How to get into the european basketball league

Pro Placement Program | Europe Basketball Academy

Want to maximize your value and start a professional career in Europe? Europe Basketball Academy is an excellent place to start. We are placing players in the best European leagues! Program intake for the next group of future professional men is on October 5th, 2022.

Pro Placement Program

The program is recommended for players who are looking to play professional basketball - with or without professional experience in Europe. To be eligible for tryouts in the big leagues, a player must attend the Pro Placement Program where he will gain expert references from respected and recognized coaches.

Upon arrival, each player will be tested and evaluated by qualified European basketball coaching experts. The Player's current skill and shape level will be determined through specially crafted tests that measure: endurance, quickness, agility, strength, free-throw shooting, 2 point shooting, and 3 point shooting. The Player has to reach certain professional standards regarding minimum basketball skill and physical abilities required by professional leagues in Europe.

The principal competitive advantage of our Pro Placement Program compared to similar commercial events is that we accept a maximum of 20 players in our training camp, so our team of experts can perform all logistic activities on and off the court to provide every player with the best chances of signing a pro contract.

Our job openings list is regularly updated, and we are in contact with clubs, GM's, and coaches on a daily basis, informing them about profiles of players we currently have in our training camp.

The age limit for starting a professional career in big European leagues is 18.

Please note that we do not accept video material as proof of quality. We insist on preparing and evaluating the players ourselves, to be able to guarantee for them.

Arranging professional opportunities for players or advancing them in already started careers; establishing contact between players and respected European agents or agencies after players complete Pro Placement Program and reach needed pro standards for playing professional basketball in Europe.

Europe Basketball Academy has a FIBA licensed basketball agent as a staff member. In the case of a job offer, the agent will provide legal coverage and assistance in mediation between the club and the agent.

In 11 years of conducting this program, more than 300 contracts have been arranged for players who have never played in Europe before. Some of the names we are proud to present are Nicholas Paul, Zavier Coston, Nick Lee, Laszlo and Balazs Blaskovits, Jeff Monfort, Jonas Perkis, Sebastian Opon, Matt Dahlen, Udun Osakue, Kyree Marshall, Stefan Radosavljevic, Zoran Nikolic, Kabangu Kasamba, Geovonte Rose, Marcin Duda, Anthony Freeman Jr, Brandon Spearman, Ryan Aaron, Watkins Williams, Kendall Timmons, Andre Woodlin, Emerson Murray, Antoine Allen, Gerald January, Mike Terry, Dusan Sisic, Uladzimir Krysevich, Brandon Roberson, James Tyler, Kendrick Jones, Khion Sankey, Alex Welhouse, Miles Burnside, Martin Smith and many others.

Accommodation & Nutrition

Players are accommodated in residence with shared rooms, bathroom, and WiFi. Each day players have meals that are adapted to player's sports nutritional needs.

Read More in Accomodation & Dining section

Usual daily schedule

06:00 am

Wake up

06:30 am

Breakfast

08:00 am

Morning practice

10:30 am

Weight room workout

12:00 pm

Lunch

01:00 pm

Mandatory rest

02:30 pm

Afternoon practice

05:30 pm

Indoor pool recovery

07:00 pm

Dinner

08:00 pm

Free time

10:00 pm

Lights out

Price and Duration

Price includes:

• Accommodation
• Nutrition
• Professional European coaching on daily level
• Usage of suitable basketball facilities
• Tutorial advice
• Organized basketball games/scrimmages
• Opportunities arrangements upon of completing program
• Airport pick up

Price does not include:

• Flight cost
• Medical insurance 60 EUR per month

How to Play Basketball Overseas - Step by Step Guide

The goal of any athlete is to make a living playing the sport they love. In basketball, if you don’t make it to the NBA or the NBA G League, there are hundreds of other leagues around the world where you can live out your dreams of making good money playing basketball. This step-by-step guide will break down the steps on how to play basketball overseas.

Table of Contents

Step 1:

How to play basketball overseas for Americans image by EuroProBasket

You need experience playing at the highest level to get the most interest from teams overseas. So your goal should be to make it to the top level wherever you are currently living and playing.

American Players

Ncaa D1 – Teams overseas know that there is a ranking system in the USA that has Ncaa D1 at the top followed by Ncaa D2 and Ncaa D3. NAIA is still not completely clear to a lot of teams overseas but can still provide good experience.

Canadian USPORTS is becoming more known to teams across the pond. The Canadian NBL is a great option for quality experience.

Juco and high school experience is usually not enough to get serious interest from teams overseas. That is if you are not ranked in the nation such as LaMelo Ball or Brandon Jennings. Go for a 4 year University program at the highest level possible.

AAU and shoe sponsored club teams will help you get exposure to Universities but will rarely get you enough exposure to get overseas.

If your time has passed with University eligibility or it’s just not for you, the best option is getting on a semi-pro team. Make sure you read the last section of the article if you fall under this category.

International Players

Club Teams – For International players, this is the only way to play basketball competitively. Work to get on the best club team in your city or town.

Junior National Team – Your goal should be to play for your country’s national team. The senior team would be the ultimate goal but junior teams will get you exposure.

Get stats – How to play basketball overseas image via EuroProBasket

If you go Ncaa D1 and don’t get any minutes, struggle to get stats, then you will also struggle to get interest from teams overseas.

Go D2 and be an All-American. That will get you great playing experience, and quality stats, which could lead to a professional contract.

NCAA, NAIA, USPORTS, international club teams and leagues; got those numbers up while adding value to your team.

Make sure you know where to locate your stats. Keep track of them and add them to your resume at the end of every season.

Game film is your way to show your talent, athleticism and decision making skills to teams around the world. Video is the 2nd step in your search of how to play basketball overseas.

One Highlight Per Season – Sum up every season you play with a highlight. Teams, coaches, agents…like to get a quick glimpse of how you move and shoot. This will peak their interest and get them to consider watching some of your full games.

Two Full Games per Season – This is pretty self explanatory but you need two full games per season played. this is a minimum. Some teams may ask for more. Make sure they are the best games you have played, both on offense and defense.

You should be in control of your own film. Make a YouTube channel, vimeo or sign up for another streaming service. Membership is free and you can upload as many videos as you want.

Acceptable Video – YOU Need to Read This

The quality of the competition is absolutely critical to getting a team overseas to watch your video. Low level and disorganized competition will not gain any attention from clubs overseas.

Open gyms, open runs, YMCA, Juco or high school is not high enough quality to get the interest from contacts overseas. You need to get the highest competition possible. Playing against adults in an organized competitive environment.

NCAA, NAIA, USPORTS are the best options for players from America. International players can use their country’s local competitions. The higher the level of competition the better.

Semi-Pro Leagues in the USA can be good options as well. Not all teams overseas will consider it but many will. It is important your team is organized and the competition is high level. Good effort on defense. Running organized sets and plays on offense.

Overseas Basketball Combine , exposure camps, and showcases in the USA will not get you a team’s interest. Take our word for it, or read this article for reasons why teams do not consider it a viable option to scout players.

More information on why USA overseas basketball combine film will not help you get overseas below.

Overseas Tour game film can work well due to the fact that you are usually playing overseas teams. Be selective on which tour you go on. If you take a tour to Latin America, don’t expect to use the film to help you get on a team in Europe.

Workout videos or clips of yourself working out will rarely get you anywhere. If you have some solid game film and you have had a few months off, it is possible that a team will want to see some workout film to make sure you are in shape. This is usually not the case though.

Mixtapes and slow-mo video clips are cool but not beneficial for coaches and scouts. It will get you some props from your friends and IG followers but will do nothing to get you signed.

EuroProBasket game film – Players in the EuroProBasket program play weekly games against European teams. The leagues that EuroProBasket team plays teams in are recognized around Spain and the rest of Europe. If you are asking yourself How to Play Basketball Overseas, we have your answer here in Valencia, Spain: Register to be part of EuroProBasket’s Professional Placement Program here.

Bosman A, Bosman B, Cotonou passports image via EuroProBasket

You cannot leave your country without a passport, with a few exceptions, which are not worth mentioning for this article.

You will need that passport to travel and on many occasions to register for an international team or league. Take care of that before you start your plans to go abroad.

Dual Citizenship and its Benefits in Overseas Basketball

You may have heard of players being dual citizens or having dual passports. This is one of the first things we recommend our players at EuroProBasket to look into.

If your parents were born in another country or have their citizenship in another country, you are eligible to receive yours as well.

You could possibly be eligible for another citizenship if your grandparents were born in another country. Do some research on your family’s historical background as it will greatly benefit you.

If you have a European passport for example, you will be considered a European player instead of an import player. No visa is required to register you to a team and there are 3-5 times as many roster spots available for European Bosman A passport holders than there are for import players, or USA passport holders. 

If you have citizenship in a specific country, it doesn’t matter the country, and there is a professional basketball league in that country, you will most likely be considered a local player. This has many benefits and will prolong your professional playing and even coaching career indefinitely.

Bosman A – Bosman B – Cotonou – The Differences

These passports are for citizens of the European Union. There are 27 countries in the EU with a few exceptions that are added to the list of Bosman A players. This is arguably the most beneficial passport to have in overseas basketball. You can find some interesting information about the bosman ruling and how it changed European and Ncaa basketball here.

These passports are countries in Europe but excluded from the European Union. Most European leagues have roster spots reserved for players with these passports. Registration to the league is typically less expensive than an import players registration. Players will need a visa to play and work in the country in which the team is located.

Cotonou

These passports are from developing countries, or third world countries in Africa and many Island Nations. Many leagues in Europe (Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland,ect…) have roster spots specifically for these passport holders. Their registration fee to the league is cheaper for the team. They too need a visa to work and play in the country where the team is located. More about the cotonou agreement here.

Bosman A, Bosman B and Cotonou Countries Table

Bosman A	Bosman B	Cotonou	Cotonou cont…
Andorra (AND)	Albania (ALB)	Angola (ANG)	Liberia (LIB)
Austria (AUT)	Armenia (ARM)	Anguilla (ANL)	Macau (MAC)
Belgium (BEL)	Azerbaijan (AZE)	Antigua (ANT)	Madagascar (MAD)
Bulgaria (BUL)	Belarus (BLR)	Aruba (ARU)	Mali (MLI)
Croatia (CRO)	Bosnia-Herzegovina (BIH)	Bahamas (BAH)	Marshall Islands (MAI)
Cyprus (CYP)	Georgia (GEO)	Barbados (BAR)	Mauritania (MTN)
Czech Rep. (CZE)	Gibraltar (GIB)	Belize (BIZ)	Mauritius Island (MAU)
Denmark (DEN)	Israel (ISR)	Botswana (BOT)	Micronesia (MCR)
Estonia (EST)	Moldova (MDA)	Burkina Faso (BUR)	Mozambique (MOZ)
Finland (FIN)	Montenegro (MNT)	Burundi (BDI)	Namibia (NAM)
France (FRA)	North Macedonia (MKD)	Cameroon (CMR)	Nauru (NRU)
Germany (GER)	Russia (RUS)	Cape Verde (CPV)	Nigeria (NGR)
Greece (GRE)	San Marino (SMR)	Central Africa (CAF)	Palau (PLW)
Holland (NED)	Scotland (SCO)	Chad (CHA)	Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Hungary (HUN)	Serbia (SRB)	Cook Islands (COK)	Rwanda (RWA)
Iceland (ISL)	Switzerland (SUI)	Cuba (CUB)	Saint Kitts (SKN)
Ireland (IRL)	Turkey (TUR)	Dominica (DMA)	Saint Lucia (SLA)
Italy (ITA)	Ukraine (UKR)	Dominican Rep. (DOM)	St. Vincent & Grenadines (VIN)
Kosovo (KOS)	United Kingdom (ENG)	Eritrea (ERI)	Samoa (SAM)
Latvia (LAT)	Wales (WAL)	Ethiopia (ETH)	Senegal (SEN)
Lithuania (LTU)		Fiji (FIJ)	Seychelles (SEY)
Luxembourg (LUX)		Gabon (GAB)	Sierra Leone (SLE)
Malta (MLT)		Gambia (GAM)	Solomon Islands (SOL)
Norway (NOR)		Ghana (GHA)	South Africa (RSA)
Poland (POL)		Grenada (GRN)	Sudan (SUD)
Portugal (POR)		Guam (GUM)	Suriname (SUR)
Romania (ROM)		Guinea (GUI)	Tanzania (TAN)
Slovak Rep. (SVK)		Guinea Bissau (GBS)	Tonga (TGA)
Slovenia (SLO)		Guyana (GUY)	Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)
Spain (ESP)		Haiti (HAI)	Turks and Caicos (TKS)
Sweden (SWE)		Ivory Coast (IVO)	Uganda (UGA)
		Jamaica (JAM)	Vanuatu (VAN)
		Kenya (KEN)	Zambia (ZAM)
		Lesotho (LES)	Zimbabwe (ZIM)

Bosman A, Bosman B, Cotonou Countries List chart by EuroProBasket

Player Resume – How to play basketball overseas image via EuroProBasket

• Include Personal Information, picture playing or in a professional outfit
• Include stats for every season, as detailed as possible as to not have team searching (remember teams and agents go through hundreds every week)
• Add Highlight links and full game links so they are clickable
• Add whatever accolades and achievements
• Add references if you like
• Save it in a pdf and have it on file so you can update it
• Make it organized and professional looking
• It only needs to be one or two pages
• Leave out the self explanation, self scouting and NBA player comparison
• Remember, less text is better, English is the 2nd, 3rd or 4th language of the person looking over your bio
• Have it ready to send on your phone
• We made an article specifically on how to make a basketball resume which can be found below.

• Use current contacts with coaches, trainers and teammates
• Create and use social media accounts, most contacts abroad have facebook, linkedin and twitter. Some have instagram accounts.
• Create your own website with all of your stats and video links if you can.

A basketball agent will have the contacts to help you get your career started overseas. There is a lot you need to know about overseas agents though. We covered every detail in the article below.

Step 8: Best Opportunities to Play Overseas Basketball

Best opportunities to play overseas basketball image via EuroProBasket

You’ve attempted Steps 1 through 7 of how to play basketball overseas. You still don’t have a team. Here are your options.

If you want to play in Japan, go to Japan and present yourself to teams. It is a big risk and very expensive but If you can walk in a gym and tryout for a team it makes your chances much higher that the team will give you an opportunity to sign with them.

There are obvious downsides to this option. Many teams only allow a certain amount of import players. Higher level teams have specific needs and there is a chance that you are not that exact fit for the team.

Showcases in the USA are hit or miss. More miss than hit. Too many players, un-organized open run type of basketball. Most teams cannot afford to send a coach or GM to the US to scout a group of players. It is much easier and less expensive for them to contact an agent for players with professional experience.

Live streams mean a busy person needs to take time out to watch, taken into account the time difference. Don’t fall for the gimmick many camps and combines in the USA try to sell to players.

Agent showcases can be a good option. Usually only the top one or two players will be interesting for the agency.

Basketball Academies & Overseas Tours

These options take more of an investment but what is a career in basketball worth to you? Put yourself in the middle of a country or region that you are interested in living and playing basketball.

Downsides to a tour is that it can be difficult to get a good rhythm and perform in just a week or 10 days. You don’t have much time to practice and get accustomed to your tour team. You will be moving from one location to nother with many hours of travel. Tours are really difficult to time as teams sign players at different times of the year, so when is the best week for the tour? Your guess is as good as theirs…

Some are organized and done by professionals, most are disorganized and can be very uncomfortable and in some cases scary.

A basketball academy is your best all around option. If you want the most legit shot at going pro then why not select the best basketball academy, with the longest history of helping players sign with teams in Europe? Located in the largest basketball facilities in Europe in collaboration with one of the biggest clubs in Europe. EuroProBasket will help you get to the next level.

The best and most secure opportunity to start your professional basketball career overseas is with EuroProBasket International Academy. Here are 21 reasons why.

Sign up for the most successful professional placement program here:

Essentials to Play Basketball Overseas

Essentials to play basketball overseas image via EuroProBasket

For many players these essentials to play basketball overseas will just be reminders. but still crucial to your success playing basketball overseas.

Complete Your Collegiate Playing Career

• No one is going to deny that for an American player the most important and useful experience you can have is from a University basketball program.
• There is no better place to get high level coaching and competition then in the American University system.
• You cannot substitute the 4 years of basketball knowledge, coaching, experience, physical growth and mental maturity that a collegiate basketball career will give you.
• That’s not to mention the actual degree that you can receive, paid for have you, from the University you attend.
• Stay in school if you want a better chance at playing professional basketball.

• The worst thing that can happen is that you get a tryout and are not in game shape
• You should be lifting weights, conditioning (running, sprints, hills, stairs, bike, plyometrics) skill work, playing 1v1 and 5v5.
• Get with other overseas professional players and workout with them.
• If you are not sure how to prepare, hire a professional basketball trainer that can help prepare a plan for you.

Be Active Networking and Making Contacts

• Everyday is a new opportunity to meet someone that can help you in your pursuit to play basketball overseas.
• Use your current contacts with coaches, teammates and trainers to reach new contacts.
• When you meet people involved in basketball, exchange contact information with them. Reach out to them and develop a relationship.
• Use social media to make new contacts around the world.

These are the suggestions on how to play basketball overseas by International Scout and CEO of EuroProbasket International Academy in Spain, Brad Kanis.

All about European Basketball Cups: hierarchy, structure and where our clubs fit in

From the 2021/22 season, the world familiar to all football fans will collapse with the advent of the third European Cup tournament under the auspices of UEFA, called the Conference League. Quotas and regulations will change, and people will need time to understand and get used to where their favorite club will play, taking a conditional sixth place in the English Premier League or fourth in the Ukrainian one.

But basketball is much more complicated. More international tournaments. Organizers, oddly enough, too. FIBA does not have a monopoly on the holding of European competitions, which UEFA has - the official organization is in a weak position, seriously inferior in terms of influence on top clubs to a private office called Euroleague Basketball.

LeBron's fifth title, Ukraine at the Olympics and other basketball events that we are waiting for in 2021 FIBA European Cup. It's time to remember how many floors the European Cup basketball pyramid consists of, and on which of them our teams will fight.

The Euroleague is like the Football Superleague, only real. The best of the best play here

In football, talks about creating a supra-tournament that would unite under its banners only true giants - with a century-long history, a huge army of fans and crazy budgets - are just being conducted. And sometimes one gets the feeling that this process will remain so at the level of conversations. And in basketball, such a competition has existed for a long time. It is called the Euroleague and is run by the Euroleague Basketball organization based in Spain (headquartered in Barcelona).

It exists in parallel worlds with FIBA ​​and does not coordinate its actions - that is why Barcelona center Artem Pustovoy does not come to the Ukrainian national team for matches that are held in the middle of the club season.

At the moment there are 18 clubs in the Euroleague, but the foundation of the tournament is 11 giants - "licensed teams" that stood at the origins of the tournament, have ten-year contracts with Euroleague Basketball and are not required to confirm their belonging to the elite with results in national championships. These are the Spanish Real, Barcelona and Baskonia, the Greek Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, the Turkish Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes, the Lithuanian Zalgiris, the Israeli Maccabi, the Italian Milan and the Russian CSKA. .

Of the remaining seven Euroleague berths, four are distributed on a sporting basis (the winner of the Adriatic League, the best team in the VTB United League excluding CSKA, the winner of the German Bundesliga, the winner of the Eurocup), and Euroleague Basketball distributes three more as a wild card. "Wild cards" go either to representatives of promising, according to the organization, markets, or to those who are ready to pay well - this season they are owned by the German Bayern, the French ASVEL, owned by the notorious to Tony Parker , and the Russian Zenit.

Bolomboy bet through Pustovoy in the Euroleague match. But "Barcelona" smashed CSKA - also on the road

The key reason why the Euroleague has such strict selection criteria for participants, and there are practically no random clubs among them - this is a very difficult and exhausting tournament format. To combine performances in the national championship with 34 rounds of the Euroleague regular season (for the eight best teams it continues with a playoff quarterfinal series up to three victories for one of the teams, and the Final Four for their victors), you need to have players for almost one and a half applications and the financial ability to sign contracts with basketball players, as they say, in reserve.

Even basketball "Cinderellas" like the Montenegrin "Buduchnost" or the Russian "Nizhny Novgorod", who made their way to the Euroleague according to sports quotas (as the champion of the Adriatic League and the silver medalist of the VTB League, respectively), are not very welcome here. After all, all their magic is dispelled at the distance of the tournament in weekly battles with the giants - and the organizers get only passing matches, which are not particularly attractive to the public.

Ukraine was represented in the Euroleague only once - in the 2013/14 season, the last one in the "golden era" of our basketball, Budivelnik tried its hand there. But without much success: even in the format with the main group round and the Top 16 stage, the Kievans won only two victories in ten matches (at home over the Serbian Partizan and the French Nanterre) and finished last. And now our clubs have nothing to catch at this level.

The Eurocup is a natural selection environment for the most ambitious

Another tournament under the auspices of Euroleague Basketball currently ranks second in the European basketball hierarchy - and will hold it as long as a victory in the Eurocup will guarantee participation in the next Euroleague draw. This is the only direct connection between the two top tournaments: the transfer of participants during the season, as happens between the football Champions League and the Europa League, is not practiced here.

Historically, the Eurocup is a battlefield between Spanish and Russian clubs, as there are more licenses to compete in the Euroleague in these two countries. Representatives of the DIA League or the VTB League won in 12 out of 17 draws, the company of which was diluted by the Turks in the last five years: Galatasaray won the tournament in 2016, and Daryushsafak won the tournament in 2018.

This season, 24 teams started in the Eurocup, exactly half of which were delegated by France, Spain and Italy. Four more teams are represented by the Adriatic, Russia and Turkey by two. A very decent company, in which only the Belgian "Antwerp" and the Lithuanian "Letkabelis" managed to break through from the relatively modest national championships (both, however, have already taken off from the tournament).

The FIBA ​​international calendar is killing small countries. Slovenia is one of the main victims

In the Eurocup, they play according to a formula similar to the previous Euroleague regulations - the main round of ten rounds (four groups of six teams each), the Top 16 stage, which started in January 2021 (four groups of four teams each), and a playoff consisting of mini-series up to two wins for any team.

Our only basketball player participating in the current draw of the tournament is Vladimir Gerun from the Spanish Unicaja. But there is also a solid Ukrainian representation in Monaco, where the former leadership of Donetsk moved to: the ex-president of the Tigers Sergey Dyadechko and team manager Alexey Efimov . And the Monegasques are coached by Montenegrin Zvezdan Mitrovic , who worked with almost half of the clubs of the Golden Superleague, from Khimik to Azovmash, and speaks fluent Russian.

The history of relations between Ukrainian clubs and the Eurocup is much longer - Azovmash, Kyiv, Donetsk and Khimik played here with varying success in different years. And the best result belongs to Budivelnik: in the 2012/13 season, a bright team with Malcolm Delaney made it all the way to the semifinals, where she lost to Spanish Bilbao.

The Champions League is an attempt by FIBA ​​to create an analogue of the Euroleague.

So far, it's not going very well (but it's already close to the Eurocup)

One of the reasons for the long-term conflict between Euroleague Basketball and FIBA ​​is precisely the desire of the latter to control the entire pyramid of international club competitions in Europe. But with the solution of this problem, officials failed immediately, failing to offer anything intelligible to 11 “licensed” giants who signed ten-year contracts with the Euroleague in November 2015.

Even the threat of disqualification from national federations did not help. Some tops openly said that they were ready to stop playing in the national championship in order to be able to fight every week with clubs comparable in status, instead of smashing the champions of Denmark and other Austrians for ridiculous prize money. Therefore, FIBA ​​lagged behind the Euroleague relatively quickly, undertaking to undermine the Eurocup - and some of this even worked out.

The product of this is the Basketball Champions League, which borrowed only the name from the Football League. In the 2020/21 season, only four reigning champions of their countries received direct tickets to the main round, and these countries are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Latvia. Not elite at club level. There were more champions in qualifying - but the champions of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Switzerland, Cyprus.

FIBA ​​achieved local success in another way: it managed to lure decent Turkish, Italian and Spanish organizations into the Champions League, and three out of four draws ended in victories for representatives of these championships (Tenerife and Burgos from the DIA League and Burgos won one each). Virtus" from League A). The overall average level of participants here is probably still a little lower than in the Eurocup, but this difference is not as great as it was two or three years ago.

Ukrainian clubs participated in the main round of the Basketball Champions League only once - Khimik in the 2016/17 season was the last in its group, winning only three matches out of 14. Budivelnyk, Kyiv-Basket and Dnipro there were unsuccessful attempts to overcome the qualification, and the “bees” were the most unlucky in the last draw: already in the selection they got future champions (!) from Burgos as rivals, and after a high-quality home match they were defeated with a difference of 34 points on the road.

Dnipro were at the start of the Champions League this season, but were crushed by the Dutch Groningen in the first qualifying match. Team of Denis Zhuravlev was struck by COVID-19 at the most inopportune moment - and they were not ready for one of the most important fights of the year either physically or psychologically.

FIBA ​​Europe Cup - Ukrainian clubs play here now the main round of the European Cup is being dropped by the losers in the Champions League qualification - this is how Dnipro ended up here), either due to infrastructural issues, or they themselves feel that they are not ready for more serious competition.

There are no global requirements for participants in the FIBA ​​Europe Cup. In the 2020/21 season, for example, the 12th team of Italy (Reggio Emilia, one of the nominal favorites of the tournament), the seventh team of Hungary (Shollocks), the fifth team of the VTB League (Parma), the champions of Portugal will play here and Belarus (Sporting and Borisfen), as well as all three winners of the Ukrainian Super League. All that is needed is a more or less decent arena - judging by the admission of teams from the Dnipropetrovsk region, it can even accommodate less than a thousand spectators - and, of course, desire.

Pooh Jeter will return to Ukraine - he will be signed by Dnipro. Is this a powerful gain or a gamble?

The FIBA ​​Europe Cup starts on 26 January. It will feature 24 clubs, which are divided into six groups - each of them will play in a separate "bubble" to reduce the risk of basketball players and coaches becoming infected with the coronavirus. "Prometheus" and "Kyiv-Basket" got into pool B, where they will play with the Bulgarian "Rilski" and the Austrian "Kapfenberg" on the home court of the former, and "Dnepr" will compete with the Polish "Anvil", the British "London Lions" and the Swiss " Friborg" in Wloclawek.

As many as 16 out of 24 teams will make it to the playoffs - so even the third place in the group may be enough for the representatives of the Superleague to continue fighting for the trophy. Relegation matches will also be played in hubs, but they still need to be reached. Although there are definitely chances: the rivals of our clubs are not the easiest, but definitely not invincible, and Reggio Emilia or Turkish Besiktas (these are the two loudest signs of the entire European Cup) are not among them.

Over the previous five FIBA ​​European Cup draws, Superleague teams reached the quarterfinals twice - Khimik in 2016 (lost to future bronze medalists from the French Elan Chalon) and Kyiv-Basket in 2020 (lost to Turkish Karsiyaka ", and at the end of the 1/4 finals, the tournament was stopped due to a pandemic). Given the mass of statements about the growth of the level of our championship, deep down we can hope that this result will be repeated. And then surpass.

The main news, the best photos and the brightest highlights of Ukrainian and world basketball - in our social networks

Basketball map of the world: Germany | VTB United League | VTB United League

In the Basketball Map of the World project, we expand our horizons and remember all foreign players in the history of the League, talk about foreign championships and national teams from different countries. Today we will talk about basketball in Germany.

Population : 83.2 million
Players in the history of the League : 4.
Full list of players : Tomas Veral (Czech Republic), Tim Olbrecht, Johannes Vogtmann, Jan Jagla.

The first German basketball player in the history of the VTB United League was 213 cm forward Jan Jagla. Dirk Nowitzki's partner in the German national team and son-in-law of the famous coach Svetislav Pesic played 4 games for the Polish Asseco Prokom, averaging 11.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

In the 2015/16 season Tim Olbrecht, the center of the German national team, reached Krasnoyarsk (29matches, 11.3 points), and since 2019, another big man "Die Mannschaft" Johannes Vogtmann has been playing for CSKA Moscow (16 matches, 8.6 points).

In addition, the most popular German coach Dirk Bauermann worked in the VTB League. The well-known specialist, who in 2005 led the German national team to the EuroBasket silver medals, spent the 2014/15 season in Volgograd as a coach of Krasny Oktyabr.

Basketball in Germany

League : easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga (BBL)
Established : 1966
Number of teams : 17
League website : https://www.easycredit-bbl.de/de/

- the country's main club tournament to this day - was founded by the German Basketball Federation only 27 years later.

Last season, 17 teams from 17 different cities participated, and the tournament ended with the victory of Alba Berlin, which caught up in the number of titles (9) "Heidelberg" and "Brose Bamberg". The Leverkusen Bayer Giants hold the championship in the number of titles with 14 wins. In the 2019/20 season, Heidelberg and Bayer Giants participated in the Pro A league, Germany's second-highest division.

Eight clubs from Germany played in European competition last season: Bayern and Alba in the Euroleague, Oldenburg and Ulm in the Eurocup, Rasta Vechta, Brose Bamberg and Telekom Bonn - in the Champions League and Bayreuth in the FIBA ​​Europe Cup.

The German championship has a minimum arena capacity requirement of at least 3000 people, an annual All-Star Game and the German Cup (BBL-Pokal), and there are many individual awards, including "The most impressive player", "The most progressive player "Best Young German Player", "Best Offensive Player", "Best Defensive Player", "Best Scorer", "Regular Season MVP", "Finals MVP", "Coach of the Year", and "Symbolic Five of the Championship" Germany".

Among the winners of these awards there are many basketball players who played in the VTB United League. So, for example, Malcolm Delaney, Jamel McLean, Raymar Morgan and Will Cummings became the MVP of the regular season, Malcolm Delaney and Kyle Hines won the MVP award of the finals, and DJ Kennedy, Raymar Morgan and Philip Scrubb were recognized as the best attacking players. In addition, Will Clyburn, Garlon Green and Austin Hollins were champions of the German Slam Dunk Contest.

In the 1990s, Soviet basketball players played successfully in Germany. At 19In 1990, Rimas Kurtinaitis, who played for Hagen, became the most productive player of the season, and in 1994, Sergey Babkov, who represented Trier, took the first place in points. In 1998, Vasily Karasev became the champion of Germany with Alba.

Interesting fact

The first basketball game in Germany took place in 1896 in Braungschweig.

Physical education teacher August Hermann, who organized the first football game in Germany in 1874 with Konrad Koch, learned about the new game from his son, who was studying at Boston University. Hermann saw basketball as a women's game, an alternative to football.

In 1896, August Hermann played a match between women's teams, and later wrote a book with the rules of basketball (German - Korbball).

National national team of Germany

Rank FIBA ​​: 18
Members of FIBA ​​: since 1934
Achievements : European Business Champions (1993), silver eurobascite (2005), world bronze (2002)

Basketball was included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games in 1936. Then the competitions were held in Berlin, and the German national team for the first time took part in a major international tournament.

The German team debuted at the EuroBasket only in 1951 (the 7th tournament), and at the World Cup in 1986 (the 10th tournament).

The most important success in the history of the national team is the victory at home EuroBasket in 1993. Not among the favorites of the tournament, Germany entered the playoffs from 4th place in the group with a record of 2 wins - 3 losses, after which they scored three sensational victories in a row with a narrow advantage. In the quarterfinals, the Germans defeated the Spanish team (79:77), in the semi-finals they beat Greece (76:73), and in the decisive meeting in the last seconds they snatched victory from the Russian team (71:70) thanks to Christian Velp's hit with a foul. As a result, the German center team was recognized as the MVP of the tournament, and the victory of Die Mannschaft became one of the main sensations in the history of international basketball tournaments.

In the 00s, the German national team, led by Dirk Nowitzki, won medals at the Olympic Games (2002, bronze) and EuroBasket (2005, silver). In both cases, the legendary forward was recognized as the MVP of the tournament.

Today, Germany is ranked 18th in the FIBA ​​rankings and is preparing to host part of the EuroBasket 2022 matches. Thus, for the fifth time in history, German cities will host matches of the European Championship (1971, 1985, 1993, 2015, 2022), which is an absolute record .

The most famous players in German history

Dirk Nowitzki . NBA legend and one of the best players in the history of European basketball. NBA champion (2011), NBA regular season MVP (2007) and NBA final series (2011), 14-time NBA All-Star Game, World Cup MVP (2002), EuroBasket MVP (2005), and National Basketball Association record holder for the number of seasons spent in the same team (21 seasons) and points scored among foreign basketball players (31,560 points).

Detlef Schrempf . 8th number NBA draft 1985. Spent 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association, became a member of the All-Star Game three times and was twice recognized as the best sixth player. Twice participated in the Olympic Games as part of the German national team.

Sean Bradley . One of the tallest players in NBA history (229 cm) was selected in the 1993 draft under the overall 2nd number and spent 12 seasons overseas. In 1996, he took part in the filming of the popular film "Space Jam", at 1997th - Became the leader of the NBA season in block shots.

Chris Welp . Champion and MVP of the EuroBasket 1993. Velp also became the champion of the Euroleague (1997), Greece (1997) and Germany (1991-1996, 1998). From 1987 to 1990, the center played in the NBA.

Dennis Schroeder . The 26-year-old point guard is now the leader of the German national team and one of the leading players in the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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