2022-23 EuroLeague signings

Mike James, Monaco: 'It's basketball, it's something I love to do'

AS Monaco star [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) is known for his standout performances on the court, earning him fans from all around the world, but away from the hardwood his personality also generates a lot of interest. During an exclusive interview with Euroleague Basketball, James discusses Monaco reaching the playoffs, Kevin Durant coming to watch two of its games, and the impact of head coach Sasa Obradovic, among other things.

Interview: Mike James

Mike James, Monaco: 'Coach Obradovic allowed me to be more of a leader'

Trailer: "Road to Greatness"

Top 10 Fastbreaks | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Top 10 Steals & Saves | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Interviews: Dogus Balbay & Bryant Dunston, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Top 10 Crazy Shots | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Georgios Printezis, Thank You!

#### From a childhood fan of Olympiacos Piraeus to its hero and captain during a stellar career, he and his teammates and coach talk about the unique journey of recently retired EuroLeague icon Georgios Printezis.

Printezis, teammates reflect on his unforgettable journey

Top 10 Long-Shots | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Top 10 Long Shots | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Just one month ago today, the basketball world was abuzz waiting for tipoff of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. That sweet anticipation hit a crescendo with the pre-game floor show, Space 4 Glory, a cosmic-themed spectacle with DJs falling out of the sky and flames shooting up to it, 30 million pixels of video magic, 150 kilowatts of musical power, and the most energetic and effervescent of choreography and dancers. It hyped you then and it'll hype you again with this new take culled from footage taken from cameras throughout Stark Arena. The previous season's Final Four pre-game show won an international award, and this year was no less breathtaking. Check it out!

Re-watch the season finale’s pre-game show from all angles!

Top 10 Alley-Oops | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Final Four MVP Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes Istanbul reflects on all the team and individual successes of the just finished 2021-22 season.

Interview: Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Interview: Vasilije Micic

Top 10 Assists | 2021-22 | Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Top 10 Blocks | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach Ergin Ataman talks about his championship team, key moments from the Final Four and looks ahead to next season in this exclusive interview.

Interview: Coach Ergin Ataman

Coach Ataman on his championship team

The desire to get to the rim and score no matter what inspired some high-flying heroics from EuroLeague players. Here's a look at the 10 best dunks of the 2021-22 season!

Top 10 Dunks | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Latest videos

The project saw Efes launch a significant reforestation program, involving the club's players, supporters and partner +1. A number of activities included the team wearing special playing uniforms depicting the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with the club committing to planting trees in line with the team's success on the court under the motto 'Each Point Means +1Tree'.

New attendance records in the post-pandemic period, especially during the playoffs, allowed Efes to reach even more fans with the project, boosted by online and offline activations to further increase engagement.

Ultimately 10 seed balls were donated for each of the 39,261 fans who watched three EuroLeague games at Sinan Erdem Dome, and more seed balls were donated on behalf of other Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup teams who supported the campaign on social media, taking the final total to 579,390 seed balls – enough to reforest an area the size of 600 basketballs courts.

The club also worked alongside partner Wilo to raise awareness about the importance of clean water resources, with the team wearing a specially designed playing uniform for the game against Real Madrid on March 22, World Water Day.

The Silver Devotion Award was taken by 2019's gold-medallist, Zalgiris Kaunas, for its project: 'Brand Monetization: Zalgiris Kaunas Licensed Product Family'.

Recognizing the significance of a business area that can generate additional income, Zalgiris developed a form of partnership that allows a manufacturer to add exclusive Zalgiris branding to its product range.

The business plan generates three-way income for the club: for the license, with a fixed monthly fee for the right to use the trademark; through sales, with a monthly success fee per product sold; and through advertisement, with revenue coming via sales arising from promotional campaigns.

The initiative included a wide range of Zalgiris licensed products, such as mineral water, cookies, chocolate, bread, detergent, watches, milk products, sandwiches, beer, nuts, potato chips, ice cream and cosmetics, along with a non-conventional product: Zalgiris Electricity.

The project objective, to find ways for the team logo to contribute to sales, proved a resounding success, with more than 31 million units of licensed products sold, providing 2.46% of the team's budget.

The Bronze Devotion Award was won by Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade for its 'We Are Growing Together' project.

With the goal of building a young fanbase, the project focused on educating fans about the club's history through exclusively created short-form digital content. On gamedays, Zvezda also implemented a 'Junior Stand', working with club partner IDEA to upgrade this area for young fans, paying extra attention to them and making sure they never left the arena empty-handed.

The club also organized several group visits, with children from all parts of Serbia invited to attend games, where they could enjoy activities such as 3D floor-mapping, music stages, DJ performances, a robot show, skill challenges, partner activations and giveaways. Further community engagement took place with the organization of various events, including e-sports tournaments, the ANGT youth tournament, One Team activities and sports conferences at universities.

Euroleague Basketball congratulates the three winning clubs and the many other clubs who also carried out excellent marketing projects during the season.

Following the example of their club's superstars on the court, Anadolu Efes Istanbul's off-the-court team has become a title-winner, too, taking the Golden Devotion Award at this year's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Marketing Directors Workshop on Tuesday. Efes was rewarded for its #TakeAction project, an initiative against environmental degradation.

Climate change action sees Efes win Gold Marketing award

Just hours after dismissing Pablo Laso for medical reasons, Real Madrid has found a new head coach in Chus Mateo, who is set to lead the team until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Real promotes assistant Mateo to head coach job

Just hours after dismissing Pablo Laso for medical reasons, Real Madrid has found a new head coach in Chus Mateo, who is set to lead the team until the end of the 2023-24 season. Mateo, 53, finished last season as Real's head coach once Laso had to temporarily step down, following a heart attack he suffered midway through the Spanish League finals against FC Barcelona. He helped Real win the series and lift the Spanish League trophy. Born in Madrid, Mateo coached Real's junior teams and worked as an assistant coach to Sergio Scariolo, the late Javier Imbroda and Julio Lamas. He has been Laso's assistant since 2014, helping Los Blancos win two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles in 2015 and 2018.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">Comunicado Oficial. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RMBaloncesto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RMBaloncesto</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1544284030279073795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mateo has won six other Spanish League and five Spanish Cup titles as Real's assistant coach. As head coach, Mateo has worked for Baloncesto Zaragoza, Unicaja Malaga and Baloncesto Fuenlabrada of Spain, as well as for Shanxi Zhongyu of China. Mateo coached Unicaja for the best part of two EuroLeague seasons, 2010-11 and 2011-12, with a 5-17 record. Mateo is also 3-0 with Real in EuroLeague action when Laso was unavailable. 

Real promotes assistant Mateo to head coach

ALBA Berlin has confirmed the extension of head coach Israel Gonzalez's contract until 2025, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

ALBA, Coach Gonzalez agree to extension

ALBA Berlin has confirmed the extension of head coach [Israel Gonzalez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/alba-berlin/ber/gonzalez-israel/)'s contract until 2025, the club confirmed on Tuesday. Gonzalez, 47, led ALBA to a 12-16 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague last season. In Germany, ALBA won the league and cup double in the Spanish coach's first season in charge.

Gonzalez began his coaching career in 2004 as an assistant at Cantabria Baloncesto, where he stayed for four years. In the second half of his last season, he became the head coach. He then took charge of the U20 head coach at Gran Canaria in the 2008-09 season before rising to become the assistant coach, a role he held for the next seven years. In 2017 he arrived at ALBA as Aito Garcia Reneses' assistant, but in 2021 he succeeded his compatriot and became the club's new head coach.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Meister, Pokalsieger und die erfolgreichste Euroleague-Saison der Vereinsgeschichte: Für Israel González war es ein großartiges erstes Jahr als Headcoach. Diese ergiebige Zusammenarbeit wird mit einem neuen Vertrag besiegelt: Isra bleibt bis 2025 ALBAs Cheftrainer 💛💙 <a href="https://t.co/elOfZnDMA9">pic.twitter.com/elOfZnDMA9</a></p>&mdash; ALBA BERLIN (@albaberlin) <a href="https://twitter.com/albaberlin/status/1544246175301341185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"I am very happy that we are continuing this project together. ALBA Berlin is a great club and I am very proud to be part of this team that feels like family every day," Gonzalez said after the agreement. "We have been working with Israel for years now, and this cooperation has always been characterized by an extremely high level of trust. Israel has played a large part in our sporting successes in recent years and is an important part of the ALBA Berlin culture," ALBA managing director Marco Baldi added. "I am very pleased that we are now continuing this fruitful cooperation – not only on a professional level, but also on a personal level."

Anadolu Efes Istanbul finished its 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign. Check this Slide Show with its best 10 pictures! 

Top 10 Photos of the 2021-22 Season: Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Rodrigue Beaubois - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Chris Singleton - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022

Elijah Bryant - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Adrien Moerman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Tibor Pleiss - Anadolu Efes Istanbul 

Vasilije Micic - Anadolu Efes Istanbul 

James Anderson - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Filip Petrusev - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Bryant Dunston - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Bryant Dunston - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB21

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFS

Rodrigue Beaubois - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB21

Chris Singleton - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Adrien Moerman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB21-PO3

Vasilije Micic - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFS

James Anderson - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB19

Filip Petrusev - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB21

It is the end of an era for Real Madrid after Los Blancos announced that head coach Pablo Laso will not coach the team next season due to medical reasons. 

Real removes Pablo Laso as head coach

Pablo Laso, 54, had coached Real for the last 11 seasons during which he restored its status as a continental power and EuroLeague title-contender level. When Laso joined Real in 2011, Los Blancos had last won the EuroLeague in 1995. With Coach Laso running the show, Real reached seven Final Fours out of a maximum of 10, won EuroLeague titles in 2015 and 2018 and competed in three other championship games. In early June, Laso suffered a heart attack during the Spanish League semifinals and did not return to the bench again last season.

In a statement released by the club, Real stated: “Real Madrid has made the decision not to keep Pablo Laso as coach of the first basketball team solely and exclusively for medical reasons.

“After the heart attack that our coach suffered a few weeks ago, Real Madrid has made several consultations with doctors and cardiology specialists and all of them have expressed the obvious risk to his health that continuing as the squad's coach at this time entails… Real Madrid considers that after this acute coronary event that led our coach to undergo surgery and to go to the intensive care unit, not making this decision would be absolutely irresponsible.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Comunicado Oficial: Pablo Laso.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RealMadrid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RealMadrid</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1544023373390413824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In addition to the two EuroLeague crowns, Laso led Real to six Spanish League championships, six Spanish Copa del Rey triumphs and seven Spanish SuperCups in his time in the Spanish capital. He also helped Real win the Intercontinental title in 2015. Laso was named the Alexander Gomelskiy EuroLeague Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018 and his team's attractive, run-and-gun playing style helped Real to fill the stands both at WiZink Center and on the road. More than 20 players, including Luka Doncic, Willy Hernangomez, Usman Garuba and more recently Tristan Vukcevic and Juan Nuñez made their EuroLeague debuts from Real’s youth program under Laso. 

 

Laso was also a legendary playmaker who still holds the Spanish League career records for assists (2,896) and steals (1,219). He played at the 1996 Final Four with Real, won the 1994-95 Saporta Cup with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and took part in 61 games with the Spanish national team, among other highlights. He has a 238-105 EuroLeague coaching record (69.4%). Laso also coached Castellon, Valencia Basket, Cantabria and Gipuzkoa Basket of Spain. 

 Joe Arlauckas hosts the Efes title-game star on the podcast's season finale

Back-to-back champ Tibor Pleiss joins The Crossover

Joe Arlauckas always like to talk to the big men, so who would make a better guest to conclude the 2021-22 season of The Crossover than Anadolu Efes Istanbul center Tibor Pleiss? Not only did Pleiss win his second consecutive EuroLeague crown, but he played a huge role down the stretch in the recent Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game in Belgrade, which the two discussed at length.

Of course, they started at the beginning. Pleiss grew up in Cologne, Germany – the home of the 2021 Final Four. Long before his dream of becoming a champion could become a reality, Pleiss's frustration with the time and effort that went into playing as a teenager almost caused him to walk away. 

\[13:45\] "I had two times consideration when I was playing for the young teams where I was thinking about quitting basketball... It was when I was 14-15," Pleiss revealed. "I drove like one and a half hours to practice. But I didn't play at all. I was traveling with the team. I think I was one of the best scorers on the team, but I had less playing time than anybody else. I had this moment where I was thinking, is this all worth it?"

Fortunately, Pleiss stayed with basketball and, by the time he was 17, was already training with the professional team in Cologne and even traveling to EuroCup games abroad. He was still a teenager when he left Cologne to play for Brose Baskets, where he made his EuroLeague debut. Pleiss would go on to play for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, FC Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, Utah in the NBA and Galatasaray in Turkey, which is where he first linked up with Efes head coach Ergin Ataman.

\[28:25\] "He called me at that time and said, 'Hey Tibor, I know you had a tough season, but if you come to me, we can do something good. I'll give you your free time. You can play. You can do whatever you want.' I think that's what made my decision even easier. So I moved to Gala."

One of Pleiss's great weapons has been his ability to stretch the floor with his long-range shooting, forcing opposing centers out to guard him on the perimeter. At first, however, it was not easy to convince Ataman to let him fire away from deep.

\[29:10\] "Go to the three-point line and give me 6 three-point shots in a row. If you make 6 three-point shots in a row, I'll give you 1 shot every game," Ataman said to Pleiss in a preseason practice in 2016. "I went to the three-point line and I think I made 8 in a row, or 9." 

Pleiss joined Ataman and Efes in 2018 and was a part of the big turnaround that saw the team go from last place the season before to the 2019 EuroLeague Championship Game. The following season, Efes was flying high and dead-set on winning the title when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

\[39:00\] "We just thought that this season was different. We had a great shape. We have to continue, so everybody tried to stay in shape," Pleiss recalled of the period when the 2019-20 season was first suspended. "And then of course, when they decided not to continue the season anymore, it was kind of like a hit."

Efes finally got the chance to win the title at the 2021 Final Four in his hometown. Even though he did not have a big part in the rotation when that Final Four rolled around, Pleiss showed his team spirit and character even from the bench.

\[45:30\] "I knew already that I had done my part as well. At the beginning of the season, I had some good games as well. I played good. And I felt like now, I don't care. Of course, I wanted to be on the court, but on the other \[hand\], I wanted to win the championship," Pleiss explained. "I told myself, I don't care who is playing, I want to go out, I want to leave and hold the cup in my hands."

The Final Four in Belgrade was Pleiss's third and he was physically and mentally ready for the challenge. So when the opposition focused more on his star teammates Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic, Pleiss was ready to take advantage. Among his highlights was a play that got Arlauckas out of his seat!

\[1:11:10\] "I got the ball, I wanted to shoot, I saw like Rudy \[Fernandez\] flying by. I was like, 'Have a good flight. Have a good take-off.' Just a little dribble and, I don't know, I took the shot and the ball went in," Pleiss relayed calmly. 

That shot, which Arlauckas considered the play of the game, helped Efes maintain control. Efes went forward to win it all for a second straight season and put Pleiss's name in the history books.  

With a one-hour format of exclusive one-on-one interviews, The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas goes well beyond the playing court with each podcast to delve into the life experiences that have made his guests protagonists and legends of the EuroLeague. The Crossover debuted in 2018 and has featured such current stars as Mike James, Guerschon Yabusele, Nicolo Melli and Vasilije Micic, coaching greats such as Georgios Bartzokas, Pablo Laso and Zeljko Obradovic, and legends like Theo Papaloukas, Nikola Vujcic and Mike Batiste, among others.

The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas is available on Youtube, [iTunes](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas/id1440034922), [Audioboom](https://audioboom.com/channel/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/6T1SYvGSpzyrYZpG9z2wjR), [Deezer](https://www.deezer.com/fr/show/65962), [RadioPublic](https://radiopublic.com/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas-6NkdjJ), [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ4ODM3OTkucnNz?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYzr_b78XtAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ), [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports–Recreation-Podcasts/The-Crossover-with-Joe-Arlauckas-p1174586/), [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas), [CastBox](https://castbox.fm/channel/The-Crossover-with-Joe-Arlauckas-id1467328?country=gb), [iVoox](https://www.ivoox.com/podcast-the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas_sq_f1629856_1.html) and other platforms.

Joe Arlauckas hosts the Efes title-game star on the podcast's season finale

Back-to-back champ Tibor Pleiss joins The Crossover 

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SEASON IN REVIEW

Latest videos

Interview: Mike James

Trailer: "Road to Greatness"

Top 10 Fastbreaks | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Top 10 Steals & Saves | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Interviews: Dogus Balbay & Bryant Dunston, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Top 10 Crazy Shots | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Printezis, teammates reflect on his unforgettable journey

Top 10 Long Shots | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Re-watch the season finale’s pre-game show from all angles!

Top 10 Alley-Oops | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Interview: Vasilije Micic

Top 10 Assists | 2021-22 | Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Top 10 Blocks | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Interview: Coach Ergin Ataman

Top 10 Dunks | 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

FEATURED NEWS

Back-to-back champ Tibor Pleiss joins The Crossover

Podcast

Climate change action sees Efes win Gold Marketing award

News

Real promotes assistant Mateo to head coach

Article

Mike James, Monaco: 'Coach Obradovic allowed me to be more of a leader'

Interviews

ALBA, Coach Gonzalez agree to extension

Article

Top 10 Photos of the 2021-22 Season: Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Article

Real removes Pablo Laso as head coach

Article

Top Performers