Sarunas Jasikevicius of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has been voted the 2024–25 Aleksander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year, becoming the first Lithuanian head coach to receive the prestigious honor. In one of the closest races in recent memory, Jasikevicius was chosen by his peers—fellow Turkish Airlines EuroLeague head coaches—as the recipient of the season’s top coaching award. Despite dealing with a string of injuries throughout the campaign, Jasikevicius guided Fenerbahce to a second-place finish in the regular season with a 23–11 record.
By receiving the Gomelskiy Trophy, Jasikevicius has once again made history. He becomes the first person to win the EuroLeague as a player and later be named the competition’s best coach. Jasikevicius captured four EuroLeague championships as a player—with FC Barcelona in 2003, Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2004 and 2005, and Panathinaikos in 2009—and was named Final Four MVP in 2005. Now 49, “Saras” has also won domestic championships in Lithuania, Spain, and Turkiye as a head coach.
The Aleksander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year Trophy is named after the legendary coach who led ASK Riga to the first EuroLeague title in 1958 and added three more continental crowns between Riga and CSKA Moscow. Gomelskiy also guided the Soviet Union to gold at the 1988 Olympics and remains one of the most decorated figures in basketball history. Euroleague Basketball chose him as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008. He is also a member of both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. Gomelskiy passed away in 2005.