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Erik Spoelstra about Nikola Jovic spending time with Serbia team: He always comes back to us more mature
“I’m really excited for Niko,” Spoelstra said during a television interview while he was in Belgrade last week, with Jovic eligible to sign an extension with the Heat this offseason. “I love it when he spends time with the national team. Every time he comes back to us, he comes back more mature. I think being around a group that knows how to win, that really cares about winning, the team is so connected also. So I think it makes a big impression on him. We’re looking forward to some great things ahead for him with us.”
Davis Bertans refuses to play in tournament sponsored by Russian company
With the VTB United League SuperCup 2025 heading to Belgrade and Dubai among the four contenders, Davis Bertans will skip the preseason tournament. The 32-year-old combo forward of Dubai announced his decision following the first practice with the senior national team of Latvia, heading to the EuroBasket 2025.
The decision on the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four host has been postponed, BasketNews has learned. According to sources, league shareholders were unable to reach a united agreement between Athens and Belgrade during the latest meeting. The vote is now expected to take place at a later date, possibly in September. The vote to decide the host of the Final Four has been postponed for the second time in recent weeks. Previously, Athens and OAKA Arena hosted the 2007 Final Four. Back then, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens became the champions, claiming their 4th EuroLeague title at that time. Belgrade hosted its first-ever EuroLeague Final Four in 2018 and again in 2022.
According to Goran Grbović, director of Stark Arena, EuroLeague president Dejan Bodiroga pushed for Belgrade to host the 2026 Final Four. The final vote is expected on July 22. Athens’ OAKA Arena remains a contender, but Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos’ behavior may influence clubs to vote against it.
Vasilije Micic has an offer on the table from Serbian team?
As the days go by and the Phoenix Suns' deadline to decide what to do with Vasilije Micić approaches (June 29), the Serbian guard continues to attract increasing interest from EuroLeague teams. The 31-year-old Serbian megastar is on the radar of at least four EuroLeague teams, and Crvena Zvezda has also made a move to try its luck in landing him. According to SPORT24 sources, the Belgrade-based team has offered Micić a €10 million contract over three years in an effort to convince him to return to his homeland. Micić came up through Crvena Zvezda’s youth system, is a fan of the club, and maintains excellent relationships with people within the organization. The club appears ready to go all-in to sign him, at a price that is relatively modest compared to other offers he's received.
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Chicago Bulls two-time NBA All-Star center Nikola Vucevic has long been a fan of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, saying he "watches almost every game." But what about actually playing for the EuroLeague team? Vucevic admits he sometimes thinks about that possibility. "When I come to Belgrade, people are always asking me, 'When are you coming to Zvezda?' ... I get it, and I sometimes think about it," Vucevic shared during a recent appearance on X&O's Chat Podcast.
As for Jokic, it’s been a pass-first kind of series, due to the crowds Los Angeles has shown him. But he has always preferred it that way. Bogdanovic knows better than anyone. The first time they ever played against each other in 2013, Bogdanovic was an emerging star for the Belgrade-based EuroLeague team Partizan, and Jokic was playing for Mega Basket, a smaller developmental club in Serbia. “He was supposed to come to Partizan to play with us,” Bogdanovic recalled, “but he stayed on Mega because he had a bigger role.”
Drazen Dalipagic (1951-2025)
And that day had to come... The day when the great Praja left! After a long and serious illness, Dražen Dalipagić died this morning in Belgrade! The best scorer in the history of KK Partizan, a former representative of Yugoslavia, a legend of world basketball and a man of unique character! Born in Mostar on November 27, 1951, a member of the Hall of Fame and winner of the biggest competitions at the club and representative level, he joined Partizan in 1971, where he became the best scorer in the club's history! After Praja, 300 great players and legends of world basketball passed through Partizan, but no one ever came close to 8,278 points!
Less than one month after favoring Belgrade, the EuroLeague shareholders voted 11-2 to host the 2025 Final Four in Abu Dhabi, a move that may dictate the future of the competition. According to Eurohoops sources, only Olympiacos and Real Madrid opposed this decision, while Abu Dhabi will pay an unprecedented €50M for the right to host the event.
But another organization stood in the way. Duane Washington had signed with Partizan in Belgrade earlier in the summer, but his European team had no interest in allowing the binge scorer out of his contract. Releasing Washington would mean him missing at least three EuroLeague games, including a key one against Real Madrid. Partizan held, then boasted, all the leverage. The team wanted Washington to pay $600,000 in a buyout with another condition, according to a league source. If the Hornets did not release him, allowing him to head back to Partizan within 48 hours, he would owe an additional $1.6 million payment.
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A problem exclusive to Washington Jr., however, is that he had already signed with Serbian team Partizan. The 24-year-old guard was in Belgrade when he heard about being traded to the Hornets. “I got a call at like 2 a.m. in Serbia,” Washington Jr. told The Post. “I was feeding my newborn son and my agent called me, said I was signed-and-traded and it was crazy, man.”
During his stay in Belgrade, a photo of him wearing a Partizan jersey appeared on social media, and Bogdanovic once more confirmed the obvious: “I wanted to send support to the club where I started my professional career. Everyone knows how much I love Partizan, I trained in their gym, they provided me with the conditions I needed and I wanted to send them a message of gratitude. I know everyone is waiting for a promise (ed. note: to return someday), but my focus, not to lie to you, is the NBA and I am focusing on being as good as possible. When the time comes for that, emotions will surely rule”.
In the past few months, it appeared like a three-city race to host the 2024-25 EuroLeague Final Four was set in place: Barcelona, Belgrade, and Abu Dhabi were the three main candidates to get the event. However, according to Mihalis Stefanou of Eurohoops, the Catalan city is no longer an option to host the next EuroLeague Final Four, following Kaunas in 2023 and Berlin in 2024. Abu Dhabi and Belgrade, therefore, remain the two best candidates to win the race.
With five players scoring in double figures and a strong defensive output, Serbia beat Greece 94 – 72 in a friendly game that took place in Belgrade. It was the last preparation for match for both national teams before the Olympic Games. Bogdan Bodganovic scored a game-high 19 points on 5-5 triples. Nikola Jokic contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Filip Petrusev provided 15 points and eight rebounds.
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