In the blockbuster move of the summer, superstar guard Alexey Shved is returning to CSKA Moscow, with which he made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut almost 15 years ago, the club announced on Thursday. Their contract is for one season with an option for 2022-23. Shved (1.98 meters, 32 years old) is an offensive tsunami who has won the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy twice, including last season, when he averaged league-highs of 19.8 points and 7.7 assists for Khimki Moscow Region. As such, he was the first EuroLeague player ever to lead the competition in both of those statistical categories, let alone in one season.
"We have talked with Alexey several times already. He has expressed great motivation and a big desire to come here, help the team win more titles, and play good basketball. Alexey has obvious respect for CSKA's organization," CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. "He understands what it means to work in the CSKA environment, to work alongside our important players who brought many titles to the club, who have played here for many years. He is ready to add his skills to the team equation, to work on the common goal. We welcome Alexey and wish him health and success together with our team."
Shved was crowned a EuroLeague champion as a 19-year-old with CSKA in 2008 after contributing in eight games that season, one of five at the start of his career in which he played part-time with the club. In his first full-time role, Shved averaged 10.6 points in the 2011-12 season, which ended in disappointment when Olympiacos Piraeus upset CSKA in the championship game on the season's final shot. Shved moved to the NBA for stints with Minnesota, Philadelphia, Houston and New York before returning home in 2015 to Khimki and averaging 15.9 points in EuroLeague play. The next season, Shved led the 7DAYS EuroCup in scoring with 22.1 points per game, then he and Khimki returned to the EuroLeague for the last four seasons.