Real Madrid swingman Rudy Fernandez is still going strong at age 38 and has a chance to add more hardware to a unique roll of honors. One of the few players whose popularity is great enough for him to go by just his first name, Rudy has been one of the most prolific winners in basketball, not just due to the quantity of his achievements, but also for the quality of them.

Rudy Fernandez: Celebrating a unique career

Real Madrid swingman [Rudy Fernandez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rudy-fernandez/bmt/) is still going strong at age 38 and has a chance to add more hardware to a unique roll of honors. One of the few players whose popularity is great enough for him to go by just his first name, Rudy has been one of the most prolific winners in basketball, not just due to the quantity of his achievements, but also for the quality of them.

Rudy has found success with his two European clubs, Joventut Badalona and Real, as well as with the Spanish national team. He has led Real to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles in 2015 and 2018, helping Los Blancos reach a new golden age. Fernandez had a starring role at first, making it to the All-EuroLeague First Team in the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 campaigns and earning 2014-15 All-EuroLeague Second Team honors. In recent years, he has been equally effective as a glue guy, defensive leader and all-around contributor on offense.

Los Blancos, with Fernandez as one of its leaders, has been a dominant force in Spanish basketball. He's helped Real win six Spanish League titles, six Spanish Copa del Rey crowns and lifted the Spanish SuperCup title eight times. And the only time Real was given the opportunity to play the Intercontinental Cup this century, Fernandez delivered again, leading Los Blancos to its 2015 title.

With Joventut, Rudy won the 7DAYS EuroCup in 2008 and earned Finals MVP honors. He lifted the Spanish Copa del Rey trophy with La Penya earlier that season. A year earlier, he won the FIBA EuroChallenge title with Joventut, which gives him three different European club titles in his career.

Rudy Fernandez, Real: 'I try to focus on the present'

Rudy has been just as successful with the Spanish national team, winning two World Cups and four EuroBasket gold medals. He is one of three players to win multiple EuroBasket, EuroLeague and World Cup crowns: Dejan Bodiroga and the late Sergei Belov are the other two. It gets better: Fernandez won three Olympic medals (silver in 2008 and 2012, bronze in 2016) and two more EuroBaskets medals.

That gives him 31 official titles and he is far from done. He has a chance to add a third EuroLeague title this week in Kaunas, where he helped Spain to the gold medal at EuroBasket 2011. If Spain qualifies in 2024, Fernandez may have the chance to become the first athlete to take part in six Olympics Games. Rudy is eager to continue adding hardware to a one-of-a-kind roll of honors. When the dust settles and he hangs up his shoes, he will go down in history as one of the greatest winners in the game of basketball.

FC Barcelona combo guard Nicolas Laprovittola is having what could be an unforgettable season, both on and off the court. Last December, Argentina's soccer team beat France on penalties to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, giving the 33-year-old Laprovittola his first opportunity to see the Albiceleste become world champion. Now, Laprovittola has the chance to lift the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title for the first time in his career.

Nicolas Laprovittola adds Argentinean flavor to the Final Four

FC Barcelona combo guard Nicolas Laprovittola is having what could be an unforgettable season, both on and off the court. Last December, Argentina's soccer team beat France on penalties to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, giving the 33-year-old Laprovittola his first opportunity to see the Albiceleste become world champion. Now, Laprovittola has the chance to lift the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title for the first time in his career.

 

Should Barca come away from Kaunas, Lithuania with the EuroLeague trophy, Laprovittola will become the sixth Argentinean player to lift Europe's biggest prize. Some of his best friends are already EuroLeague champions, including Facundo Campazzo, the current point guard for Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, who won the EuroLeague with Real Madrid in 2015 and 2018. Even though they speak often, they prefer to speak about off-court topics.

 

"We speak every day, but not about who won what. I would rather talk about how our daughters are and how things are in general. We don't really speak about titles," Laprovittola revealed during Barca's media session at the Final Four.

 

In terms of other Argentinian players who have become a European champion, Andres "Chapu" Nocioni led Real to the 2014-15 EuroLeague title, earning Final Four MVP honors in the process. Before him, Manu Ginobili grabbed the 2001 Finals MVP, allowing the then-called Kinder Bologna, now Virtus Segafredo Bologna, to lift the EuroLeague trophy. Nocioni has played with Laprovittola in the Argentinian national team, and Laprovittola had some advice for him.

 

"He is a basketball commentator now! He is giving a lot of advice on Twitter," the Barca guard noted. "I know that I have his support and Facu's support, of course, being friends. We always want another Argentinean to win. That is very valuable, and I hope it pushes me to play a good game tomorrow."

Hugo Sconochini (Virtus in 2001) and Pepe Sanchez (Panathinaikos Athens in 2002) complete the list of Argentineans who have won the EuroLeague. Come the end of the weekend, Laprovittola hopes to join that list.

 

"It would be a dream come true," Laprovittola stated. "First of all, just being here is something really big for me, and I enjoyed it a lot in Belgrade last year. It is also a big challenge for me and my career. Being the only Argentinean here \[due to Gabriel Deck's injury\] is also important for me, but more than anything else, I have to get ready to help the team."

It was December of 2021, AS Monaco had started its first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with a 5-9 record, and was on a five-game losing streak. The club parted ways with head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, the man who guided them to the 7DAYS EuroCup crown a season earlier, and appointed Sasa Obradovic as his replacement on the bench.

Obradovic, who previously had a one-year stint with Monaco in the Covid 19-shortened 2019-20 campaign, met the team, held a practice, and 48 hours later was coaching them for the first time on the road against Zalgiris Kaunas. 

"I remember that I had to pack my things and go straight to the game," Obradovic said, looking back to his start on Monaco's bench. 

Fast forward a year and five months later and Obradovic is set to guide his troops in club's first-ever EuroLeague Final Four, at the same venue where he made his Monaco coaching debut – Zalgirio Arena.

"Ending up in this situation, I could not have even dreamt about it, honestly," Obradovic told [EuroLeague.net](http://EuroLeague.net) during the session with the media after Thursday's practice and ahead of its Final Four semifinal clash against Olympiacos Piraeus on Friday. 

AS Monaco star guard Mike James talked to EuroLeague.net about the journey to the Final Four.

Mike James, Monaco: 'Everybody comes here to win'

That makes the game against the Reds, which is a rematch of their five-game playoff series last season, a full circle moment for Obradovic and Monaco in their journey together, one that started in Kaunas and now has reached new heights in the exact same city and arena.

In that game on December 15, 2021, also the first time that Monaco ever visited Zalgirio Arena, Obradovic guided Monaco to a dramatic 98-107 overtime win with star guard Mike James dishing a career-high 14 assists.

"Sometimes things happen for a reason and stars align," James says.

"That win was the beginning of a new story for Monaco," says team captain Yakuba Ouattara who knows a thing or two about the club, having spent all but one season with Monaco since 2015.

Sasa Obradovic, Monaco: 'I could not even dream about this'

Monaco has come a long way since that first visit to Kaunas. The team reached the playoffs last season and took another major step this season by making their first-ever Final Four.

But being new at the event does not mean Obradovic and his men want to stop.

"It is very satisfactory, but it is not the end of the story," Obradovic said.

"We want to win, we are here to win," Ouattara added. "We know nothing is going to be easy because it is our first experience playing the Final Four, so we are kind of an underdog team. But we like to be in that position because we have everything to prove to everybody."

Obradovic, James, Monaco come full circle in Kaunas 

Maccabi extends forward Bonzie Colson

Bonzie Colson has been rewarded for an excellent debut season at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, with the club signing the small forward to a new contract until the end of the 2024-25 season. Colson (1.98 meters, 27 years old) averaged 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and a PIR of 13.1 in 39 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games this season, his first in the competition. He played an important role in helping Maccabi reach the playoffs, and the Israeli side was one win away from reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2014. 

Colson joined Maccabi from Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir of Turkey. In the 2020-21 campaign, while playing for Strasbourg of France, he was the top scorer and the MVP of the Basketball Champions League, as well as the French League MVP. Colson made his European debut the season before with Darussafaka Istanbul of Turkey. He has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA and for Canton and Wisconsin in the G League.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="iw" dir="rtl">מה שאומרים במועדון >> <a href="https://t.co/Ev3ZYuKDou"&gt;https://t.co/Ev3ZYuKDou&lt;/a&gt; <a href="https://t.co/i6fZDVWLEu"&gt;pic.twitter.com/i6fZDVWLEu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&mdash; Maccabi Tel Aviv BC (@MaccabitlvBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaccabitlvBC/status/1659169522270588928?ref_src=twsrc^tfw"&gt;May 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

"I'm definitely excited. It's a blessing that I can extend my contract here," Colson said after the agreement. "This is my first season in the EuroLeague. I'm trying to continue to grow, learn, adapt and add some championship banners to the arena. It's definitely a special club. If you are not part of it, it's hard to understand the love the fans give you."

Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash also commented on Colson's extension: "Bonzie, as far as I'm concerned, had one of the most impressive rookie seasons I can remember. He is tremendous for us. He brings us a lot of energy, he is unique and can play in several positions. I have no doubt that he will only go and improve as time goes by. There is no doubt that this is a very high-quality renewal. Beyond that, it means we have more continuity and quality in the squad. Everyone loves Bonzie."

Maccabi extends forward Bonzie Colson until 2025

A do-it-all forward who hit the ground running on opening night and didn't stop until his team was in the Final Four, Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus has been chosen by fans, media, team captains and head coaches as the MVP of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP: Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus

A do-it-all forward who hit the ground running on opening night and didn't stop until his team was in the Final Four, [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) of Olympiacos Piraeus has been chosen by fans, media, team captains and head coaches as the MVP of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Whether sniping from the perimeter, cutting for layups or rebounding and running, Vezenkov always gave his team enough surefire options to stay a step ahead of the tightest race in league history to finish first in the regular season. Then, Olympiacos made its home-court advantage in the playoffs pay off with a no-doubt-about-it win at Peace and Friendship Stadium in Game 5 to return to the Final Four for a second consecutive year.

Along the way, Vezenkov put up special numbers as the top scorer of the competition with 17.2 points per game while ranking second in both rebounds (6.8) and two-point shots made (4.4). He led the league with an average performance index rating of 21.2, becoming the second player after Luka Doncic in 2017-18 to sustain a PIR of 21.0 or higher after more than 30 games in any EuroLeague season. He also tied for the league lead with 8 double-doubles based on six games in which he scored 20 points or more while pulling down at least 10 rebounds.

2022-23 EuroLeague MVP: Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus

Vezenkov was chosen for two MVP of the Month awards, in November and February – matching the most by any player in one season – and earned five MVP of the Round nods, one short of tying the single-season record.

He becomes just the second player ever to win the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy and the MVP award in the same season, after Nando De Colo of CSKA Moscow in 2015-16.

Vezenkov put the league on notice by averaging 24.0 points and 10.3 rebounds as Olympiacos started 4-0, including a sweep through Spain of road wins against two other Final Four qualifiers, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. He scored at least 13 points in each of the first 15 games, including putting up 24 points against ALBA Berlin without taking a single dribble.

He subsequently went on an 11-game tear in which he averaged 19 points and 7.6 rebounds, ending it with a game-winning shot at Zalgirio Arena, home of the Final Four, to put the Reds in the playoffs before any other team. Once in the playoffs, he scored 17 points or more in four of the five games, including all three won by Olympiacos to reach the Final Four.

Vezenkov, who is Bulgarian and was raised in Cyprus, started his EuroLeague career playing three seasons with FC Barcelona between 2015 and 2018, including one under his current Olympiacos head coach, Georgios Bartzokas. He joined Olympiacos in the summer of 2018 and became a full-time starter last season when he was voted to the All-EuroLeague First Team after helping Olympiacos return to the Final Four for the first time in five years.

Vezenkov becomes the third Olympiacos player to be voted MVP, after Milos Teodosic in 2010 and Vassilis Spanoulis in 2013.

Even though he is headed to his first Final Four, Alpha Diallo of AS Monaco knows his team's semifinal opponent, Olympiacos Piraeus, well and talked about what he has to do to help his them beat the Reds in their semifinal showdown.

Alpha Diallo: 'It's gonna be a dog fight'

Alpha Diallo, AS Monaco: 'It's gonna be a dog fight'

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

VR experiences all weekend at FanZone and on EuroLeagueTV

At the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania, basketball fans can get a taste of a first-class basketball experience without paying the thousands it costs for courtside seats. By heading to the VR stand at the [FanZone](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/the-euroleague-fanzone-comes-to-kaunas/), basketball enthusiasts can try out the state-of-the-art VR Experience, which is presented by Turkish Airlines, the EuroLeague's naming and innovation partner. From 10:00 am to 6:00 pm local time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there is the chance to test this technology and watch highlights in VR from this season and last year's Final Four, all from a courtside seat that has a 360-degree view of the parquet.

What's more, you can switch the angle of the camera, going underneath the basket or from the control room, all in the blink of an eye.

Fans watching the Final Four from home will be able to watch both semifinals, the third-place game and the championship game in VR, courtesy of the [EuroLeagueTV VR app](https://euroleague.tv/signup).

Final Four Landscape

Come and join us through [www.euroleagueland.net](http://www.euroleagueland.net)

After the success of the Final Four Metaverse: EuroLeague Land last season, Euroleague Basketball and Turkish Airlines have partnered up again to bring it back for the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas. With a virtual trip to EuroLeague Land, fans of Europe's premier basketball competition can engage with all things basketball and EuroLeague, play games, earn points and win rewards!

By playing the mini-games in EuroLeague Land, fans can earn basketZ tokens, which they can use to build and personalize their own basketball courts. They can also interact with other fans as if they were at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague FanZone in Kaunas through chats and animations. Each participant in EuroLeague Land can customize his or her own 3D Avatar and then visit the different rooms to engage in a range of activities.

The longer you play and more basketZ you accrue, you improve your chances to unlock more rewards which will help you to build your dream court!

One of the highlights of Final Four Metaverse: EuroLeague Land will come on Saturday morning, May 20 at 11:30 CEST when players from the Final Four teams will enter the metaverse and interact with fans, too. Stay tuned to the EuroLeague's Instagram channel for more details.

EuroLeague Land is back for the 2023 Final Four!

The FC Barcelona sharpshooter discusses this new trip to the Final Four and the semifinal game against archrival Real Madrid in a new edition of El Clasico in this interview.

Kyle Kuric, FC Barcelona: 'Anything can happen'

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