The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague FanZone is always a perfect starting point for basketball lovers at the Final Four. This year, seemingly more than ever before, fans from all corners of the continent and beyond have flocked to Kaunas for the pinnacle basketball weekend of the year.

There are Final Four veterans, like Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv fan Moshe, who is in his 12th Final Four, and the group of CSP Limoges fans who are celebrating 30 years since their beloved team won its lone EuroLeague crown.

"We are four guys coming from central France who came here to enjoy the tournament," said Junien, wearing a specially-made Limoges jacket.

Radek, from Wroclaw in Poland, came to the FanZone in a Toni Kukoc Jugoplastika jersey.

"I am here with eight crazy guys from Poland. We support all basketball, we love basketball, we love Kaunas, a very exciting place", he said.

The most represented fans are those of Olympiacos, who believe they will have 5,000 fans supporting the team at Zalgirio Arena for the semifinals tonight, but FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and AS Monaco fans have also been strolling the FanZone.

The hometown fans, young and old, although heartbroken when Zalgiris Kaunas lost a chance to qualify for the Final Four earlier this month, have shown up in big numbers at the FanZone, too.

"I have never been to the Final Four before. I think the fans are amazing and they bring a good atmosphere", said 17-year old Justinas, who participated in the 3x3 basketball tournament.

The FanZone is where Justinas will also watch the games this weekend along with thousands of other fans, who all came to basketball-loving Kaunas to enjoy the Final Four party.

Fans from around the world celebrate the Final Four at the FanZone

Among the people who are most attracted to attending the Final Four are the very players who have been on center stage at the same event in the past. Many have come back from around the world as Final Four Ambassadors to support in One Team and sustainability initiatives in Kaunas this weekend. But they are also fans, and on the morning of the semifinals, Mike Batiste, Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Matjaz Smodis all talked about following such an intense season that led to an unpredictable Final Four. 

Legends on intense season.mp4

Final Four Ambassadors praise super-intense season

Among the many EuroLeague players that the city of Kaunas has produced, two will be on the floor in their hometown at the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. They are Rokas Jokubaitis of FC Barcelona and Donatas Motiejunas of AS Monaco.

Final Four comes at home for Jokubaitis, Motiejunas

Among the many EuroLeague players that the city of Kaunas has produced, two will be on the floor in their hometown at the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. They are [Rokas Jokubaitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rokas-jokubaitis/007519/) of FC Barcelona and [Donatas Motiejunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/donatas-motiejunas/lcz/) of AS Monaco.

Sixteen years after being chosen as the 2007 ANGT MVP, Motiejunas, who was born in Kaunas, has made it to the Final Four for the first time. Jokubaitis is from Mazeikiai, a city close to the Latvian border, and joined the Zalgiris Basketball Academy as a teenager. He is in his second consecutive Final Four with Barca. 

Kaunas was announced as the 2023 Final Four host in mid-December and it was game-changing news for both Jokubaitis and Motiejunas. 

"As soon as they announced, I bought four tickets for my parents to see this show," Motiejunas said. "You know, not every day you see the Final Four of EuroLeague, four EuroLeague teams in this city playing at the same time at the highest level. So this event is highly expected, a lot of people are really, really expecting this."

Motiejunas was away from the EuroLeague for more than a decade, but being in the Final Four was always in the back of his mind.

"There were so many things in my career. I went to the States, I went to China, changed continents... A lot of things happened in my career. And right now, going towards the end of it, I made it to the Final Four. It's an amazing feeling and, I think, an amazing accomplishment."

See what Donatas Motiejunas of AS Monaco had to say the day before the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague semifinals!

Donatas Motiejunas, Monaco: "This event is highly expected"

For the 22-year-old Jokubaitis, this is his second consecutive Final Four, but he admitted the feeling this time is quite different.

"It is very special", the Barcelona guard said. "I also felt that special moment in the playoffs."

Barcelona was in Kaunas earlier this month when it completed its sweep of Zalgiris Kaunas in their best-of-five playoff series.

"It is a great arena and I think the fans will be great. This time, not Zalgiris fans but fans from all over Europe. I am very happy to be here and fight for the title."

Jokubaitis was thrilled when he learned that Kaunas will host the Final Four, and hurried up to make sure his family could watch him play.

"The same like Donatas, I bought the tickets and my family will be here," Jokubaitis confirmed. "It is not the easiest way to get the tickets, so a few of my friends will be here in Kaunas, but not in the arena. I think the whole of Lithuania will be watching on TV, or wherever they can, and support us. It's a big celebration for us as a basketball country and for a basketball city of Kaunas. I am really happy to be here and represent Lithuanians at the Final Four."

Motiejunas has no doubt we are in for a basketball spectacle in his hometown.

"I think such an event in a place like this should happen at some point and it's better that it happens now," Motiejunas said. "I hope it's not the last event that's going to come to this beautiful place that loves basketball so much."

Many Turkish Airlines EuroLeague greats have attended the Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament Finals in years past and this season is no different. One of the biggest celebrities checked in to see the games early Friday with when Arvydas Sabonis returned to Kaunas Sports Hall, where he played for many years, to see U18 Zalgiris Kaunas take on U18 Joventut Badalona. Sabonis came with his son Tautvydas, who works as one of Zalgiris's assistant coaches. Playing in this building, Sabonis led Zalgiris to three consecutive Soviet Union titles from 1985 to 1987 and reached the EuroLeague Championship Game in 1986. After a long, successful career Sabonis returned to Zalgiris to become the 2003-04 EuroLeague MVP with the team playing all of its home games at Kaunas Sports Hall.

Sabonis is one of many VIPs at the ANGT Finals in Kaunas. Euroleague Ambassadors Jonas Maciulis and Mike Batiste were courtside watching U18 Real Madrid beat U18 Panathinaikos Athens. Maciulis helped Real win the 2014-15 EuroLeague title and Batiste is a three-time EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos. London Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt was also at that game, as well as former EuroLeague star Primoz Brezec. More and more VIPs are expected at Kaunas Sports Hall, but Sabonis's return to the building was quite emotional for those in attendance.

Arvydas Sabonis watches Zalgiris at the ANGT

In the opening hours of the FanZone at the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, located at Unity Square in the center of Kaunas, people from all over the world – and supporters from a plethora of different teams – came together to celebrate their shared love of EuroLeague basketball.

Perhaps fittingly, upon walking into the FanZone, one fan was seen proudly wearing the jersey of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, the outgoing back-to-back champ. This weekend, a new champion will be crowned, with Olympiacos Piraeus, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and AS Monaco all hoping to come away from Kaunas, Lithuania with the championship trophy.

The red of Olympiacos dominated much of the FanZone, but as the hours went by, fans of Barca, Real and even Monaco began to appear. The family friendly atmosphere meant that some mothers and fathers had come with their sons and daughters, while there were also many groups of friends who decided to enjoy the festivities by taking part in the abundance of activities available.

In fact, even those whose teams didn’t make it to the Final Four still decided to make the trip to the Final Four, with supporters of the hometown Zalgiris Kaunas, as well as fellow EuroLeague teams Efes, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, all joining together at the FanZone. There were even fans of former EuroLeague sides Limoges and Jugoplastika Split present, in addition to some smaller teams that have never made the EuroLeague, such as Santo Andre of Portugal.

Fans from all corners of the globe have come together at the FanZone and the fun is going to continue throughout the day, so make sure to get down there if you haven't been already!

The Final Four FanZone opens its doors to the world!

Real Madrid swingman Rudy Fernandez is still going strong at age 38 and has a chance to add more hardware to a unique roll of honors. One of the few players whose popularity is great enough for him to go by just his first name, Rudy has been one of the most prolific winners in basketball, not just due to the quantity of his achievements, but also for the quality of them.

Rudy Fernandez: Celebrating a unique career

Real Madrid swingman [Rudy Fernandez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rudy-fernandez/bmt/) is still going strong at age 38 and has a chance to add more hardware to a unique roll of honors. One of the few players whose popularity is great enough for him to go by just his first name, Rudy has been one of the most prolific winners in basketball, not just due to the quantity of his achievements, but also for the quality of them.

Rudy has found success with his two European clubs, Joventut Badalona and Real, as well as with the Spanish national team. He has led Real to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles in 2015 and 2018, helping Los Blancos reach a new golden age. Fernandez had a starring role at first, making it to the All-EuroLeague First Team in the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 campaigns and earning 2014-15 All-EuroLeague Second Team honors. In recent years, he has been equally effective as a glue guy, defensive leader and all-around contributor on offense.

Los Blancos, with Fernandez as one of its leaders, has been a dominant force in Spanish basketball. He's helped Real win six Spanish League titles, six Spanish Copa del Rey crowns and lifted the Spanish SuperCup title eight times. And the only time Real was given the opportunity to play the Intercontinental Cup this century, Fernandez delivered again, leading Los Blancos to its 2015 title.

With Joventut, Rudy won the 7DAYS EuroCup in 2008 and earned Finals MVP honors. He lifted the Spanish Copa del Rey trophy with La Penya earlier that season. A year earlier, he won the FIBA EuroChallenge title with Joventut, which gives him three different European club titles in his career.

Rudy Fernandez, Real: 'I try to focus on the present'

Rudy has been just as successful with the Spanish national team, winning two World Cups and four EuroBasket gold medals. He is one of three players to win multiple EuroBasket, EuroLeague and World Cup crowns: Dejan Bodiroga and the late Sergei Belov are the other two. It gets better: Fernandez won three Olympic medals (silver in 2008 and 2012, bronze in 2016) and two more EuroBaskets medals.

That gives him 31 official titles and he is far from done. He has a chance to add a third EuroLeague title this week in Kaunas, where he helped Spain to the gold medal at EuroBasket 2011. If Spain qualifies in 2024, Fernandez may have the chance to become the first athlete to take part in six Olympics Games. Rudy is eager to continue adding hardware to a one-of-a-kind roll of honors. When the dust settles and he hangs up his shoes, he will go down in history as one of the greatest winners in the game of basketball.

For many of the volunteers staffing the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, the opening activity was a One Team welcome session at Kaunas Hall opened by the City of Kaunas' Head of Sports, Tadas Vasiliauskas, and Euroleague Basketball's Director of Sustainability, Abigail Martín, thanking all volunteers in advance for the importance of the role they play for the success of the event. Before the Final Four games begin, the volunteers, who hail from across Europe and many other countries around the globe, broke the ice at the One Team session. 

Using the activities that One Team coaches from Zalgiris Kaunas employed during the season, the annual welcome session was a fun and dynamic team-building event, at the same time aiming to raise awareness among the volunteers on the need to help those who are at risk of social exclusion. While building camaraderie ahead of a busy and exciting Final Four weekend, volunteers also learned more about One Team's goals and the positive impact that the program continues to have on the local communities of Euroleague Basketball clubs.

Final Four Ambassadors also took part in the hour-long session on Thursday and helped show appreciation for the efforts of the volunteers.

"Everybody knows what One Team is all about; we try to help as many people as we can," Joe Arlauckas, a Final Four Ambassador, said. "Here in this type of situation, it's an incredible thing what the volunteers do for the tournament. The Final Four is only as good as it can be with the volunteers. The exercises we do here help people get to the next level."

"It's very nice to meet volunteers who are here for a third or fourth time," Ramunas Siskauskas, a former EuroLeague MVP from Lithuania, said. "It's very important to involve all the people and all the communities to become one big family. It's very nice to see people from all over the world come here and they attend the events. I am very glad to be part of One Team and this community. I'm proud and happy for Euroleague that they decided many years ago to start this project."

The volunteers needed only a little bit of instruction to know that One Team was for them, too.

"It was amazing to see some stars who played EuroLeague before and just to know more about how One Team works, the components of it," Egle Stankeviciute, one of the volunteers, said. "I think it's amazing and that everybody should learn more about One Team."

"We are all One Team," said Darius Maciulevicus, another volunteer. "We are all together from the highest level to the lower levels. Whatever time we have, it all adds up to help others and also help ourselves. Giving is a big happiness if you can share."

 Final Four volunteers gather for One Team welcome session  

FC Barcelona combo guard Nicolas Laprovittola is having what could be an unforgettable season, both on and off the court. Last December, Argentina's soccer team beat France on penalties to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, giving the 33-year-old Laprovittola his first opportunity to see the Albiceleste become world champion. Now, Laprovittola has the chance to lift the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title for the first time in his career.

Nicolas Laprovittola adds Argentinean flavor to the Final Four

FC Barcelona combo guard Nicolas Laprovittola is having what could be an unforgettable season, both on and off the court. Last December, Argentina's soccer team beat France on penalties to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, giving the 33-year-old Laprovittola his first opportunity to see the Albiceleste become world champion. Now, Laprovittola has the chance to lift the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title for the first time in his career.

 

Should Barca come away from Kaunas, Lithuania with the EuroLeague trophy, Laprovittola will become the sixth Argentinean player to lift Europe's biggest prize. Some of his best friends are already EuroLeague champions, including Facundo Campazzo, the current point guard for Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, who won the EuroLeague with Real Madrid in 2015 and 2018. Even though they speak often, they prefer to speak about off-court topics.

 

"We speak every day, but not about who won what. I would rather talk about how our daughters are and how things are in general. We don't really speak about titles," Laprovittola revealed during Barca's media session at the Final Four.

 

In terms of other Argentinian players who have become a European champion, Andres "Chapu" Nocioni led Real to the 2014-15 EuroLeague title, earning Final Four MVP honors in the process. Before him, Manu Ginobili grabbed the 2001 Finals MVP, allowing the then-called Kinder Bologna, now Virtus Segafredo Bologna, to lift the EuroLeague trophy. Nocioni has played with Laprovittola in the Argentinian national team, and Laprovittola had some advice for him.

 

"He is a basketball commentator now! He is giving a lot of advice on Twitter," the Barca guard noted. "I know that I have his support and Facu's support, of course, being friends. We always want another Argentinean to win. That is very valuable, and I hope it pushes me to play a good game tomorrow."

Hugo Sconochini (Virtus in 2001) and Pepe Sanchez (Panathinaikos Athens in 2002) complete the list of Argentineans who have won the EuroLeague. Come the end of the weekend, Laprovittola hopes to join that list.

 

"It would be a dream come true," Laprovittola stated. "First of all, just being here is something really big for me, and I enjoyed it a lot in Belgrade last year. It is also a big challenge for me and my career. Being the only Argentinean here \[due to Gabriel Deck's injury\] is also important for me, but more than anything else, I have to get ready to help the team."

It was December of 2021, AS Monaco had started its first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with a 5-9 record, and was on a five-game losing streak. The club parted ways with head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, the man who guided them to the 7DAYS EuroCup crown a season earlier, and appointed Sasa Obradovic as his replacement on the bench.

Obradovic, who previously had a one-year stint with Monaco in the Covid 19-shortened 2019-20 campaign, met the team, held a practice, and 48 hours later was coaching them for the first time on the road against Zalgiris Kaunas. 

"I remember that I had to pack my things and go straight to the game," Obradovic said, looking back to his start on Monaco's bench. 

Fast forward a year and five months later and Obradovic is set to guide his troops in club's first-ever EuroLeague Final Four, at the same venue where he made his Monaco coaching debut – Zalgirio Arena.

"Ending up in this situation, I could not have even dreamt about it, honestly," Obradovic told [EuroLeague.net](http://EuroLeague.net) during the session with the media after Thursday's practice and ahead of its Final Four semifinal clash against Olympiacos Piraeus on Friday. 

AS Monaco star guard Mike James talked to EuroLeague.net about the journey to the Final Four.

Mike James, Monaco: 'Everybody comes here to win'

That makes the game against the Reds, which is a rematch of their five-game playoff series last season, a full circle moment for Obradovic and Monaco in their journey together, one that started in Kaunas and now has reached new heights in the exact same city and arena.

In that game on December 15, 2021, also the first time that Monaco ever visited Zalgirio Arena, Obradovic guided Monaco to a dramatic 98-107 overtime win with star guard Mike James dishing a career-high 14 assists.

"Sometimes things happen for a reason and stars align," James says.

"That win was the beginning of a new story for Monaco," says team captain Yakuba Ouattara who knows a thing or two about the club, having spent all but one season with Monaco since 2015.

Sasa Obradovic, Monaco: 'I could not even dream about this'

Monaco has come a long way since that first visit to Kaunas. The team reached the playoffs last season and took another major step this season by making their first-ever Final Four.

But being new at the event does not mean Obradovic and his men want to stop.

"It is very satisfactory, but it is not the end of the story," Obradovic said.

"We want to win, we are here to win," Ouattara added. "We know nothing is going to be easy because it is our first experience playing the Final Four, so we are kind of an underdog team. But we like to be in that position because we have everything to prove to everybody."