Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv made a lot of roster changes over the summer and enters the 2021-22 campaign with a more athletic and more experienced team. Coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos leads a deep, competitive roster ready to fight for a playoff spot.

### BACKCOURT

Scottie Wilbekin is once again Maccabi's backcourt leader. An all-around scorer with unlimited shooting range, experience and great determination, Wilbekin should have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. Maccabi signed two EuroLeague newcomers to help Wilbekin in the backcourt. Keenan Evans was one of the best players in the Israeli League last season, ranking fifth in scoring (18.5 ppg.), third in assists (6.4 apg.) and second in steals (2.1 spg.). Kameron Taylor is a tall, versatile swingman who is aggressive on defense and uses his physicality to help on the boards. Coach Sfairopoulos looked for more athletic players and Taylor definitely fits in. Team captain John DiBartolomeo is an experienced guard and tenacious defender with a high basketball IQ, which has made him a fan favorite in Tel Aviv. Yiftach Ziv is a talented, aggressive guard looking to leave his mark in his first season in the competition. A product of the club's youth department, Ido Ben Harush adds depth t the backcourt.

### FRONTCOURT

Maccabi brought in very experienced players around the baskets. Derrick Williams is an explosive power forward with outstanding athleticism, who can open the floor with his three-point shots, run like a guard in transition and ignite Maccabi fans with his high-flying dunks. Jalen Reynolds returns to Maccabi after a great season with FC Bayern Munich in which he averaged 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds over 39 games. He scored more two-point shots (222) than any other EuroLeague player last season, with great effectiveness (59.8% 2FG). EuroLeague champion James Nunnally is an elite three-point shooter (48.5% career 3FG) who also plays hard on defense and knows what it takes to be successful in the competition. Big man Jake Cohen is also back after a season in Spain. He offers reliable shooting, rebounds and experience. Ante Zizic is an excellent offensive rebounder and a great finisher around the basket. He runs the floor well for a player his size. Versatile forward Angelo Caloiaro should play a critical role at both ends, while Oz Blayzer and Roman Sorkin round out a deep, versatile frontcourt.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Maccabi is already Derrick Williams's fourth EuroLeague team, after previous stops with FC Bayern Munich, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Valencia Basket. Williams has all it takes to be a superstar in the competition. He is the kind of energy player that brings his team's fans into the game with his highlights. An outstanding dunker, Williams can play above the rim, finishing alley-oops and bringing fans to their feet with his high-flying blocks. He needs to improve his three-point shooting (34.7% career) to become a bigger threat, but playing for Maccabi and its trademark fans can only mean good news for Williams. Expect him to take a big step forward. At age 30, he is right at the prime of his career.

### OUTLOOK

Two years ago, Maccabi had a 19-9 record when the 2019-20 campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many saw Maccabi as a Final Four candidate last season, but it ended up 13th with a 14-20 record. By signing athletic players who know the competition well like Nunnally, Reynolds and Williams, Maccabi has made sure it will be very competitive from the start of the season. If Evans and Taylor step up and adjust to the EuroLeague level right away, Maccabi should have all it takes to be competitive against anyone, anywhere. Having an experienced coach, a very physical team ready to fight for 40 minutes and of course, some of the best fans in the world is a combination that should work really well.

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Roster rundown: Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

AX Armani Exchange Milan will be without guard Troy Daniels to start the season, the club announced Friday. Daniels, 30, suffered an injury to his right hamstring, which will require three weeks before it can be reevaluated. Milan is due to open the season on September 30 at home against CSKA Moscow. Accordingly, Daniels's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut will be delayed until at least the second week of October.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">📝 Comunicato Olimpia Milano su Troy Daniels ➡ <a href="https://t.co/ABw0fWuAmv">https://t.co/ABw0fWuAmv</a><br><br>📝 Olimpia Milano&#39;s Official Statement regarding Troy Daniels ➡ <a href="https://t.co/0taiLswcki">https://t.co/0taiLswcki</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://t.co/elelpwDSpD">pic.twitter.com/elelpwDSpD</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1438828349963620354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Milan's Daniels to miss start of season

With a heavy heart, Euroleague Basketball joins the world basketball family in mourning Dusan "Duda" Ivkovic, the two-time EuroLeague champion and dean of the coaching profession, who died in his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia, on Thursday, six weeks before his 78th birthday.

After following his late older brother Slobodan into coaching at age 25 in 1968, Mr. Ivkovic served at the head of benches around Europe in different five decades from 1978 to 2017. He coached at 12 pro clubs in his native Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Russia and Turkey, as well as leading the Yugoslav and Serbian national teams in three different decades. His impact on the sport and his status among his fellow coaches was such that he served as president of the World Association of Basketball Coaches in the mid-2000s.

"We at Euroleague Basketball are beyond sad to know that a close friend and a true giant of our sport, Duda Ivkovic, has left us too soon," Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball CEO, said. "It is no exaggeration to say that Duda impacted European basketball as much as any coach ever, growing up in one of the cradles of the sport, Belgrade, and taking many teams to the heights of success. Even more than his accomplishments, however, Duda will be remembered as a true leader to his thousands of players and to generations of coaches. Basketball has lost one of its pioneers, but Coach Ivkovic's legacy lives on in a thriving European game that he helped lift to where it is today."

Mr. Ivkovic, a relative of the world-renowned inventor Nikola Tesla, grew up on the same street in the Belgrade neighborhood of Crveni Krst as the open basketball courts belonging to Radnicki, the club where he would coach youth categories from 1968 to 1978, when he moved across town to Partizan, with whom he won the Yugoslav League and Cup, as well as the FIBA Korac Cup, in his first season at the head of a bench.

Mr. Ivkovic alternated between Serbia and Greece for the next decades, then started winning titles in bunches with four Greek teams in between 1990 and 2001. His first Greek League title came with PAOK in 1992 and his first EuroLeague crown with Olympiacos in 1997, when he won the national league and cup, as well, for a triple crown. He then added a FIBA Saporta Cup title in 2000 with AEK Athens.

In 2002, Mr. Ivkovic moved to Russia and led CSKA Moscow into three consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours while winning the national title each of those seasons. He moved next to Dynamo Moscow, with whom he won the 2006 EuroCup, making him the only coach ever to collect four different European competition trophies. But he was far from done.

Younger generations will remember Mr. Ivkovic as the mastermind behind one of the most unlikely EuroLeague titles ever won, when he guided Olympiacos to an upset of his old team, CSKA, in the 2012 championship game despite trailing by 19 points with 11 minutes left to play. He took a break from coaching after that but came back to lead Anadolu Efes Istanbul for two seasons before retiring officially in 2017. He was honored soon after as the first and still-only coach to be named an official Euroleague Basketball Legend.

In addition to his long list of championship victories as a club coach, Mr. Ivkovic had another one as head coach of Yugoslav and Serbian national teams, starting with a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Yugoslavia went on to win FIBA EuroBasket gold medals in 1989 and 1992 with Mr. Ivkovic on the bench, while in between his team climbed to the top of the sport globally by winning the 1990 FIBA World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He would add another EuroBasket title with FR Yugoslavia in 1995.

Rest in peace, Duda.

Euroleague Basketball mourns Dusan Ivkovic

FC Barcelona forward Alex Abrines is expected to miss the next four months of action after undergoing surgery for a patellofemoral injury in his left knee, the club announced Thursday. Abrines averaged 6.1 points on 42.3% three-point shooting as well as 1.8 rebounds in 39 games for Barcelona last season.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">❗ COMUNICAT MÈDIC - <a href="https://twitter.com/alexabrines?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alexabrines</a><br>Consulta tots els detalls<br>➡ <a href="https://t.co/3U8GrDuJWg">https://t.co/3U8GrDuJWg</a><br><br>❗ COMUNICADO MÉDICO - <a href="https://twitter.com/alexabrines?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alexabrines</a><br>Consulta todos los detalles<br>➡ <a href="https://t.co/m2WStSHSG1">https://t.co/m2WStSHSG1</a> <a href="https://t.co/KyF2MgoUGn">pic.twitter.com/KyF2MgoUGn</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1438589427601846276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </center>


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Barcelona: Abrines out four months after knee surgery

ALBA Berlin promoted Israel Gonzalez to head coach this summer in place of Aito Garcia Reneses who took a sabbatical. Gonzalez inherits a young and talented team that he knows well and has a few new weapons to help ALBA make a run at the playoffs.

BACKCOURT

There is no shortage of point guard options for ALBA. Native Berliner Maodo Lo comes off his best season yet. He is a team leader and his five years of EuroLeague experience help him in all situations. Tamir Blatt is new to the EuroLeague, but is the son of a former EuroLeague champion head coach, David Blatt, and his smooth passing skills and off-the-charts basketball IQ help make those around him better. After missing most of the 2019-20 season to injury, Stefan Peno returned to form last season on loan at fellow German side Rasta Vechta and is now back with ALBA. His size and athleticism have made Peno dangerous as both ends of the floor and his playmaking skills continue to improve. Shooting guard Jaleen Smith is a complete player and was the German League MVP last season with Ludwigsburg. He can score or serve as a secondary ball-handler, while also impacting games through his defense. In Marcus Eriksson, ALBA has one of the premier three-point aces in the game. No defense can rest when he has the ball. Jonas Mattisseck is following in Eriksson's footsteps as an elite shooter and figures to be a key reserve if not more; he started nine games last season. Malte Delow cracked the ALBA rotation last season as a teenager and will try to increase his role this season. The long arms and defensive intensity of Yovel Zoosman made him a fixture at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv the last four seasons and now he will look to take on a bigger role with ALBA. Only 23 years old, his brand of basketball should fit perfectly in Coach Gonzalez's plans.



FRONTCOURT

As Luke Sikma enters his fifth season with ALBA, he has become the team's signature player. A unique talent, he can be the club's playmaker from the post, score both in the paint and from the perimeter and affect the game with his rebounding, too. Louis Olinde is a modern stretch-4 who boats great size and feel for the game. Still 23 years old, Olinde's best basketball is in front of him. Another Berlin native, big man Tim Schneider does most of his damage from the three-point line, too. Ben Lammers turned lots of heads as a EuroLeague rookie last season with his dunks and blocked shots. There is every reason to expect Year 2 to be even better. Rugged center Johannes Thiemann does most of his work in the paint and is a strong rebounder, but can also stretch defenses with his shooting. At 2.23 meters, Christ Koumadje is a force to be reckoned with and an ideal rim protector. He joined ALBA late last season and now with a full training camp under his belt should be ready for a bigger role. Injuries limited Kresimir Nikic both in games played and effectiveness last season. There is every reason to believe that when healthy, he can be a dominant interior presence, too.

PLAYER TO WATCH

ALBA Berlin management has had an eye on Tamir Blatt for some time. In fact, they signed him in the summer of 2020 and loaned him back to Hapoel Jerusalem for another season. All Blatt did was lead the Israeli League in assists with 7.9 per game while setting career-highs in scoring (12.1 ppg.), rebounds (2.6 rpg.) and steals (0.9 spg.). The son of EuroLeague championship-winning head coach David Blatt, Tamir grew up around high-level basketball and absorbed the game smarts and on-court leadership from an early age. Those traits mixed with great passing and good shooting have seen Blatt develop into a EuroLeague-caliber point guard. This season he gets the chance to show his skills on that bright stage and if he adjusts seamlessly, ALBA will be a much more dangerous – and fun to watch – basketball team.

OUTLOOK

After an opening night date on the road with last season's runner-up, ALBA plays three straight games at home and an early winning streak could work wonders for the team's confidence. Though this is a young team with a head coach debuting in the EuroLeague too, many on the players have several seasons of EuroLeague experience and those that don't seem to be ready for the challenge. ALBA has the depth necessary to play hard for 40 minutes and a mix of team-first players, great passers and excellent shooters. Defense has been an Achilles heel for ALBA in recent seasons and if some of the new additions can help in that area, the outlook for ALBA will be bright.

Roster rundown: ALBA Berlin

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade added a familiar face to its frontcourt with the signing of Maik Zirbes, which the club announced on Wednesday. The contract is through the end of the calendar year with an option to extend it for the rest of the season. Zirbes (2.09 meters, 31 years old) returns for a third stint with the club where he has had some of his greatest success. He led Zvezda to the EuroLeague Playoffs in 2016 after averaging 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. That was his second consecutive season with Zvezda, which he later returned to in 2018-19. Zirbes has also played for Trier, Brose Bamberg and FC Bayern Munich in his native Germany, Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia, Guangxi Weizhuang in China and most recently with Shabab Al Ahli in the UAE. He has amassed 99 appearances over five seasons in the EuroLeague and 54 games in five EuroCup campaigns.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">Nemački centar Maik Cirbes vraća se u Crvenu zvezdu sa kojom je potpisao ugovor do kraja 2021. godine uz opciju produžetka do kraja sezone!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kkcz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kkcz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeCan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeCan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTheTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreTheTeam</a> <a href="https://t.co/aU4u0Kycx7">https://t.co/aU4u0Kycx7</a></p>&mdash; KK Crvena zvezda (@kkcrvenazvezda) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkcrvenazvezda/status/1438068721470394369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Zvezda, Zirbes reunite

After narrowly missing the playoffs last season, Zalgiris Kaunas’s goal is to play more than 34 EuroLeague games. Coach Martin Schiller is back and has several new and some old-new faces around him as the Lithuanian champs aim high once again.

### BACKCOURT

Zalgiris signed three first-class playmakers this summer. One of them, Mantas Kalnietis, knows the club inside out; he was born in Kaunas and this will be his third stint with the club. Kalnietis was named to the 2020-21 All-EuroCup Second Team after leading that competition in assists (7.1 apg.). Janis Strelnieks is in his eighth EuroLeague season and Zalgiris is his fifth team in the competition. He is a great three-point shooter with a high basketball IQ who is never afraid to step up in crunch time. Emmanuel Mudiay missed the entire 2020-21 season and is set to make his EuroLeague debut under Coach Schiller's guidance. Mudiay is a great athlete with top-notch scoring skills. Lukas Lekavicius and Arturas Milaknis are back to provide the fireworks from downtown. Lekavicius is a combo-guard with outstanding one-on-one skills and unlimited shooting range. Milaknis is a three-point specialist able to change any game with his high accuracy. Zalgiris added another great three-point shooter in Niels Giffey, who is also an energy player that contributes at both ends. Up-and-coming talent Mantas Rubstavicius and sharpshooter Karolis Lukosiunas give Coach Schiller even more versatility.

### FRONTCOURT

Edgaras Ulanovas is back in Kaunas to serve as Zalgiris's first option at small forward. Ulanovas is an all-around player with very good post skills for a player his size, which allows him to find many advantages on offense. Team legend Paulius Jankunas and Tyler Cavanaugh are set to split minutes at power forward. Jankunas is a smart player, a rock-solid rebounder and a deadly mid-range shooter in his 19th EuroLeague season. Cavanaugh is a more mobile forward who can open the floor from beyond the arc. Joffrey Lauvergne and Josh Nebo should see most of the playing time at center, but because they are very different players, they will likely play together on court, too. Lauvergne is a dynamic big man who runs the floor well, plays above the rim and is a solid rebounder at both ends. Nebo is an incredible athlete, an energy player who can get the crowd going with his blocked shots and outstanding dunks. He is also a very effective scorer (66.8% 2FG in Israel last season). Marek Blazevic offers post skills and hustle off the bench. He is also an excellent offensive rebounder.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Emmanuel Mudiay arrives in the EuroLeague at age 25 eager to fulfill his potential as an elite playmaker. He is a very physical, athletic and explosive player and knows how to maximize those strengths in one-on-one situations due to his great ballhandling and extremely quick first step. He is also a good pick-and-roll player with good court vision. Mudiay, however, is an up-and-down shooter, both from three-point range and from the free-throw line. He is in the right environment to improve his shooting skills and if he does, Mudiay has all it takes to dominate, as he is a smart player who knows how to use his big body and all-around skills to find advantages.

### OUTLOOK

Zalgiris lost some important backcourt players but, as always, moved well in the off-season market to find the right pieces. Having experienced point guards like Kalnietis and Strelnieks should make Mudiay even more dangerous in transition and one-on-one situations. With Mudiay and Nebo, Zalgiris has a more physical roster than last season and should use that to its advantage. As always, Zalgiris has a core of Lithuanian players surrounded by outstanding foreign talent. Coach Schiller did an excellent job last season and with Zalgiris fans back in the stands, the Lithuanian powerhouse should be more powerful than ever at Zalgirio Arena. If Zalgiris finds consistency, the sky is the limit.

Roster rundown: Zalgiris Kaunas

edgaras-ulanovas-zalgiris-kaunas-in-preseason-photo-zalgiris-eb21.jpg

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague newcomer AS Monaco, brought in some experience just a couple of weeks before the start of the 2021-22 season with the addition of big man Will Thomas to a two-year deal. Thomas (2.03 meters, 35 years old) arrives from Zenit St Petersburg, where last season he averaged 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 39 EuroLeague appearances, all of them as a starter. He was one of the key players that led Zenit to its first playoffs appearance ever, only to fall in Game 5 to eventual runner-up, FC Barcelona.

This will be Thomas's sixth EuroLeague season overall. He has already played with Unicaja Malaga, Valencia Basket and Zenit for a total 144 games and 1,186 points in the top continental competition. He also played in two 7DAYS EuroCup seasons with Valencia, winning the 2018-19 title and being named Finals MVP that same year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">✍️ 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 rejoint l’ASM ! 💥 L’ailier-fort expérimenté 🇺🇸 (2,03 m, 35 ans) sort de deux saisons accomplies avec le <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZenitBasket</a> en <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> 💪 La <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RocaTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RocaTeam</a> densifie sa raquette avec un intérieur impactant 👊<br>👋 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 🇲🇨 <a href="https://t.co/uPUbZt2KvM">pic.twitter.com/uPUbZt2KvM</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1437363908734558208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Monaco brings in Will Thomas

Last season, its first full campaign in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Zenit St Petersburg made history by reaching the playoffs before getting ousted in the maximum five games by eventual runner-up FC Barcelona. Now, the bar gets a little higher and the task gets a bit more difficult, as coach Xavi Pascual aims for more success.

### BACKCOURT

Zenit has a new man to run the offense in Shabazz Napier, an explosive playmaker who can score plenty himself and will have a lot of scoring punch around him. The team loaded up on players who can score in bunches, starting with Jordan Loyd, who ranked third in the league last season with 17.3 points per game. Zenit also added shooting ace Conner Frankamp and reunited with scoring guard Sergey Karasev, while swingman Dmitry Kulagin gives Zenit another capable scorer and versatile option on the wings. That is all in addition to sharpshooter Billy Baron, who enters this season with a streak of 29 games with at least one three-point shot made. Denis Zakharov gives this team depth on the perimeter, while young playmaker Andrey Toptunov and swingman Igor Volkhin will be looking to maximize their likely limited opportunities.

### FRONTCOURT

Zenit has one of the deepest frontcourts headlined by a trio of big men in Alex Poythress, Arturas Gudaitis and summer addition Jordan Mickey. Poythress and Gudaitis have been a productive pair of centers and now are joined by Mickey, who ranked seventh in scoring, sixth in rebounding and was the third-best shot-blocker last season. Anton Pushkov makes this a quartet of experienced options inside, surrounded by versatile forwards in Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Mateusz Ponitka. Both players are capable of going on scoring runs and are big contributors on the glass. Andrey Zubkov is a classic power forward who is entering his seventh EuroLeague season.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

In addition to a half-dozen veteran signings and players with EuroLeague experience, Conner Frankamp is neither. The 25-year old scoring guard is in his third professional season, but first in the EuroLeague and is itching to prove himself on the elite level after conquering domestic competitions. In the past two seasons, Frankamp averaged 20.9 points in the Greek League and 15.7 points in the Spanish League. Though he boasts unlimited shooting range, Frankamp is also adept at getting to the basket and with all eyes on his backcourt mates Loyd and Napier, it will be interesting to see how Frankamp punishes any opposing defense foolish enough to leave him alone.

### OUTLOOK

Judging by the summer signing activities, Zenit looks determined to get back to playoff contention and avoid being dubbed as a one-year wonder. The club not only addressed its depth both inside and on the perimeter, but added a half-dozen very capable scorers, including Loyd and Mickey - two of the top seven from last season's scoring rankings. Guided by Coach Pascual, who has won it all and has a knack for leading teams to the playoffs, expect Zenit to be a significant factor and a serious contender once again this season.