024, has rapidly made its mark by securing participation in the ABA League. Their U18 team will represent the Middle East in its second consecutive NextGen Tournament appearance, following their role as hosts of a qualifier last season.

The eight teams will be divided into two groups:

- Group A: Mega SuperBet Belgrade, FC Barcelona, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Dubai Basketball
- Group B: Pole France INSEP Paris, Real Madrid, Zalgiris Kaunas and Overtime Elite

See the full game schedule below.

A combined total of nine U18 continental trophies have been won by the clubs participating in the NextGen Finals. Real Madrid enters as the reigning champion, having edged out INSEP by a single point (85-84) in last year’s final in Berlin. Real Madrid has claimed the title in 2023, 2015, 2019, and 2021, while INSEP was crowned champion in 2010 and 2017. Barcelona secured the European championship in 2016, and Mega won its first title in 2022.

Fans attending the NextGen Finals in Abu Dhabi or watching via the EuroLeague’s official YouTube channel will enjoy 12 group-stage games over the first three days (Thursday, May 22, to Saturday, May 24) at the Mubadala Arena. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, May 25, with the championship game between the two group winners.

Tickets for the NextGen Finals will be available for purchase during the following weeks.

This season marks the 23rd edition of the NextGen. Some of the biggest names in basketball have passed through the competition, including future stars such as Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Kristaps Porzingis, Domantas Sabonis, Milos Teodosic, Vasilije Micic, Nikola Mirotic, Donatas Motiejunas, Dario Saric, Jonas Valanciunas, Omri Casspi, Luigi Datome and Goga Bitadze, among others.