Name: 2023-24 EUROLEAGUE BEST DEFENDER | Thomas WALKUP | Olympiacos
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

Vote for the Flight Time Play of the Year!

Who soared the highest in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season?

We have compiled the most explosive dunks for you to vote on which one should be named the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines Flight Time Play of the Year.

Among the finalists are five players from as many different clubs, all of whom put their own stamp on what it means to fly!

Which of them will take home the trophy that Partizan Belgrade's Alain Smailagic received in the debut season of the contest?

[Check them all out and then vote for your favorite play!](https://flighttime.euroleague.net/)

Olympiacos Piraeus guard Thomas Walkup is the recipient of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy, the first end-of-season award of his career.

 2023-24  EUROLEAGUE BEST DEFENDER | Thomas WALKUP | Olympiacos 

Olympiacos Piraeus guard Thomas Walkup is the recipient of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy, the first end-of-season award of his career.

Walkup has achieved this honor after a vote conducted among EuroLeague head coaches. With his relentless effort, aggressive and disturbing perimeter defense, and usually in charge of opposition’s most dangerous scoring threats, Walkup led Olympiacos's top-ranked scoring defense, which allowed a league-low 74.4 points per game. He picked up more steals than any other player this season – 60 and counting. That was good for a 1.6 average, the second-best mark in the league. Walkup was accountable for 21.7% of all steals Olympiacos recorded this season on the way to reaching its third consecutive Final Four.

Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos Piraeus is the recipient of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy, the first end-of-season award of his career.

Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos is voted the 2023-24 EuroLeague Best Defender

[Thomas Walkup](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/thomas-walkup/008855/) of Olympiacos Piraeus is the recipient of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy, the first end-of-season award of his career.

Walkup has achieved this honor after a vote conducted among EuroLeague head coaches. With his relentless effort, aggressive and disruptive perimeter defense, and ball-hawking of the opposition's most creators, Walkup anchored Olympiacos's top-ranked scoring defense, which allowed a league-low 74.4 points per game on its way to a third consecutive Final Four berth.

Walkup picked up more steals than any other player this season – 60 and counting – good for a 1.6 average, second-best in the league. He was accountable for 21.7% of all steals that Olympiacos recorded this season.

The Best Defender Trophy is one of several end-of-season awards that recognize the elite play of the best players in the EuroLeague. The first of this season's honorees was Markus Howard of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz as the winner of Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. Gabriele Procida of ALBA Berlin was chosen as the EuroLeague Rising Star, another award voted upon by the head coaches. The identity of the All-EuroLeague teams will be revealed shortly, as will the EuroLeague MVP and Coach of the Year awards. The Executive of the Year award will be announced in the summer.

Walter Tavares of Real Madrid finished second behind Walkup in the voting for the Best Defender Trophy. John Brown of AS Monaco placed third in the voting, Josh Nebo of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv finished fourth and Jerian Grant of Panathinaikos AKOR Athens was fifth. Others who received votes were Nicolo Melli of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Real's Vincent Poirier, Alessandro Pajola of Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Serge Ibaka of FC Bayern Munich, Semi Ojeleye of Valencia Basket and Edmond Sumner of Zalgiris Kaunas.

Thomas Walkup named 2023-24 EuroLeague Best Defender

Walkup also averaged 8.1 points, making a career-best 50 three-pointers, and dished a team-best 4.8 assists this season. What's more, he collected 3.0 rebounds, including 2.4 on the defensive end, all while playing a team-high 26:39 minutes per game in 38 appearances this season, all as a starter. Walkup had 3 or more steals in 11 games this season. No other EuroLeague player had more than eight such performances in steals. He also had 4 steals five times, tied for the league high, including once in the playoffs. During the playoffs against FC Barcelona, his average improved to 2.2 steals per game as the Reds came out on top in a five-game series despite not having home-court advantage.

The 31-year-old Walkup is in his sixth EuroLeague season, the third with Olympiacos. He debuted with Zalgiris in the 2018-19 season and spent three seasons there before joining Olympiacos in the summer of 2021. During his time in Piraeus, Walkup has started in all 108 of his appearances for the Reds, who have reached the Final Four in each of those three seasons. A Texas native and NCAA star at Stephen F. Austin University, Walkup turned pro with the Windy City Bulls of the G League in 2016. He then came to Europe and spent a season with Ludwigsburg in Germany before making the leap to the EuroLeague with Zalgiris. Walkup has helped his teams win a dozen domestic trophies so far, including two Greek League titles and three Greek Cups with Olympiacos.

Walkup is the ninth different player to be chosen as the EuroLeague Best Defender and the first Olympiacos player to do so since Bryant Dunston received the award in consecutive seasons, 2014 and 2015. Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has won the award six times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011). Walter Tavares of Real Madrid is a three-time winner, taking home the award in 2019, 2021 and 2023, as is Kyle Hines who received the award in 2015 and 2018 with CSKA Moscow, and then in 2022 with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Other Best Defender honorees include CSKA players Victor Khryapa and Andrei Kirilenko, in 2010 and 2012, respectively; Stephane Lasme in 2013 winner with Panathinaikos; and Adam Hanga, in 2017 with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The Reds' point guard was an on-the-ball menace all season long

Of the thousands of eye-popping plays across Turkish Airlines EuroLeague courts all season long, only one can be named the Motorola Magic Moment of the Season. And you have a say in the winner.

Time to vote for the Motorola Magic Moment of the Season!

Of the thousands of eye-popping plays across Turkish Airlines EuroLeague courts all season long, only one can be named the [Motorola Magic Moment of the Season](https://motorolamagicmoment.euroleague.net/). And you have a say in the winner.

After mining through the best of the best, five heart-stopping plays have been chosen as the finalists, which include athletic feats of dunking, high-rising rejections and a wild three-pointer. 

Have a look at all of them and then v[ote for the Motorola Magic Moment of the Season](https://motorolamagicmoment.euroleague.net/)!

The EuroCup rookie was a key cog in Paris’s success, especially in the postseason

Tribute to the Champs: Mikael Jantunen

A transfer that perhaps went under the radar at Paris Basketball bringing in power forward [Mikael Jantunen](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/mikael-jantunen/012613/) from Italian side Treviso, with the Finnish power forward able to join up with his fellow compatriot, head coach Tuomas Iisalo.

Together, the two Finns took the BKT EuroCup by storm en route to a magical season that saw Paris dominate the competition and end the campaign as the champion. The 24-year-old Jantunen made an instant impression from day one, averaging 11.8 points through his first five games and netting at least 12 points in four of those five contests. In fact, his 15-point game against Prometey Slobozhanske in Round 5 was his best scoring night in the regular season.

Mikael Jantunen Top Plays from 10/01/2023 to 05/10/2024

It wasn’t just with scoring that Jantunen was making an impact. His rebounding and tenacity on the defensive end – he averaged 4.4 boards and 2.0 steals per game between Rounds 1 and 5 – made him a valuable piece for Coach Iisalo off the bat. While Jantunen’s numbers dropped over the next 10 games, he started to pick things up again before the playoffs, averaging 10.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in the final three fixtures of the regular season.

Once in the playoffs, Jantunen certainly played his part. He averaged 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals per night in the postseason, demonstrating his all-around game, and ended the campaign in style by scoring 15 points – his joint career high – as Paris won Game 2 of the EuroCup Finals against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse to become the 2023-24 champion.

Ivan Kharchenkov, one of the brightest young prospects in the EuroLeague, has signed a new three-year contract at FC Bayern Basketball.

Bayern prodigy Ivan Kharchenkov pens new deal until 2027

FC Bayern Munich has locked up the future of one of the brightest talents on the continent, as [Ivan Kharchenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/ivan-kharchenkov/012123/) has renewed his contract with the German club until the end of the 2026-27 season.

The 17-year-old guard spent most of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign training with the Bayern first-team squad, with head coach Pablo Laso giving him game time on four occasions.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">🚨 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆 𝐅Ü𝐑 𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐍<br><br>U18-Nationalspieler Ivan Kharchenkov unterschreibt einen Dreijahres-Vertrag bis 2027: <a href="https://t.co/2euI3LgbgU">https://t.co/2euI3LgbgU</a><br>_______<br><br>🥳 Ivan Kharchenkov signs a three-year contract with us until 2027: <a href="https://t.co/IB2fqp9ySA">https://t.co/IB2fqp9ySA</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FCBB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FCBB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kharchenkov2027?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kharchenkov2027</a></p>&mdash; FC Bayern Basketball (@FCBBasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBBasketball/status/1788844923019477307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Ivan Kharchenkov's start in the EuroLeague

Kharchenkov made his EuroLeague debut in a 94-85 win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 8, playing 4:32 minutes. Two days later, as part of the double-round week, the Bayern prodigy spent 7:49 minutes on the court in a 74-73 loss at Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 9, posting 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.

It wasn’t until Round 13 that Kharchenkov was next seen on a EuroLeague court, finishing with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 15:46 minutes as Bayern fell on the road at Olympiacos Piraeus, 77-69. The Germany youth international’s final EuroLeague appearance of the season came in Round 32, when he played 6:58 minutes and had 1 steal in a 79-87 defeat at home to FC Barcelona.

The top plays of FC Bayern Munich youngster Ivan Kharchenkov in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Kharchenkov's 2023-24 highlights

### Shining at the ANGT

In addition to getting a chance to play in the EuroLeague, Kharchenkov shined for Bayern’s ANGT roster. At the ANGT Podgorica tournament, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals in four games as the club recorded a fourth-placed finish.

Kharchenkov may be young, but Bayern has a lot of faith in the youngster and did not hesitate to tie him down for the next few years. He is certainly a player for EuroLeague fans to keep an eye on.

Ivan Kharchenkov in action for FC Bayern Munich against Zalgiris Kaunas in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The 17-year-old made four appearances in his debut EuroLeague season

The 21-year-old was a shining light for the German team this season

ALBA’s Gabriele Procida secures 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star award

ALBA Berlin swingman [Gabriele Procida](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/gabriele-procida/008384/) has been named as the recipient of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy. The 21-year-old is the third Italian to secure the prize, following Andrea Bargnani (2005-06) and Danilo Gallinari (2007-08), and the first ALBA player to do so.

Voted for by EuroLeague head coaches, the Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best player each season who was younger than 22 on July 1 of the previous summer. Procida, who turns 22 on June 1, faced strong competition for the Rising Star award this year, particularly from his ALBA teammates and countryman Matteo Spagnolo. Procida posted better numbers overall and had a bigger role than Spagnolo or any of his potential opponents elsewhere, which possibly convinced a majority of head coaches to vote for him.

Procida showed flashes of the player he can become in the near future – from outstanding dunks to deep three-pointers, great versatility and very good intensity. He scored in double digits 10 times during the regular season, getting a career-high 22 points on the road against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in a 102-81 losing effort in Round 11.

ALBA Berlin swingman Gabriele Procida has been named as the recipient of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy. The 21-year-old is the third Italian to secure the prize, following Andrea Bargnani (2005-06) and Danilo Gallinari (2007-08), and the first ALBA player to do so.

That allowed Provida to lead all Rising Star eligible players this season in points, both with his overall total of 207 and also his average of 8.3 points per game. He is also first amongst eligible Rising Star players in total PIR (201) and average PIR (8.0), as well as in steals (1.4 spg.), ranking fourth among all EuroLeague players. Procida led the 2023-24 EuroLeague in steals per 40 minutes (3.3). Per 40 minutes, Procida averaged 19.0 points, 4.3 fouls drawn and a PIR of 18.4.

In addition to his ability to collect steals, Procida hit 58.2% of his two-point shots, in addition to averaging 1.6 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 1.9 fouls drawn in less than 18 minutes per game, mainly coming off the bench. Before a series of small injuries, Procida had a seven-game stretch between Rounds 10 and 16 in which he averaged 10.1 points, 1.6 steals and a PIR of 12.3.

Procida made his Italian League debut with Cantu in 2019. He played there until the end of the 2020-21 season, joining Fortitudo Bologna. He averaged 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 26 Italian League games with Fortitudo in the 2021-22 campaigns, and has played for ALBA over the last two seasons. Procida has also been a member of the Italian national team and played at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The first-ever Rising Star award went to Erazem Lorbek of Climamio Bologna in 2005. He was followed by Bargnani of Benetton Treviso in 2006; Rudy Fernandez of Joventut Badalona in 2007; Gallinari of Armani Jeans Milano in 2008; Novica Velickovic of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in 2009; Ricky Rubio of FC Barcelona in 2010; Nikola Mirotic of Real Madrid in 2011 and 2012; Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus in 2013; Bogdan Bogdanovic of Partizan in 2014 and again with Fenerbahce Istanbul in 2015; Alex Abrines of Barca in 2016; Luka Doncic of Real Madrid in 2017 and 2018; Goga Bitadze of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in 2019; Usman Garuba of Real in 2021; Rokas Jokubaitis of Barcelona in 2022; and Yam Madar of Partizan in 2023.

 2023-24 EUROLEAGUE RISING STAR | Gabriele PROCIDA | ALBA Berlin 

World-famous "El Mismo Sol" singer headlines a special night at Krartwerk Berlin.

Tickets on sale now for Alvaro Soler and Mr. BAGS at the FanZone!

The FanZone at the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four will be the place to be, especially on the night of Saturday, May 25 when sports and music lovers will be able to catch world-famous singer Alvaro Soler and cover artist Mr. BAGS at Kraftwerk Berlin, a popular exhibition hall in the district of Mitte. [Tickets are on sale now](https://www.eventim-light.com/de/a/6639e11eac2ac16275181540), so don’t miss out!

Soler is a Spanish-German singer who specializes in Latin pop music. His songs have generated more than five billion streams across audio and video streams, while he has won over 150 gold and platinum awards. The release of his song [“El Mismo Sol”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNHwNreDp3A) in 2015 saw him rise to prominence, but his collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, who has over 80 million record sales, for a Spanish-English version of [“El Mismo Sol”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNHwNreDp3A) allowed Soler to become a household name.

Still with over six million monthly listeners, and having released three albums to date (“Eterno Agosto” in 2015, “Mar de Colores” in 2018, and “Magia” in 2021), Soler is also very popular in Germany. Since 2021 he has been a judge on the German talent show “The Voice Kids”, and he has appeared in the fifth (2021) and ninth (2023) seasons of the German edition of “The Masked Singer”. His collaboration with Morat, a famous Colombian pop rock group, for the song [“Yo Contigo, Tu Conmigo”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SC0Ze4ta9o) appeared in the 2017 film “Despicable Me 3”. Soler was also the voice of the character Camilo Madrigal in the Italian and German dubbed versions of the 2021 film “Encanto”.

Also performing at the FanZone on the Saturday night is Mr. BAGS, an Italian cover band. Led by the singer Serena Bagozzi ([BAGS](https://www.instagram.com/serena_bagozzi/)), a vocalist for some of the biggest artists in Italy, she is joined by Daniele Lulli (guitar), Michele De Carlantonio (bass) and Massimiliano Chiapperi (drums). Bagozzi has been a [vocalist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35AdXK4_97A) for Claudio Baglioni for almost 15 years and Miguel Bose. She has recorded for Ennio Morricone, too.

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun, make sure to [get your tickets now](https://www.eventim-light.com/de/a/6639e11eac2ac16275181540) via Euroleague Basketball’s webshop and on [Eventim.de](http://Eventim.de). Space is limited to 1,600 spectators.  Early Bird tickets are priced at €70, but when they are bought up, the General Entrance tickets left will be €80, so don’t hesitate. Book now!

World-famous "El Mismo Sol" singer headlines a special night at Kraftwerk Berlin.

ALBA’s Gabriele Procida, 2023-24 EuroLeague Rising Star award

There is hardly a better occasion to step up than in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the playoffs. And [Shaquielle McKissic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/shaquielle-mckissic/007853/) did just that on Wednesday night, helping lead Olympiacos Piraeus to its third straight Final Four.

Through four games and three quarters, Olympiacos and FC Barcelona were dead even: 2-2 in games and 40-40 in Game 5. And no player had a bigger impact on the most decisive quarter of the two teams' seasons than McKissic. 

The dynamic swingman was magical. And when he wasn’t, he responded to lift his team even higher. 

McKissic first had a chance to tie the game when he went to the line with 5:33 remaining, but he made only 1 of the 2 foul shots. On the ensuing possession, he struck a three to give the Reds their first lead of the night, 47-49. Alex Abrines then tied it only to see McKissic connect again from downtown. Then his fastbreak layup put Olympiacos up 5. 

When Barcelona looked to put together a late rally, McKissic decided to go for the kill when he fired up a triple with 38 seconds left and the scoreboard reading 54-57. He missed, but instead of worrying, McKissic sprinted downcourt and stole the ball from [Nicolas Laprovittola](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nicolas-laprovittola/006435/). That steal led to the [Nikola Milutinov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikola-milutinov/003941/) slam that sealed the outcome. 

McKissic's magical fourth quarter

He finished the game with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 1 in 24 minutes. Of those, 9 points, 1 rebounds and the lone steal came in the fourth quarter. For the game, Olympiacos was +6 with McKissic on the floor. This also means that the Reds were outscored by Barcelona in the 16 minutes he spent on the bench.

“We came out here, we fought hard. It is a very emotional moment because all odds were against us. But that's what war is all about,” McKissic said after the game. 

“My teammates put me in a lot of positions to make decisions. If you want to be good you have to do great things, amazing things. You’ve got to elevate the team sometimes, the team has to help you elevate. I've learned from all the greats that played and put on this jersey before me. So, this is a surreal moment right now.”

In yet another do-or-die game, Shaquielle McKissic came up with 9 consecutive points late in defensive battle to send Olympiacos to Berlin and the Final Four.

Shaquielle McKissic: 'All the odds were against us'

McKissic is slowly putting himself in the group of greats to play for Olympiacos. This is his fifth season with the Reds, which means he had the chance to play alongside some of the legends, including Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis. 

The trip to Berlin will be his third shot at winning the crown and with all of the energy and leadership he has provided his team in the playoffs, he will be counted on again. McKissic averaged 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals for a PIR of 13.2 in the playoffs. All of those numbers were better than his regular season averages. 

Does that give him confidence for the semifinal showdown against top-ranked Real Madrid?

“Game 5, they said it was impossible. I am not afraid of anybody,” McKissic summed up. “Let's go and see what happens.”

Now in his fifth season with the Reds, McKissic was the leader his team needed in the fourth quarter of Game 5

McKissic was magical down the stretch to lift Olympiacos

Each day until the 2024 EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin, Germany, you can relive the greatest semifinal and championship games.

Catch the Final Four’s best-ever games exclusively on the EuroLeague’s YouTube channel

The countdown to the [2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/final-four/) is well and truly on.

After three drama-filled Game 5s on Tuesday and Wednesday, the [EuroLeague’s YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@euroleague) is the perfect place to get hyped up for the action in Berlin, Germany. The semifinals will be played on May 24 before the championship game takes center stage on May 26.

Until then, why not get ready for the 2024 Final Four by watching the greatest semifinals and championship games in the history of the EuroLeague.

### The perfect preparation ahead of the Final Four

Starting today, May 9, and lasting until May 23, 15 games – five semifinal games and 10 championship games – will be aired in full on the EuroLeague’s YouTube channel. These legendary encounters will drop between 19:00 and 19:30 CEST each day, so don’t miss out.

The 2016-17 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul squad celebrates winning the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title.

Relive the greatest moments from the semifinals and championship games as we gear up for Berlin

Euroleague Basketball has announced the following disciplinary sanctions pertaining to incidents that occurred around Game 5 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.

EuroLeague Playoffs Game 5 disciplinary sanctions

- Panathinaikos Aktor Athens has been sanctioned with fines amounting up to €24,000 for the lighting of flares and the court invasion following the end of the game on occasion of its home game against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv  under Article 29.2.e, and i) of the Euroleague Basketball Disciplinary Code, respectively.

The 2017 EuroLeague champion qualified for the 2024 Final Four in dramatic fashion

Fenerbahce rewrote the history books with Game 5 win at Monaco

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has a habit of making history in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Back in 2017, Fenerbahce was the first-ever side to win Games 1 and 2 as the road team. Now, in 2024, it became the first-ever team to win a Game 5 as the visiting squad as [it beat AS Monaco at Salle Gaston Medecin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-makes-history-by-winning-game-5-at-monaco-79-80/) to advance to the Final Four in Berlin, Germany.

Just a few hours after the final buzzer in Monaco, Olympiacos Piraeus matched that same feat by downing FC Barcelona in Game 5 at Palau Blaugrana. There had been 19 seasons of best-of-five series and zero road winners in a Game 5, with the home teams going 19-0. Then, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos broke that curse on the same night.

That’s not to say that it was easy for Fenerbahce, though. Anything but. In what was a nervy contest throughout against AS Monaco, Fenerbahce was outscored in the opening two quarters and saw itself trailing 40-35 at the halftime break. A 6-point swing in the third allowed Saras Jasikevicius’s men to take a narrow 55-56 lead into the final frame, but Monaco did enough to win the fourth quarter by a solitary point, thus forcing overtime.

### A memorable and historic overtime period

Of course, it needed the first-ever overtime in a Game 5 for history to be made. But Fenerbahce wouldn’t have had it any other way. In the extra period, the visitors led just once heading into the final 30 seconds, with Monaco seemingly on course for back-to-back Final Four appearances and the Game 5 curse set to extend to 20-0 since 2005.

Game 4's lowest-scoring result of the playoffs was very unlike the high-scoring shootouts that had preceded it, with nobody scoring more than Marko Guduric's 14 points or Elie Okobo's 13. Head coaches Sasa Obradovic and Saras Jasikevicius could well introduce some new wrinkles in the hope of gaining an edge.

AS Monaco-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | Playoffs Game 5 | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

However, [Nick Calathes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-calathes/001932/) – who had gone 1 for 8 from distance with 2:06 to go in overtime – quickly wrote his name into Fenerbahce legend. Having made it 77-77 with 1:01 left by hitting his second three-pointer of the night, the 35-year-old made it back-to-back triples with what proved to be a dagger three as Fenerbahce took a 79-80 edge into the final 19 seconds. He wasn’t done there. On the final play of the game, Calathes’s pressure on [Elie Okobo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/elie-okobo/011212/) allowed [Georgios Papagiannis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/georgios-papagiannis/005844/) to force a turnover and send the Fenerbahce fans in the upper deck at Salle Gaston Medecin into raptures.

“I’m happy for my guys,” Calathes told EuroLeague TV afterward. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who are hungry. We’ve worked all year, we’ve been through adversity. Guys like [Scottie \[Wilbekin\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/scottie-wilbekin/006661/), [Tyler \[Dorsey\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tyler-dorsey/009849/), Papagiannis – first Final Four, man. The guy works his ass off. [\[Marko\] Guduric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marko-guduric/004004/) hit amazing shots, [Tarik \[Biberovic\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tarik-biberovic/006961/), [Nate \[Sestina\]](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nathan-sestina/011980/). We have a family as a team and we all help each other out. [\[Johnathan\] Motley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/johnathan-motley/011157/) was huge for us today. I could keep speaking, but I’m just very excited about going to the Final Four and doing it with these guys and this club.”

His 2 three-pointers in the last 61 seconds of overtime made history that Nick Calathes of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul addressed after his ream's Game 5 road win at AS Monaco.

Nick Calathes: 'It was a helluva series'

### Confidence, despite what had happened before

Heading into Fenerbahce’s do-or-die meeting with Monaco on Wednesday evening, there was a quiet confidence among many that either Fenerbahce or Olympiacos would make history by becoming the first road teams to win a Game 5. Yet, for Fenerbahce at least, the Turkish side had only ever played one Game 5 – also as the visitor – and it lost, falling in Piraeus last year.

Monaco, meanwhile, was playing in its third straight Game 5. It was defeated as the road team in 2022, losing to Olympiacos, but it advanced to the Final Four in 2023 after beating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at home. Therefore, the historical advantage – past and present – was on the side of the Monegasques. Coach Jasikevicius, however, never had any doubts.

“We were always ahead in the series,” the Lithuanian stated in the post-game press conference. “1-0, 2-1, with big opportunities to seal the deal. We didn’t do it. The players really understood that it would take this type of effort. We were not perfect today, fifth game on the road. The most important thing was to take it to the point where it’s nobody’s game. You guys saw it – at the end, Monaco could have won, Fenerbahce could have won. The ball fell Fenerbahce’s way. It’s as simple as that.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nick Calathes and Sarunas Jasikevicius have different goals for tonight 😂 <a href="https://t.co/FVvcqrQXiq">pic.twitter.com/FVvcqrQXiq</a></p>&mdash; BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasketNews_com/status/1788300938354069891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### More history was made

That wasn’t the only bit of history that Fenerbahce achieved. By beating Monaco, the 2017 EuroLeague champion became just the second team in the past five years to win a series as the lower-seeded side, following in the footsteps of Anadolu Efes Istanbul, which knocked out the higher-seeded EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in 2022 en route to its second consecutive EuroLeague crown. Will a similar outcome await Fenerbahce in Berlin?

Well, for the time being at least, Jasikevicius wants to bathe in the glory of Wednesday’s Game 5 victory. The time to think about Fenerbahce’s semifinal matchup with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens can be put on the back burner.

“It’s not the moment to talk about Berlin,” he added. “We need to enjoy this moment. The players left their hearts and souls out there. Like I said, we must be extremely happy and we are extremely happy. Berlin can wait.”

AS Monaco v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2024-05-08T17:00:00.000Z)

After his string of inspired performances catapulted a storied club back to center stage, Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has been chosen by Euroleague Basketball as the April/May MVP in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.


Kendrick Nunn | April/May MVP |2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague 

Kendrick Nunn | April/May MVP | 2023-24  Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

After his string of inspired performances catapulted a storied club back to center stage, Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has been chosen by Euroleague Basketball as the April/May MVP in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.



Kendrick Nunn | April/May MVP | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague 

The hottest player in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs carried over his level of performance into Game 5, as Kendrick Nunn inspired Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to the Final Four and earned MVP honors along the way.

Kendrick Nunn | Playoffs Game 5 MVP | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-05-07T18:15:00.000Z)

The Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz sniper averaged a league-best 19.5 points per game

Baskonia’s Markus Howard wins the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy

In just his second Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, [Markus Howard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/markus-howard/011948/) of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz etched his name into the history books by winning the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy thanks to his league-best average of 19.5 points per game. Howard set the EuroLeague’s single-season scoring record with 759 total points over 38 games between the regular season, Play-In Showdown and EuroLeague Playoffs.

The Ford Trophy is the only post-season award based solely on statistics. Howard overtook Mike James of AS Monaco in the second half of the season for the top spot. James finished second in the scoring race with 17.9 points per game followed by Wade Baldwin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in third with 17.4.

When Howard was on, there was no hotter player in the league. He became the first scorer in EuroLeague history to rack up at least 30 points in a game five times in one season. He made at least 5 three-pointers 16 times while shattering the competition record with 148 three-pointers made for the season. That bested the previous record by 41 triples! His total points scored were 19 more than the previous record. Both of those marks had been held by Alexey Shved, who set them in 2017-18 with Khimki Moscow Region.

In just his second Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, Markus Howard of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz etched his name into the history books by winning the 2023-24 Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy thanks to his league-best average of 19.5 points per game. Howard set the EuroLeague’s single-season scoring record with 759 total points over 38 games between the regular season, Play-In Showdown and EuroLeague Playoffs.

At age 25, Howard is the second-youngest player to ever win the award. Drew Nicholas was 24 years old when he won the 2006 Ford Trophy with Benetton Treviso.

Among Howard’s best games were a 35-point assault on LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 9 and the same total at Real Madrid in Round 33. Howard was particularly lethal in the final stretch of the regular season; he averaged 25 points per game between Round 29 and 34.

The award is named after Alphonso Ford, who died of leukemia in September 2004 after a brilliant career in which he was the competition's leading scorer twice, in 2000-01 and 2001-02, both seasons with Olympiacos Piraeus. He subsequently led Montepaschi Siena in scoring as it reached the 2003 Final Four. Ford owns the EuroLeague's all-time best scoring average with 22.2 points in 54 career games.

Howard is the 15th winner of the Ford Trophy since it was first awarded in 2005 and the second to win it with Baskonia following Igor Rakocevic, who had the honor in both 2007 and 2009. Rakocevic is one of three players with multiple Ford Trophies. He won a third with Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2011. Keith Langford who with Olimpia Milan in 2014 and UNICS Kazan in 2017 and Shved won with Khimki in 2018 and 2021.

The other Ford Trophy winners are Sasha Vezenkov with Olympiacos Piraeus last season; Vasilije Micic with Efes (2022); Mike James with Milan (2019); Nando De Colo with CSKA Moscow (2016); Taylor Rochestie with Nizhny Novgorod (2015); Bobby Brown (2013) and Bo McCalebb (2012), both with Montepaschi Siena; Kleiza (2010); Marc Salyers with Chorale Roanne (2008); Drew Nicholas with Benetton Treviso (2006); and Charles Smith with Scavolini Pesaro in the award's original season, 2005.

When the buzzer sounded on the final game of the BKT EuroCup season, Sebastian Herrera became the first Chilean player to win the competition. The road from growing up in Chile to celebrating winning the EuroCup was as long as it sounds. Herrera's strong performance with his national team at the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Under-18 World Tournament led to a professional contract in Germany with TBB Trier. From there he continued to Crailsheim Merlins, EWE Baskets Oldenburg and Telekom Baskets Bonn. He played for Coach Tuomas Iisalo at Crailsheim and Bonn and they both relocated to the French capital to play for Paris Basketball last summer. Accordingly, Herrera has been with Coach Iisalo longer than any other player and knows his brand of basketball as well as anyone.

Sebastian Herrera became the first Chilean player to win the BKT EuroCup title.

A tribute to the champs Sebastian Herrera, Paris

It shouldn't be a surprise then that their mutual trust paid off in the playoffs. In 12 regular season games, Herrera had off-the-charts efficiency, amassing 26 assists and just 1 turnover. On the other hand, he averaged just 5.1 points and a PIR of 5.2. After being unavailable in the quarterfinals, Herrera was Paris's secret weapon in the most important games, averaging 10.5 points in the semifinals against the London Lions and 9.0 points in the finals against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. He shot the ball well, making 9 of 17 three-pointers (52.9% 3FG) in the semifinals and finals. When the dust settled, Herrera had made history and was celebrating on top of the podium wrapped in a Chilean flag.