In just three decades of existence, UNICS Kazan has already firmly entrenched itself as a European power. Founded in 1991, UNICS quickly became the perfect ambassador for the sports-crazy Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation. The club reached the Russian League finals in 2001 and 2002, the year in which it also made it to the Saporta Cup semifinals. Its hard work paid off in 2003 when UNICS edged CSKA Moscow in overtime to lift the Russian Cup. In 2004, Kazan was home to the FIBA Europe League final four and UNICS made the most of it by downing Maroussi to win its first continental title. UNICS made its ULEB Cup debut in the 2005-06 season and advanced to the semifinals the following year before losing against Real Madrid, and also reached the 2008 ULEB Cup Final Eight. Everything clicked in the 2010-11 EuroCup as UNICS thrashed Cedevita Zagreb in the semifinals and bested Cajasol Sevilla in the Championship Game to take the crown behind 18 points and 11 assists from Marko Popovic.UNICS made its EuroLeague debut a successful one in the 2011-12 campaign by going all the way to the playoffs. In 2014 the club again reached the EuroCup Finals sporting a 20-2 record, which helped Andrew Goudelock earn EuroCup MVP honors and Andrea Trinchieri to be chosen as the EuroCup Coach of the Year. The 2014-15 season saw UNICS back in the EuroLeague, narrowly missing out on a place in the Top 16 despite a historic win over eventual champ Real Madrid. UNICS made it to the VTB League finals in the 2015-16 season, which allowed the club to return to the EuroLeague for 2016-17, when Keith Langford claimed the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. The 2020-21 season saw near misses on two fronts as UNICS finished runner-up in both the VTB United League and EuroCup, losing in the finals to CSKA Moscow and AS Monaco respectively. The latter was enough to secure a return to the EuroLeague for the 2021-22 campaign, emphasising that UNICS is continuing to grow and develop.