The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four gets underway on Friday, May 19, at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas Lithuania with a rematch from the 2022 playoffs and the always-magnetic El Clásico. Here's your quick guide to the semifinals.

### Olympiacos Piraeus vs. AS Monaco

[The action tips off at 18:00 local time in Kaunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2022-23/olympiacos-piraeus-as-monaco/E2022/327/) as regular season standings leader Olympiacos – gunning for its fourth EuroLeague title – takes on Final Four newcomer AS Monaco. Both teams had to go the distance in the playoffs, with Monaco overcoming Maccabi at home in Game 5 thanks to 21 points apiece from backcourt stars Mike James and Jordan Loyd. Olympiacos will look for defensive ace Thomas Walkup – who leads the league in steals with 1.8 per game – to disrupt Monaco's rhythm, and hope that Kostas Sloukas can continue his great form after averaging 14.6 points on 60.5% field goal shooting during  thrilling playoffs series with Fenerbahce. Monaco, which has Donatas Motiejunas playing in his hometown, will also have to limit them influence of league leading scorer Sasha Vezenkov (17.2 ppg), who scored at least 17 points in four of the five games against Fenerbahce, and super-sub Shaquielle McKissic, the other Olympiacos double-digit scorer in the playoffs.

Semifinals at a glance: Olympiacos Piraeus vs. AS Monaco

### FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

[It's a clásico semifinal for the second consecutive season](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2022-23/fc-barcelona-real-madrid/E2022/328/) as Barcelona takes on Real Madrid – which won 83-86 on the same stage a year ago – with tipoff scheduled for 21:00 local time. Barca will surely count on strong support in Kaunas thanks to the presence of two former Zalgiris men, iconic head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius and young guard Rokas Jokubaitis. But Real's remarkable comeback from 18 points down in Game 5 of the playoffs against Partizan shows that the 10-time champion is not scared of challenges and will look for in-form playmaker Sergio Rodriguez to continue his sweet connection with giant big man Walter Tavares. Barca, which will be powered by former Real forward Nikola Mirotic, has the advantage of rest after only needing three games to overcome Zalgiris in the playoffs, and also benefits from recent experience of the host venue after concluding that series at Zalgirio Arena. Barca will also hope that center and former champ Jan Vesely is fully healthy after he put up 14.7 points in the playoffs but left a subsequent domestic game with back concerns.

Semifinals at a glance: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

The semis at a glance: A rematch and a clasico

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

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

Lithuania Travel becomes Final Four partner

Euroleague Basketball is delighted to announce that Lithuania Travel has joined our family as an Official Final Four Partner. Lithuania Travel is the national tourism development agency for Lithuania, which made it a natural addition to the EuroLeague family of partners since the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas is among the most popular weekends on the sporting calendar.

Lithuania's people are warm and welcoming and visitors can experience the country's vibrant culture through plenty of experiences and events. From the charming Old Town of Vilnius, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to the picturesque Trakai Castle surrounded by stunning lakes, there are plenty of historical and cultural sites to explore in Lithuania.

While the Final Four games at Zalgirio Arena and the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals at Kaunas Sports Hall shine a spotlight on Lithuania as a sports destination, the architectural masterpiece that is Unity Square will be seen around the world as the host of the Final Four FanZone.

Around the games, Lithuania has plenty to offer visitors, from its fine locally-sourced cuisine, scenic seaside views along the Baltic Sea coast, hikes along beaches or national parks, or trips to museums and historic sites. Travelers to Lithuania this week – or any week – should be sure to check out Lithuania Travel and customize a perfect vacation.

The votes have been counted and the identities of the five players who make up the 2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team can be revealed! Members of the media, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague head coaches and team captains, and fans all voted to choose the best players from the 2022-23 season. 

Meet the 2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team!

The makeup of the All-EuroLeague First Team combines fresh faces with long-standing stars. There are two returnees from last season's first team in Walter Tavares of Real Madrid and Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus. This marks Tavares's fourth All-EuroLeague nomination and his third time on the first team. It is Vezenkov’s second such selection. Mathias Lessort of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, Dzanan Musa of Real Madrid and Lorenzo Brown of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv are all first-time All-EuroLeague members. 

### Mathias Lessort, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

The Partizan center was a force in the paint all season long and went on to lead the league in rebounds (7.1 rpg.) while placing second in average PIR (19.1). [Mathias Lessort](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mathias-lessort/003842/) tied for the league lead with eight double-doubles and became one of just 10 players in the last decade to average more than 3 offensive rebounds per game. A model of consistency, Lessort had PIRs in double figures in all but three games this season. His 67.6% two-point shooting percentage was the highest of all players with as many two-pointers (4.3 per game) made. Many of those buckets were high-flying alley-oops and putbacks, which delighted his legions of fans in Belgrade, whom he would ascend into the Stark Arena stands to sing and dance with after home wins. 

2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team: Mathias Lessort, Partizan Mozart Bet Belgrade

### Walter Tavares, Real Madrid

The man who gives new meaning to the term rim protector, [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) set a EuroLeague record with 84 blocked shots this season. He led the league in blocks with 2.2 per game and finished third in rebounding (6.6 rpg.) while remaining a force in the paint. That was never truer than in the playoffs when, after missing Game 2 to injury, Tavares roared in Game 3 with 26 points and 11 rebounds for a PIR of 41, which is tied for the second-highest in playoff history. He had the third-highest average PIR in playoff history (26.8) and was chosen MVP for April/May. This is Tavares's fourth consecutive All-EuroLeague nomination, which places him second all-time among centers behind only Nikola Vujcic.  

2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team: Walter Tavares, Real Madrid

### Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid

[Dzanan Musa](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dzanan-musa/006540/) was a revelation in his first full season in the EuroLeague. He led Real Madrid in scoring and was 10th in the league with 15.2 points per game despite averaging the fewest minutes per game among those 10 players. On a per-minute basis, Musa ranked fourth with an average of 25.2 points over 40 minutes. He was the only member of Los Blancos to appear in every game this season and ranked second on the team in both assists (2.7 apg.) and PIR (16.4). Musa made at least 10 free throws in a game four times this season and set a EuroLeague single-season record with 175 free throws made. After joining Real over the summer, he was the MVP of the Round three times (6, 9 and 29), which was second-most in the league. 

2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team: Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid

### Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus 

Winning this season's Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy was just the start of the impressive campaign by [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/), who was also the EuroLeague MVP of the month in both November and February. In addition to leading the league with 17.2 points per game, he ranked second in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and his league-best PIR (21.2) is among the five best full-season marks in the last decade. Vezenkov did it all with impressive shooting marks (65.4% 2FG, 38.5% 3FG, 87.9% FT), too. He tied for the league lead with eight double-doubles and claimed MVP of the Round honors a league-most five times, too. This marks Vezenkov's second consecutive selection to the All-EuroLeague First Team. 

2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team: Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus

### Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

[Lorenzo Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/lorenzo-brown/009622/) set career-highs in nearly every major statistical category this season, his fourth in the league, in leading Maccabi to within one game of the Final Four. He was the only player to rank among the top 5 in the league in both scoring (16.4 ppg.) and assists (5.5 apg.) and came within a whisker of a top 10 finish in steals (1.1 spg.), too. Brown had four games with PIRs of at least 30, including Round 5 when he earned MVP of the Round with 22 points and 9 assists against Panathinaikos Athens. His cool head in critical situations gave Maccabi the boost it needed in several big games and helped it turn in a winning season. 

2022-23 All-EuroLeague First Team: Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Olympiacos Piraeus will compete in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four for the second year in a row, having last season ended its five-year wait to appear in European basketball's showpiece event. Ten years on since Olympiacos last won the EuroLeague title, the Reds held their nerve to defeat Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 84-72 in Game 5 of the playoffs and record successive Final Four appearances for the first time since it won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. Having had a league-best 24-10 record in the regular season, which saw it enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, Olympiacos defeated Fenerbahce 3-2 in their five-game series and booked its ticket to Kaunas in the process.

### Round 1: Sasha Vezenkov led the Reds to a season-opening 70-80 triumph in Barcelona.

FC Barcelona - Olympiacos Piraeus | Round 1 | Highlights

### Round 4: Olympiacos ambushed Real Madrid 87-89 on a Kostas Sloukas game-winner.

Real Madrid - Olympiacos | Round 3 | Highlights

### Round 29: The Reds reached the playoffs first with a 72-74 escape from Kaunas.

Zalgiris Kaunas - Olympiacos Piraeus | Round 29 | Highlights

### Game 3: An epic Sloukas buzzer-beater stunned host Fenerbahce 71-72.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul  - Olympiacos Piraeus  | Playoffs Game 3 | Highlights

### Game 5: Sloukas and Kostas Papanikolaou starred to send the Reds to the Final Four.

Olympiacos Piraeus - Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | Playoffs Game 5 | Highlights

Road to Final Four: Olympiacos Piraeus

For the second year in succession and the seventh time in the last decade, Real Madrid will play in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. Los Blancos, led by first-year head coach Chus Mateo, appeared to be on the verge of a playoff defeat to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, trailing by 18 points late in the third quarter of Game 5 at WiZink Center, but they turned it around to win the game and book their place in the Final Four. Real had a 23-11 record during the 34-game regular season, ending up with the No. 3 seed courtesy of its inferior head-to-head record against archrival FC Barcelona, before downing Partizan 3-2 in its playoff series.

### Round 6: Dzanan Musa led Real past Milan to start a six-game winning streak.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan - Real Madrid | Round 6 | Highlights

### Round 21: Gabriel Deck starred in Real's comeback 91-86 OT win vs. Barcelona.

Real Madrid - FC Barcelona | Round 21 | Highlights

### Round 31: Real clinched home-court advantage by downing Fenerbahce 90-75.

Real Madrid - Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | Round 31 | Highlights

### Game 3: Walter Tavares dominated a season-saving 80-82 road win vs. Partizan.

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade - Real Madrid | Playoffs Game 3 | Highlights

### Game 5: Sergio Rodriguez rallied Real to beat Partizan 98-94 and reach the Final Four.

Real Madrid - Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | Playoffs Game 5 | Highlights

Road to Final Four: Real Madrid

AS Monaco has made it to the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four for the first time in its history, one year on from its heartbreaking defeat against Olympiacos Piraeus in Game 5 of the 2022 playoffs. In just its second year in the competition, Monaco has become the first team since Lokomotiv Kuban in 2016 to reach the Final Four in such a short amount of time. After having a 21-13 record during the regular season, good enough for the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, Monaco defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 3-2 in its series to advance to the Final Four.

### Round 5: Elie Okobo's 23 points sent Monaco past host Olympiacos 76-81.

Olympiacos Piraeus - AS Monaco | Round 5 | Highlights

### Round 12: Mike James's heroics decided a 94-95 overtime win at Real Madrid.

Real Madrid - AS Monaco | Round 12 | Highlights

### Round 32: Mike James fueled an 81-84 victory at Bayern to clinch home-court advantage.

FC Bayern Munich - AS Monaco | Round 32 | Highlights

### Game 3: Monaco never trailed to beat Maccabi 78-83 for a 2-1 series lead.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv - AS Monaco  | Playoffs Game 3 | Highlights

### Game 5: Mike James and Jordan Loyd starred in a 97-86 win for Monaco's first-ever Final Four ticket.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv - AS Monaco  | Playoffs Game 4 | Highlights

Road to Final Four: AS Monaco

FC Barcelona has reached the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four for the third year on the trot under head coach Saras Jasikevicius, having previously not got to this stage since 2014. The Blaugrana, aiming to finally end its 13-year wait to become EuroLeague champion, were the only team to not reach a Game 5 in the playoffs after convincingly beating Zalgiris Kaunas 3-0: 91-69 and 89-81 at Palau Blaugrana in Games 1 and 2 and 66-77 at Zalgirio Arena in Game 3. Barca had a 23-11 record in the regular season, wrapping up the No. 2 seed entering the playoffs due to its favorable head-to-head record against archrival Real Madrid, before going on to beat Zalgiris and achieve its third straight Final Four appearance under Coach Jasikevicius.

### Round 2: Sertac Sanli starred as Barca beat Real Madrid 75-73 in El Clásico.

FC Barcelona - Real Madrid | Round 2 | Highlights

### Round 13: Barca won in Monaco 63-69 with Nikola Mirotic back in fine form.

AS Monaco - FC Barcelona  | Round 13 | Highlights

### Round 22: Cory Higgins helped down Maccabi 83-78 to start a five-win streak.

FC Barcelona - Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | Round 22 | Highlights

### Round 30: Mirotic scored 26 as Barca beat Panathinaikos 74-88 to reach the playoffs.

Panathinaikos Athens - FC Barcelona | Round 30 | Highlights

### Game 3: Jan Vesely starred as Barca swept past Zalgiris and into the Final Four.

Zalgiris Kaunas - FC Barcelona | Playoffs Game 3 | Highlights

Road to Final Four: FC Barcelona

Anadolu Efes Istanbul registered a thrilling 74-77 victory over Olympiacos Piraeus in the first semifinal on Friday at the Final Four in Belgrade and thus will continue to fight for the first back-to-back Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles in almost a decade. Vasilije Micic, last season's Final Four MVP, broke a tie with a step-back three-pointer from the top of the circle on the buzzer to win it.

Real Madrid rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to outduel arch-rival FC Barcelona the rest of the way and win 83-86 in the second semifinal at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade, Serbia. Real's French connection drove the comeback, with Fabien Causeur and Geurschon Yabusele drilling 18 points each and Vincent Poirier coming up with big plays down the stretch. Sergio Llull added 15 points for the winners, including a key layup with 22 seconds left. For Barcelona, season MVP Nikola Mirotic had a monster double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Nicolas Laprovittola added 17 points and Brandon Davies 15 for Barcelona, which got 9 assists from Nick Calathes.

Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Championship Game - Full Game Replay

Anadolu Efes Istanbul made history by defending its crown from last season with a defensive-minded 57-58 victory over Real Madrid, the team with the most titles in competition history, 10. Efes becomes the first back-to-back EuroLeague champion since Olympiacos Piraeus in 2012 and 2013. The only other repeat winners since 1988 when the modern Final Four era began are Maccabi Tel Aviv (2004 and 2005) and Jugoplastika Split (1989, 1990, 1991).

### [Game Info](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2021-22/real-madrid-anadolu-efes-istanbul/E2021/330/)

Game Info

Final Four 2022 Belgrade

For the second year in a row, [Georgios Bartzokas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/bartzokas-georgios/?season=E2022) of Olympiacos Piraeus has been honored for leading the Reds to the Final Four by being voted the 2022-23 Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year by his fellow Turkish Airlines EuroLeague head coaches.

Bartzokas steered his team to a first-place finish in the regular season with a 24-10 record. He then guided the Reds to their 12th Final Four appearance with a thrilling 3-2 playoff victory against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul that made him the first coach in EuroLeague history to win four Game 5s.

Coach Bartzokas becomes the second person to win the Coach of the Year honor three times and the first to claim it in consecutive EuroLeague seasons. He had previously achieved this honor in 2012-13, his first season on the Olympiacos bench, after helping the Reds defend their EuroLeague title at the Final Four in London. Bartzokas was also chosen as Coach of the Year in the 2021-22 season, when he guided Olympiacos to its first Final Four appearance since 2017.

For the second year in a row, Georgios Bartzokas of Olympiacos Piraeus has been honored for leading the Reds to the Final Four by being voted the 2022-23 Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year by his fellow Turkish Airlines EuroLeague head coaches.

2022-23 Aleksander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year: Georgios Bartzokas

With a core of returning players, Olympiacos immediately found the right chemistry this season, opening with a four-game winning streak that included a sweep of road victories in Spain against FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Later, the Reds went on a seven-game winning streak in January and February, which allowed them to qualify for the playoffs first, in Round 29, with a road win at Zalgirio Arena, home of this season's Final Four. Olympiacos won its last nine regular-season home games to secure crucial home-court advantage in the playoffs. If finished 4-0 against fellow Final Four teams Barca and Real, which were second and third, respectively, to finish atop the regular-season standings. Olympiacos also won both of its Greek derbies against archrival Panathinaikos Athens.

Once in the playoffs, Olympiacos took Game 1 against Fenerbahce but dropped Game 2 at home, ending a 10-game winning streak in front of its fans. Olympiacos bounced back with a Game 3 win in Istanbul thanks to a game-winning three-pointer by Kostas Sloukas at the buzzer. Then, with the series tied at 2-2 following a Fenerbahce win in Game 4, Bartzokas worked his magic in Game 5 by leading Olympiacos to an 84-72 victory that booked his team's ticket to another Final Four.

Zeljko Obradovic of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade was second in the voting, followed by Kazys Maksvytis of Zalgiris Kaunas. Other coaches receiving votes were Oded Kattash of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Sarunas Jasikevicius of Barcelona, Sasa Obradovic of AS Monaco, Joan Penarroya of Baskonia, Chus Mateo of Real and Dimitris Itoudis of Fenerbahce.

Sharing the ball and playing strong defense, pillars of Bartzokas's system, have been crucial to Olympiacos's success. No team in EuroLeague history has dished as many assists as the Reds – 817 and counting – and their per-game rate of 20.9 is the second-highest average all-time. All those assists mean that, with two Final Four games left to play, they are on the verge of another record, for two-point efficiency. Their 60.1% success rate on two-point shot attempts currently sits above the standing record of 59.2% for Real's team way back in the 2001-02 season. On defense, Olympiacos leads the league with 7.5 steals per game while holding its opponents to the lowest average PIR of any team, 77.4 per game. Its own per-game PIR of 100.9 ranks second this season.

After retiring as a player at age 27 due to knee injuries, Bartzokas soon began coaching smaller clubs Pefki, Eraklio, Vrilissia and Kifissia before assisting Greek legend Panagiotis Giannakis and coaching Vassilis Spanoulis at Maroussi. Larissa made him a first-time head coach in the Greek League for three seasons, then he returned to Maroussi as the team's lead coach and made his EuroLeague debut in 2009-10 by taking the team from the qualification round to the Top 16, just missing the playoffs. After a stop at Panionios, Olympiacos appointed him to replace the late Dusan Ivkovic in the summer after the team won the 2012 EuroLeague title. Bartzokas and the Reds defended the trophy at the 2013 Final Four in London, making Olympiacos – until Anadolu Efes Istanbul's successive titles in 2021 and 2022 – just the second team to become back-to-back champion this century, following Maccabi Tel Aviv's successes in 2004 and 2005.

From Olympiacos, Bartzokas went to Lokomotiv Kuban and turned the team into a surprise 2016 Final Four participant. He coached the team that Lokomotiv beat in the playoffs, FC Barcelona, the following year before taking Khimki Moscow Region to its first and only playoff appearance in 2017-18. He returned to Olympiacos midway through the 2019-20 season and has steadily built the Reds back into the contender they are today, ending the team's five-year playoff drought last season and following up on the 2022 run to the Final Four by achieving that same accomplishment in 2023. Now, Bartzokas hopes to win his second EuroLeague title with Olympiacos, just as the late great Dusan Ivkovic did with the Reds in 1997 and 2012.