2023-24 Roster Rundown: Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

Last season marked a memorable return to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. Head coach Zeljko Obradovic's team overcame a 4-9 start to reach the playoffs, only to squander a 2-0 series lead and lose to eventual champion Real Madrid. The club's first EuroLeague campaign after eight years was also memorable for the fans who repeatedly packed Stark Arena in Belgrade, turning every home game into a celebration of basketball. This past summer, Partizan has built a roster that it hopes will be the foundation for even more success.

BACKCOURT

The go-to guy for Partizan will once again be All-EuroLeague guard Kevin Punter, who finished as the EuroLeague's seventh-best scorer, with 16.1 points per game last season, including 22.7 in the playoffs against Real Madrid. Punter came up clutch time and time again for Partizan, as did veteran swingman James Nunnally, who will be entering his fifth season with two different clubs under Coach Obradovic. What's unique about this backcourt with three weeks to go before the start of the season is that it lacks a career-long point guard.

As it stands now, playmaking duties will be in the hands of Aleksa Avramovic, Ognjen Jaramaz and PJ Dozier. Both Jaramaz and Avramovic have been primarily scoring guards who turned into ball-handlers. Jaramaz, a die-hard, life-long Partizan fan, has returned to his native club after two seasons with FC Bayern. Avramovic, a stellar defender, will be in his third season with the team, over which time ha has grown into the playmaking role. Dozeir is a do-it-all guard who can score in bunches, but is also a defensive ace able to guard positions "one" through "four". Hard-charging small forward Mateusz Ponitka is no stranger to creating for his teammates, either, while Danilo Andjusic is a trusted sharpshooter off the bench who can change the dynamic of a game on any given night.

FRONTCOURT

Very much like its backcourt, Partizan's frontcourt exudes versatility. Under the basket, Zach Leday will continue to be a force for his fourth season in a Partizan uniform. Whether playing power forward or center, LeDay does it all at a high level. He will be mostly paired with Partizan's splashy summer signing, center Frank Kaminsky, who is known for his high basketball IQ and great shooting range. Young big man Alen Smailagic, who plays both frontcourt positions, plans to build on his rookie EuroLeague season and his 7.4 points on 66.7% three-point shooting in the playoffs.

Around these three, Partizan has youngsters with EuroLeague experience ready to contribute. The 22-year old small forward Uros Trifunovic started 11 games last season, and usually brings great energy on the court. Even-younger, 20-year old shooting threat Tristan Vukcevic will hope to get more chances after logging 13 appearances a season ago. Meanwhile, center Balsa Koprivica hopes to put an injury-plagued season behind him and return to his 2021-22 form, when he led the EuroCup in blocks and offensive rebounds per-40 minutes.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Aleksa Avramovic missed the first 14 EuroLeague games last season with a broken right arm, and then broke his left hand in Game 3 of the playoffs against Real Madrid. In between, Avramovic with his never-stop motor, was one of the main protagonists in Partizan's season. What speaks about his impact more than 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game is the fact that Partizan had a 17-6 record in games that Avramovic played. Coming off a memorable World Cup where he harassed opposing playmakers with his relentless defense en route to Serbia winning the silver medal, this fan favorite is set to be a big impact player for Partizan this season.

OUTLOOK

After coming with one victory of reaching the Final Four a season ago, Partizan is not hiding its ambition to get there this time. The majority of the core players from last season has been kept in place for Coach Obradovic, and Partizan went out to hand-pick four additions who can fit right in. Partizan had a very slow start last season but still managed to overcome it. It will be key for this team to avoid digging itself another hole by getting its engines started early. Punter & co. certainly plan to do that with the help of their fans, who made every home game last season a must-see event. It will be no different at Stark Arena this season again, giving Partizan all the motivation it needs to take one step further.