The 21-year-old was a shining light for the German team this season

ALBA’s Gabriele Procida secures 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star award

ALBA Berlin swingman [Gabriele Procida](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/gabriele-procida/008384/) has been named as the recipient of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy. The 21-year-old is the third Italian to secure the prize, following Andrea Bargnani (2005-06) and Danilo Gallinari (2007-08), and the first ALBA player to do so.

Voted for by EuroLeague head coaches, the Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best player each season who was younger than 22 on July 1 of the previous summer. Procida, who turns 22 on June 1, faced strong competition for the Rising Star award this year, particularly from his ALBA teammates and countryman Matteo Spagnolo. Procida posted better numbers overall and had a bigger role than Spagnolo or any of his potential opponents elsewhere, which possibly convinced a majority of head coaches to vote for him.

Procida showed flashes of the player he can become in the near future – from outstanding dunks to deep three-pointers, great versatility and very good intensity. He scored in double digits 10 times during the regular season, getting a career-high 22 points on the road against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in a 102-81 losing effort in Round 11.

ALBA Berlin swingman Gabriele Procida has been named as the recipient of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy. The 21-year-old is the third Italian to secure the prize, following Andrea Bargnani (2005-06) and Danilo Gallinari (2007-08), and the first ALBA player to do so.

That allowed Provida to lead all Rising Star eligible players this season in points, both with his overall total of 207 and also his average of 8.3 points per game. He is also first amongst eligible Rising Star players in total PIR (201) and average PIR (8.0), as well as in steals (1.4 spg.), ranking fourth among all EuroLeague players. Procida led the 2023-24 EuroLeague in steals per 40 minutes (3.3). Per 40 minutes, Procida averaged 19.0 points, 4.3 fouls drawn and a PIR of 18.4.

In addition to his ability to collect steals, Procida hit 58.2% of his two-point shots, in addition to averaging 1.6 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 1.9 fouls drawn in less than 18 minutes per game, mainly coming off the bench. Before a series of small injuries, Procida had a seven-game stretch between Rounds 10 and 16 in which he averaged 10.1 points, 1.6 steals and a PIR of 12.3.

Procida made his Italian League debut with Cantu in 2019. He played there until the end of the 2020-21 season, joining Fortitudo Bologna. He averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 26 Italian League games with Fortitudo in the 2021-22 campaigns, and has played for ALBA over the last two seasons. Procida has also been a member of the Italian national team and played at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The first-ever Rising Star award went to Erazem Lorbek of Climamio Bologna in 2005. He was followed by Bargnani of Benetton Treviso in 2006; Rudy Fernandez of Joventut Badalona in 2007; Gallinari of Armani Jeans Milano in 2008; Novica Velickovic of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in 2009; Ricky Rubio of FC Barcelona in 2010; Nikola Mirotic of Real Madrid in 2011 and 2012; Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus in 2013; Bogdan Bogdanovic of Partizan in 2014 and again with Fenerbahce Istanbul in 2015; Alex Abrines of Barca in 2016; Luka Doncic of Real Madrid in 2017 and 2018; Goga Bitadze of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in 2019; Usman Garuba of Real in 2021; Rokas Jokubaitis of Barcelona in 2022; and Yam Madar of Partizan in 2023.

Each day until the 2024 EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin, Germany, you can relive the greatest semifinal and championship games.

Catch the Final Four’s best-ever games exclusively on the EuroLeague’s YouTube channel

The countdown to the [2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/final-four/) is well and truly on.

After three drama-filled Game 5s on Tuesday and Wednesday, the [EuroLeague’s YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@euroleague) is the perfect place to get hyped up for the action in Berlin, Germany. The semifinals will be played on May 24 before the championship game takes center stage on May 26.

Until then, why not get ready for the 2024 Final Four by watching the greatest semifinals and championship games in the history of the EuroLeague.

### The perfect preparation ahead of the Final Four

Starting today, May 9, and lasting until May 23, 15 games – five semifinal games and 10 championship games – will be aired in full on the EuroLeague’s YouTube channel. These legendary encounters will drop between 19:00 and 19:30 CEST each day, so don’t miss out.

The 2016-17 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul squad celebrates winning the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title.

Relive the greatest moments from the semifinals and championship games as we gear up for Berlin

The FanZone at the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in the German capital promises to be among the largest and most exciting ever. The three-day event at Kraftwerk Berlin will be packed with engaging activities, stores and indoor and outdoor spots to sample the gastronomy of Berlin, making it the perfect place for sports fans to visit or for casual passers-by to be entertained. 

The FanZone at Kraftwerk Berlin is the place to be at the Final Four

The FanZone at the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in the German capital promises to be among the largest and most exciting ever. The four-day event at [Kraftwerk Berlin](https://kraftwerkberlin.de/en/) will be packed with engaging activities, stores and indoor and outdoor spots to sample the gastronomy of Berlin, making it the perfect place for sports fans to visit or for casual passers-by to be entertained.

As always, the main events at the FanZone revolve around basketball. In addition to scheduled appearances by players from the Final Four teams on Saturday morning, the main court and half-court will host 3x3 and 5x5 tournament games every day. There will also be One Team sessions with Final Four players and ambassadors, and the annual ANGT slam dunk & three-point shootout on Saturday evening with Euroleague Legends as the judges.

Basketball is a team sport and so is the FanZone! When the games of the Final Four are being played, fans can enjoy a watch party at Kraftwerk Berlin’s Main Stage with the broadcasts on a giant screen. That same spot will also host a concert on Saturday evening and live podcasts all weekend long.

The Euroleague Basketball family of partners is offering several stands for fans to visit. Turkish Airlines will set up a 360º rotating selfie photo booth alongside other games to play for prizes. Motorola will include a spot for fans to test their vertical leap and shooting skills. BKT offers fans the exclusive chance to be photographed with the EuroLeague Trophy and to play arcade games. OlyTV Studio will introduce a virtual reality three-point shooting game. And you won’t be able to leave the FanZone without your merch from the Spalding store.

The FanZone will have edible treats available for purchase as well. At the beer garden and food market, fans can find Gaston, Style your Burger, Noodeli, Berliner Genussmanufaktur Ice Cream and the Uludag food truck with the best doner kebabs in town.

Kraftwerk Berlin in the district of Mitte is a trendy exhibition hall set up on the site of an old thermal power plant. In the past, it has hosted concerts, operas, art shows and Ted Talks. And now it will play a central role as Berlin takes on the honor of global sports capital for the weekend of May 23 to 26.

The trendy spot in the German capital will host the annual FanZone from May 23 to 26. Meet players, see the EuroLeague Trophy, and enjoy games, food and fun.

The FanZone at Kraftwerk Berlin is the place to be at the Final Four 

Euroleague Basketball has announced the following disciplinary sanctions pertaining to incidents that occurred around Game 5 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.

EuroLeague Playoffs Game 5 disciplinary sanctions

- Panathinaikos Aktor Athens has been sanctioned with fines amounting up to €24,000 for the lighting of flares and the court invasion following the end of the game on occasion of its home game against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv  under Article 29.2.e, and i) of the Euroleague Basketball Disciplinary Code, respectively.

The 2017 EuroLeague champion qualified for the 2024 Final Four in dramatic fashion

Fenerbahce rewrote the history books with Game 5 win at Monaco

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has a habit of making history in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Back in 2017, Fenerbahce was the first-ever side to win Games 1 and 2 as the road team. Now, in 2024, it became the first-ever team to win a Game 5 as the visiting squad as [it beat AS Monaco at Salle Gaston Medecin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-makes-history-by-winning-game-5-at-monaco-79-80/) to advance to the Final Four in Berlin, Germany.

Just a few hours after the final buzzer in Monaco, Olympiacos Piraeus matched that same feat by downing FC Barcelona in Game 5 at Palau Blaugrana. There had been 19 seasons of best-of-five series and zero road winners in a Game 5, with the home teams going 19-0. Then, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos broke that curse on the same night.

That’s not to say that it was easy for Fenerbahce, though. Anything but. In what was a nervy contest throughout against AS Monaco, Fenerbahce was outscored in the opening two quarters and saw itself trailing 40-35 at the halftime break. A 6-point swing in the third allowed Saras Jasikevicius’s men to take a narrow 55-56 lead into the final frame, but Monaco did enough to win the fourth quarter by a solitary point, thus forcing overtime.

### A memorable and historic overtime period

Of course, it needed the first-ever overtime in a Game 5 for history to be made. But Fenerbahce wouldn’t have had it any other way. In the extra period, the visitors led just once heading into the final 30 seconds, with Monaco seemingly on course for back-to-back Final Four appearances and the Game 5 curse set to extend to 20-0 since 2005.

Game 4's lowest-scoring result of the playoffs was very unlike the high-scoring shootouts that had preceded it, with nobody scoring more than Marko Guduric's 14 points or Elie Okobo's 13. Head coaches Sasa Obradovic and Saras Jasikevicius could well introduce some new wrinkles in the hope of gaining an edge.

AS Monaco-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | Playoffs Game 5 | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

However, [Nick Calathes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-calathes/001932/) – who had gone 1 for 8 from distance with 2:06 to go in overtime – quickly wrote his name into Fenerbahce legend. Having made it 77-77 with 1:01 left by hitting his second three-pointer of the night, the 35-year-old made it back-to-back triples with what proved to be a dagger three as Fenerbahce took a 79-80 edge into the final 19 seconds. He wasn’t done there. On the final play of the game, Calathes’s pressure on [Elie Okobo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/elie-okobo/011212/) allowed [Georgios Papagiannis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/georgios-papagiannis/005844/) to force a turnover and send the Fenerbahce fans in the upper deck at Salle Gaston Medecin into raptures.

“I’m happy for my guys,” Calathes told EuroLeague TV afterward. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who are hungry. We’ve worked all year, we’ve been through adversity. Guys like [Scottie \[Wilbekin\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/scottie-wilbekin/006661/), [Tyler \[Dorsey\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tyler-dorsey/009849/), Papagiannis – first Final Four, man. The guy works his ass off. [\[Marko\] Guduric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marko-guduric/004004/) hit amazing shots, [Tarik \[Biberovic\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tarik-biberovic/006961/), [Nate \[Sestina\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nathan-sestina/011980/). We have a family as a team and we all help each other out. [\[Johnathan\] Motley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/johnathan-motley/011157/) was huge for us today. I could keep speaking, but I’m just very excited about going to the Final Four and doing it with these guys and this club.”

His 2 three-pointers in the last 61 seconds of overtime made history that Nick Calathes of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul addressed after his ream's Game 5 road win at AS Monaco.

Nick Calathes: 'It was a helluva series'

### Confidence, despite what had happened before

Heading into Fenerbahce’s do-or-die meeting with Monaco on Wednesday evening, there was a quiet confidence among many that either Fenerbahce or Olympiacos would make history by becoming the first road teams to win a Game 5. Yet, for Fenerbahce at least, the Turkish side had only ever played one Game 5 – also as the visitor – and it lost, falling in Piraeus last year.

Monaco, meanwhile, was playing in its third straight Game 5. It was defeated as the road team in 2022, losing to Olympiacos, but it advanced to the Final Four in 2023 after beating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at home. Therefore, the historical advantage – past and present – was on the side of the Monegasques. Coach Jasikevicius, however, never had any doubts.

“We were always ahead in the series,” the Lithuanian stated in the post-game press conference. “1-0, 2-1, with big opportunities to seal the deal. We didn’t do it. The players really understood that it would take this type of effort. We were not perfect today, fifth game on the road. The most important thing was to take it to the point where it’s nobody’s game. You guys saw it – at the end, Monaco could have won, Fenerbahce could have won. The ball fell Fenerbahce’s way. It’s as simple as that.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nick Calathes and Sarunas Jasikevicius have different goals for tonight 😂 <a href="https://t.co/FVvcqrQXiq">pic.twitter.com/FVvcqrQXiq</a></p>&mdash; BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasketNews_com/status/1788300938354069891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### More history was made

That wasn’t the only bit of history that Fenerbahce achieved. By beating Monaco, the 2017 EuroLeague champion became just the second team in the past five years to win a series as the lower-seeded side, following in the footsteps of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, which knocked out the higher-seeded EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in 2022 en route to its second consecutive EuroLeague crown. Will a similar outcome await Fenerbahce in Berlin?

Well, for the time being at least, Jasikevicius wants to bathe in the glory of Wednesday’s Game 5 victory. The time to think about Fenerbahce’s semifinal matchup with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens can be put on the back burner.

“It’s not the moment to talk about Berlin,” he added. “We need to enjoy this moment. The players left their hearts and souls out there. Like I said, we must be extremely happy and we are extremely happy. Berlin can wait.”

AS Monaco v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2024-05-08T17:00:00.000Z)

The Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz sniper averaged a league-best 19.5 points per game

Baskonia’s Markus Howard wins the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy

In just his second Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, [Markus Howard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/markus-howard/011948/) of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz etched his name into the history books by winning the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy thanks to his league-best average of 19.5 points per game. Howard set the EuroLeague’s single-season scoring record with 759 total points over 38 games between the regular season, Play-In Showdown and EuroLeague Playoffs.

The Ford Trophy is the only post-season award based solely on statistics. Howard overtook Mike James of AS Monaco in the second half of the season for the top spot. James finished second in the scoring race with 17.9 points per game followed by Wade Baldwin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in third with 17.4.

When Howard was on, there was no hotter player in the league. He became the first scorer in EuroLeague history to rack up at least 30 points in a game five times in one season. He made at least 5 three-pointers 16 times while shattering the competition record with 148 three-pointers made for the season. That bested the previous record by 41 triples! His total points scored were 19 more than the previous record. Both of those marks had been held by Alexey Shved, who set them in 2017-18 with Khimki Moscow Region.

In just his second Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, Markus Howard of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz etched his name into the history books by winning the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy thanks to his league-best average of 19.5 points per game. Howard set the EuroLeague’s single-season scoring record with 759 total points over 38 games between the regular season, Play-In Showdown and EuroLeague Playoffs.

At age 25, Howard is the second-youngest player to ever win the award. Drew Nicholas was 24 years old when he won the 2006 Ford Trophy with Benetton Treviso.

Among Howard’s best games were a 35-point assault on LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 9 and the same total at Real Madrid in Round 33. Howard was particularly lethal in the final stretch of the regular season; he averaged 25 points per game between Round 29 and 34.

The award is named after Alphonso Ford, who died of leukemia in September 2004 after a brilliant career in which he was the competition's leading scorer twice, in 2000-01 and 2001-02, both seasons with Olympiacos Piraeus. He subsequently led Montepaschi Siena in scoring as it reached the 2003 Final Four. Ford owns the EuroLeague's all-time best scoring average with 22.2 points in 54 career games.

Howard is the 15th winner of the Ford Trophy since it was first awarded in 2005 and the second to win it with Baskonia following Igor Rakocevic, who had the honor in both 2007 and 2009. Rakocevic is one of three players with multiple Ford Trophies. He won a third with Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2011. Keith Langford who with Olimpia Milan in 2014 and UNICS Kazan in 2017 and Shved won with Khimki in 2018 and 2021.

The other Ford Trophy winners are Sasha Vezenkov with Olympiacos Piraeus last season; Vasilije Micic with Efes (2022); Mike James with Milan (2019); Nando De Colo with CSKA Moscow (2016); Taylor Rochestie with Nizhny Novgorod (2015); Bobby Brown (2013) and Bo McCalebb (2012), both with Montepaschi Siena; Kleiza (2010); Marc Salyers with Chorale Roanne (2008); Drew Nicholas with Benetton Treviso (2006); and Charles Smith with Scavolini Pesaro in the award's original season, 2005.

After his string of inspired performances catapulted a storied club back to center stage, Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has been chosen by Euroleague Basketball as the April/May MVP in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

April/May MVP: Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens

After his string of inspired performances catapulted a storied club back to center stage, [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has been chosen by Euroleague Basketball as the April/May MVP in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Nunn, who didn't join the Panathinaikos lineup until November, proved to be a difference-maker come April and May as the Greens secured home-court advantage with a second-place finish in an oh-so-tight regular-season race, and then used it to win an epic playoff series that went the distance.

The competition's newest shooting star was at his best when it counted most, averaging 26.5 points in a pair of win-or-go-home victories against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv that sent Panathinaikos to the Final Four for the first time in 12 years. 

### Nunn joins rare rookie playoff deciders

The MVP of the Month is named by Euroleague Basketball based on his and his team's performances. This latest monthly award covered the final two regular-season rounds, the Play-In Showdown and the playoffs, a span of pressure basketball stretching from April 4 to May 8. Panathinaikos compiled a 5-2 record in that stretch, with Nunn leading his team in scoring in all but two games, including Game 4 and Game 5 of the playoffs, when the Greens faced elimination.

Nunn becomes just the third EuroLeague rookie to win the monthly MVP award that covers the playoffs period, after Ekpe Udoh with Fenerbahce Istanbul in April of 2016 and Brandon Davies with Zalgiris Kaunas in April of 2018. He is the first Panathinaikos player to be so honored in more than five seasons since Nick Calathes won the March award with the Greens in 2019.

Kendrick Nunn | April/May MVP |2023-24  Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

### Nunn propelled the Greens

As April began, Panathinaikos was among five teams with 20 or 21 victories fighting to remain in the top four to get home-court advantage in the playoffs. Nunn helped that cause immensely with a team-high 17 points in [a 75-82 road win at FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/fc-bayern-munich-panathinaikos-aktor-athens/E2023/295/). He then scored 28 more [to beat visiting ALBA Berlin 84-75](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/panathinaikos-aktor-athens-alba-berlin/E2023/301/), including 11 as the Greens came from behind in the fourth quarter of that regular-season finale to finish retain second place.

Paired with dangerous Maccabi in the best-of-five playoffs, [Panathinaikos lost Game 1 at home 87-91](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/panathinaikos-aktor-athens-maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/E2023/313/), in part because Nunn shot so little, going 4-for-4 on two-pointers but missing his only three-pointer and failing to reach the foul line. In Game 2, he upped his scoring slightly, to 10 points, as the Greens evened the series with [a 95-79 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/panathinaikos-aktor-athens-maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/E2023/317/). On the road for Game 3, [Maccabi struck back in a thriller, 85-83](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv-panathinaikos-aktor-athens/E2023/321/), to lead the series 2-1 despite Nunn's game-high 25 points, 13 of those in the fourth quarter as Panathinaikos came just short in a comeback attempt from 18 points down.

With his team facing elimination in Game 4 on the road, Nunn poured in a game-high 27 points to go with 4 assists for a PIR of 27 as [Panathinaikos won 88-95](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv-panathinaikos-aktor-athens/E2023/325/) to force a do-or-die series decider at home. In that memorable showdown, neither team led by more than 5 points until Nunn's three-point strike with 7 minutes left punctuated a 10-2 run that proved decisive. He then answered Maccabi's next 2 three-pointers with his own, preserving the cushion until the Greens could celebrate [an 81-72 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/panathinaikos-aktor-athens-maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/E2023/329/) and make a triumphant return to the Final Four. His 26 points and 27 PIR led all players in any of the three Game 5s.

### Nunn met the playoffs moment

At the end of the series, Nunn's 96 points ranked second all-time among playoff winners since best-of-five became the standard in 2009, and his 34 field goals made set a new record for winners. He finished with a playoffs-high scoring average of 19.2 points while making 16 of 31 three-pointers (51.6%) and 12 of 14 fere throws (85.7%). His numbers dating to early April were often better as Nunn has averaged 20.1 points over the seven games since then and made 24 of 43 triples (55.8%). He also had 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, contributing to an average PIR of 17.7 in that span. It all culminated with Nunn's best two PIRs of the season, which proved vital in giving the Greens their ticket to Berlin!

The hottest player in the EuroLeague Playoffs carried over his level of performance into Game 5, as Kendrick Nunn inspired Panathinaikos BC to the Final Four and earned MVP honors along the way.

Game 5 MVP: Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos BC

The hottest player in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs carried over his level of performance into Game 5, as [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) inspired Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to the Final Four and earned MVP honors along the way.

Nunn set a new personal best with his 27 PIR, which was the highest of any player in Game 5, as the Greens defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 81-72. Playing in his 33rd EuroLeague game, the 28-year-old netted a round-high 26 points after going 2 for 7 from two-point range, 6 for 10 on three-pointers and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. Of those 26 points, 13 of those came in the fourth quarter as Nunn saw Panathinaikos over the line. What’s more, his 6 three-pointers are a new Panathinaikos postseason record. Nunn also posted 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. This is his first MVP award.

The hottest player in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs carried over his level of performance into Game 5, as Kendrick Nunn inspired Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to the Final Four and earned MVP honors along the way.

Kendrick Nunn | Playoffs Game 5 MVP | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Olympiacos Piraeus also qualified for the Final Four, with center [Nikola Milutinov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nikola-milutinov/003941/) recording a 26 PIR in 25:16 minutes on the floor. The Serbian had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Reds’ 59-63 win at FC Barcelona, with Olympiacos becoming just the second team to ever win a Game 5 as the road team, a few hours after Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul had become the first. In addition to his double-double, Milutinov had 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. 

Coming in third place was Maccabi’s [Lorenzo Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/lorenzo-brown/009622/), who had a 24 PIR after netting 19 points, grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing 7 assists in his team’s loss at Panathinaikos. 

AS Monaco star [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) had a 20 PIR, the fourth-best mark in Game 5, as he amassed 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in his side’s defeat at home to Fenerbahce. 

[Donatas Motiejunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/donatas-motiejunas/lcz/), James’s Monaco teammate, had a 20 PIR following a night that saw him score 16 points, get 8 rebounds, make 1 assist and record 1 steal.

The first-year guard sent the Greens' fans wild with his fourth-quarter heroics

Game 5 MVP: Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-05-07T18:15:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona v Olympiacos Piraeus (2024-05-08T19:00:00.000Z)

Milutinov, Papanikolaou came up huge on Olympiacos historic night

Olympiacos is going to its third straight Final Four, which is the first time it has been done in club history. It did so by beating FC Barcelona in Game 5 on the road, something no team has managed to do in EuroLeague playoff history before Wednesday night.

Those tremendous feats were accomplished thanks in great part to the two Olympiacos players with the most EuroLeague experience – [Kostas Papanikolaou](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kostas-papanikolaou/001255/) and [Nikola Milutinov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikola-milutinov/003941/) – who each shined in a momentous 59-63 victory at Palau Blaugrana.

The two players who have more than 580 EuroLeague appearances between them have something else in common. They both missed the better part of this dramatic, hard-fought series.

Papanikolaou was out the first three games and then [refused to sit out Game 4](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/kostas-papanikolaou-nikola-milutinov-a-complete-olympiacos-bc-game-5/) when Olympiacos was down 1-2 in the series.

After being sidelined for more than two months due to a foot fracture that required surgery, Milutinov only played a combined 13 minutes in the first two games of the series, and missed Game 3.

But Milutinov found his footing in Game 4 and then dominated in Game 5.

Nikola Milutinov finished the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Nikola Milutinov's Game 5 highlights

"This is a group of champions", coach Georgios Bartzokas praised his players after the victory. But in this team effort, the performances of Milutinov and Papanikolaou were those that stood out.

Milutinov finished the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. His Barcelona counterparts Jan Vesely and Willy Hernangomez combined for 15 points, 4 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Papanikolaou, on the other hand, was more than the team leader. He also made some clutch shots along the way.

The Olympiacos captain made a triple in the final minute of the third quarter to tie the game at 40-40, the first time Olympiacos had tied the game after the first quarter. Then he nailed another three, his third of the nigh, with 2:25 to go on the clock, opening a 49-57 margin.

Game Videos

Milutinov had a tip-in early in the fourth, and also made an important steal when Barcelona had a possession to make it a 6- or 7-point affair with 6 minutes to go. Milutinov drew 3 fouls in the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly leaving Barcelona without fouls to give, then had a key offensive rebound in the final minute of the game.

Both players put the icing on the cake in the final 20 seconds. Milutinov had a dunk for a 54-59 lead and Papanikolaou made a steal and 2 free throws to ice the game with 7 seconds remaining, finishing with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

"When we started to lead, there was no chance for us to lose the game", Bartzokas said to the TV cameras after the win.

Because of the efforts of Papanikolaou and Milutinov, that statement remained true, and Olympiacos is heading to Berlin for the 2024 Final Four.

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Milutinov, Papanikolaou came up huge on Olympiacos's historic night