Rumors

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.

Sportando

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.

Sport24.gr

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.

BasketNews

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.”

Denver Post

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!

KK Partizan

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.

EuroHoops.net

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.

New York Times

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.”

New York Post

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”.

EuroHoops.net

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.

EuroHoops.net

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.

EuroHoops.net

Nikola Jovic appeared with a protective boot on his left leg upon arrival in Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport, according to Meridian sport. Even though at first, his condition didn't look encouraging, the Serbian NT medical staff believes that Jovic's injury isn't serious. The player sprained his ankle during practice before leaving for Serbia, and for preventive reasons it was decided that he put an orthopedic boot on his injured leg, due to the length of the flight across the Atlantic.

BasketNews

The Mega Basket club team in Belgrade, Serbia, has produced 14 NBA players since 2014; the only college programs to produce more over that span are Kentucky (30), Duke (28) and UCLA (15). Thirteen players from the Balkans occupy spots on NBA rosters. But long before that pipeline began to flow, there was Korać, a son of Sombor. "He's a legend in our country, especially in my hometown," Jokic says. Today, those who knew Korać watch Jokic with pride, knowing that history draws a straight line between the two. But they also know that for as well-known as Korać was during his day, he is almost forgotten now. What they want, they say, is for him to be remembered. "If it wasn't for him and his generation," says Momčilo Pazman, 79, who played alongside Korać in the 1960s, "we wouldn't have Jokic and Doncic and many others."

ESPN

Coming back to Europe with Maccabi Tel Aviv, he then moved to Anadolu Efes and now to Virtus Bologna. Talking with Mozzart Sport during the Italian team’s trip to Belgrade, where they lost by 15 points (94-79) to Crvena Zvezda, he reflected on his past in the NBA. “The NBA is a show, the organization is a headache”, he said. “I definitely see myself better in Europe. The NBA for me was an episode where everything started from the trade and did not go in the direction I imagined”, the Croatian center added.

EuroHoops.net