2020–21 Basketball Champions League

The 2020–21 Basketball Champions League was the 5th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs launched and managed by FIBA. The season began on 15 September 2020 and ended on 9 May 2021. It featured 12 domestic champions while four wild cards were allocated for first time.

2020–21 Basketball Champions League
The Trade Union Sport Palace in Nizhny Novgorod hosted the Final Eight
Season2020–21
Dates15 September 2020 – 9 May 2021
Number of teams32 (regular season)
44 (all rounds)[1]
Regular season
Season MVPUnited States Bonzie Colson
Finals
ChampionsSpain San Pablo Burgos (2nd title)
  Runners-upTurkey Pınar Karşıyaka
Third placeSpain Casademont Zaragoza
Fourth placeFrance SIG Strasbourg
Finals MVPBrazil Vítor Benite
Awards
Best CoachSerbia Zoran Lukić
Best Young PlayerFrance Yoan Makoundou
Statistical leaders
PointsUnited States Bonzie Colson18.2
ReboundsUnited States Michale Kyser7.8
AssistsItaly Marco Spissu6.9
Index RatingUnited States Raymar Morgan20.6
Seasons

San Pablo Burgos won its second consecutive championship, after defeating Pınar Karşıyaka in the final in Nizhny Novgorod. As champions, they qualified for the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Teams

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Team allocation

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44 teams played in the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League (28 teams directly qualify for the group competition, while 16 teams play 2 qualifying rounds for the remaining 4 places in the group stage).[1]

Qualified teams for 2020–21 Basketball Champions League (by entry round)[2]
Regular season
Pınar Karşıyaka (Abd-2nd) Cholet (Abd-6th) Happy Casa Brindisi (Abd-5th) ERA Nymburk (Abd-1st)
Galatasaray (Abd-3rd) Limoges CSP (Abd-8th) Fortitudo Bologna (Abd-8th)WC Brose Bamberg (5th)
Tofaş (Abd-5th) San Pablo Burgos (4th) AEK (Abd-2nd) Falco Szombathely (Abd-1st)
Darüşşafaka Tekfen (Abd-6th)WC Casademont Zaragoza (6th) Peristeri (Abd-3rd) VEF Riga (Abd-1st)[Note LAT]
Türk Telekom (BCL QF)WC Iberostar Tenerife (7th) Hapoel Jerusalem (3rd) Rytas (Abd-2nd)
JDA Dijon (CLR)[Note FRA] RETAbet Bilbao (8th)WC Hapoel Holon (5th) Start Lublin (Abd-2nd)
Strasbourg (CLR)[Note FRA] Dinamo Sassari (Abd-2nd) Filou Oostende (Abd-1st) Nizhny Novgorod (BCL R16)
Qualifying rounds
Belfius Mons-Hainaut (Abd-2nd) Keravnos (Abd-1st) Hapoel Tel Aviv (8th) Sporting CP (Abd-1st)
Tsmoki-Minsk Bakken Bears (Abd-1st) Neptūnas (Abd-4th) U-BT Cluj-Napoca (Abd-1st)
Igokea (Abd-1st) London Lions (Abd-2nd) Donar (Abd-2nd) Fribourg Olympic (Abd-1st)
Balkan (Abd-1st) Iraklis (Abd-7th) Anwil Włocławek (Abd-3rd) Dnipro (Abd-1st)
Notes
  1. ^
    France (FRA): The LNB ruled the 2019–20 Pro A season void without a classification. As a result, the BCL ruled that teams from France were selected on their BCL club rankings. JDA Dijon and SIG Strasbourg qualified as such.[3]
  2. ^
    Latvia (LAT): VEF Rīga qualified as the highest-ranked Latvian team of the Latvian–Estonian League, because the Latvian championship did not start due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Referees

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Round and draw dates

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The schedule of the competition was as follows.[5] On December 3, the Basketball Champions League Board has approved a change of format for the 2020-21 Play-Offs and Finals.[6]

Schedule for 2020–21 Basketball Champions League
PhaseRoundDraw dateRound date
Qualifying roundsFirst qualifying round (Semifinals)15 July 202022–23 September 2020
Second qualifying round (Finals)24–25 September 2020
Regular seasonRound 1Groups A–D20–21 October 2020
Groups E–H27–28 October 2020
Round 2Groups A–D3–4 November 2020
Groups E–H10–11 November 2020
Round 3Groups A–D17–18 November 2020
Groups E–H8–9 December 2020
Round 4Groups A–D15–16 December 2020
Groups E–H22–23 December 2020
Round 5Groups A–D5–6 January 2021
Groups E–H12–13 January 2021
Round 6Groups A–D19–20 January 2021
Groups E–H26–27 January 2021
Play-offsRound 12 February 20212–3 March 2021
Round 29–10 March 2021
Round 316–17 March 2021
Round 423–24 March 2021
Round 530–31 March 2021
Round 66–7 April 2021
Final EightQuarterfinals16 April 20216–7 May 2021
Semifinals8 May 2021
Final9 May 2021

Qualifying rounds

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Draw

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The 16 teams that entered in the first round were divided into four pots based firstly on the competition's club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking.

For the first qualification round (QR1), teams from Pot 3 were drawn against teams from Pot 2, and teams from Pot 4 faced teams from Pot 1. Clubs from Pot 1 and 2 were seeded, and played the second leg at home. Games were played on September 15–18. The eight winners then qualified for the second qualification round (QR2).

For the second round (QR2), the winners of Pot 3 and Pot 2 faced the winners of Pot 4 and Pot 1. The winners from Pot 4 and Pot 1 were seeded, and played the second leg at home. Games were played on September 22–25. The four winners then qualified for the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League regular reason and joined the 28 directly qualified teams in the main draw.

Change of Qualifying format

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On August 25, 2020, it was announced, in order to protect the health and guarantee the safety of players, coaches and officials, but also to safeguard a fair competition, and to properly organize game operations, the decision has been taken to modify the competition system from home-away games, to a tournament format, with single games for each Qualification Round.[7]

Four tournaments took place, each consisting of two semifinals games and of one final game, where the semifinals were played as the BCL qualification round 1 and the final as the BCL qualification round 2. These Qualification tournaments took place in two different locations:

Draw pots

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Pot 1
TeamPts
Neptūnas69
Anwil Włocławek28
Fribourg Olympic13
Donar7
Pot 2
TeamPts
Tsmoki-Minsk6
Bakken Bears5
U-BT Cluj-Napoca4
Keravnos3
Pot 3
TeamPts
Balkan1
Hapoel Tel Aviv1
Igokea1*
Iraklis106.42
Pot 4
TeamPts
Belfius Mons-Hainaut66.83
Dnipro15.00
Sporting CP6.00
London Lions1.00

* Example of 1 point for Igokea from 2016 to 2017 season means that the FIBA's "last three season points" rule applies to the last (three) BCL seasons of the particular club, not the last three BCL seasons in general.

Results

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Qualification Group A

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Semifinals were played on 23 September 2020 and Final took place on 25 September 2020 at Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
23 September
 
 
Anwil Włocławek69
 
25 September
 
Belfius Mons-Hainaut81
 
Belfius Mons-Hainaut71
 
23 September
 
Bakken Bears86
 
Bakken Bears91
 
 
Hapoel Tel Aviv71
 

Qualification Group B

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Semifinals were played on 22 September 2020 and Final took place on 24 September 2020 at Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
22 September
 
 
Keravnos (OT)96
 
24 September
 
Iraklis94
 
Keravnos60
 
22 September
 
Donar57
 
Donar88
 
 
Dnipro53
 

Qualification Group C

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Semifinals were played on 23 September 2020 and Final took place on 25 September 2020 at Arena Botevgrad in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
23 September
 
 
U-BT Cluj-Napoca75
 
25 September
 
Igokea82
 
Igokea70
 
23 September
 
Sporting CP64
 
Fribourg Olympic78
 
 
Sporting CP84
 

Qualification Group D

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Semifinals were played on 22 September 2020 and Final took place on 24 September 2020 at Arena Botevgrad in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
22 September
 
 
Tsmoki-Minsk73
 
24 September
 
Balkan65
 
Tsmoki-Minsk69
 
22 September
 
Neptūnas59
 
Neptūnas77
 
 
London Lions73
 

Regular season

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Draw

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The 28 teams that entered in the regular season directly were divided into seven pots based firstly on the club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking. Eighth pot is reserved for winners of qualifying rounds.

Initially, teams were divided into groups of eight teams. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, groups were split with the aim to the reduce the number of games and to make easier to play possible postponed matches.

Pot 1
TeamPts
AEK119
Iberostar Tenerife119
ERA Nymburk83
Hapoel Jerusalem79
Pot 2
TeamPts
Strasbourg68
Filou Oostende64
Nizhny Novgorod61
Brose Bamberg60
Pot 3
TeamPts
Dinamo Sassari51
Hapoel Holon47
JDA Dijon43
Türk Telekom36
Pot 4
TeamPts
Pınar Karşıyaka35
Casademont Zaragoza34
San Pablo Burgos30
Peristeri26
Pot 5
TeamPts
Falco Szombathely17
Happy Casa Brindisi15
VEF Riga7
RETAbet Bilbao131.00
Pot 6
TeamPts
Cholet110.58
Limoges CSP110.58
Galatasaray107.50
Tofaş107.50
Pot 7
TeamPts
Darüşşafaka Tekfen107.50
Fortitudo Bologna95.00
Rytas74.33
Start Lublin44.67
Pot 8
Team
Bakken Bears
Keravnos
Igokea
Tsmoki-Minsk
Notes
^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefore using the country points as a tiebreaker.

Group A

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationTFEDINBAKGAL
1 Iberostar Tenerife642552507+4510Advance to Playoffs115–8598–7385–72
2 Dinamo Sassari642524529−51092–7271–9393–84
3 Bakken Bears633523507+16996–7884–9196–78
4 Galatasaray615495551−56789–10481–9291–81

Group B

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationTOFNYMJDAKER
1 Tofaş642529482+4710Advance to Playoffs93–9681–8778–67
2 ERA Nymburk642546473+731097–10394–5496–69
3 JDA Dijon642457449+81061–9085–6191–79
4 Keravnos606402530−128674–8469–10244–79

Group C

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationHOLAEKCHOTSM
1 Hapoel Holon642479455+2410Advance to Playoffs77–7173–6369–79
2 AEK642514492+2210100–9683–8195–69
3 Cholet624458468−10871–8979–7089–71
4 Tsmoki-Minsk624462498−36871–7590–9582–75

Group D

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationZARNIZFALLUB
1 Casademont Zaragoza651527504+2311Advance to Playoffs78–7585–7694–82
2 Nizhny Novgorod642496463+331092–9873–6878–65
3 Falco Szombathely633493471+22994–8688–9384–75
4 Start Lublin606432510−78685–8666–8559–83

Group E

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationSIGVEFPERRYT
1 SIG Strasbourg642492466+2610Advance to Playoffs101–9477–5781–83
2 VEF Rīga642482457+251075–7760–5784–60
3 Peristeri Winmasters624458462−4876–7981–8481–74
4 Rytas624467514−47881–7781–8588–106

Group F

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationBROKARBILFOR
1 Brose Bamberg660509429+8012Advance to Playoffs83–8290–7583–68
2 Pınar Karşıyaka642476441+351070–7685–7680–69
3 RETAbet Bilbao624445451−6871–7772–8182–54
4 Fortitudo Bologna606383492−109663–10065–7864–69

Group G

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationTTEIGOJERLIM
1 Türk Telekom651487477+1011Advance to Playoffs94–8698–9476–73
2 Igokea633457470−13977–6675–7376–73
3 Hapoel Jerusalem624492482+10877–7884–68[a]81–75
4 Limoges CSP624459466−7870–7580–7588–83
  1. ^ The rescheduled game was played in Laktaši instead of Jerusalem by agreement between both teams.[8]

Group H

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationSPBBRIOOSDAR
1 San Pablo Burgos651543470+7311Advance to Playoffs93–7188–73100–70
2 Happy Casa Brindisi642521508+131086–9093–8192–81
3 Filou Oostende624484517−33899–9880–9277–67
4 Darüşşafaka Tekfen615451504−53771–7483–8779–74

Playoffs

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Sixteen teams advance to the Play-off phase, consisting of a new group format of four groups with four teams each.

A draw determined the new four groups (each group had respectively two teams having finished first and two teams having finished second in their regular season group) that played home and away games over the month of March. No country protection, only group protection was applied during the draw.

Clubs played six games each in a round robin system (three games home, three away), with the first two teams in each group qualifying for a Final 8 tournament that concluded the 2020–21 season. The playoffs started on March 2–3, 2021.[9]

The draw of this second phase of the competition was conducted on February 2, at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball.[10]

Draw

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Seeded teams
Lenovo Tenerife
Tofaş
Hapoel Holon
Casademont Zaragoza
SIG Strasbourg
Brose Bamberg
Türk Telekom
San Pablo Burgos
Non-seeded teams
Dinamo Sassari
ERA Nymburk
AEK
Nizhny Novgorod
VEF Riga
Pınar Karşıyaka
Igokea
Happy Casa Brindisi

Group I

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationHOLKARBRITOF
1 Hapoel Holon642472483−1110Advance to Final Eight63–7281–7971–90
2 Pınar Karşıyaka633491471+20976–77107–8878–70
3 Happy Casa Brindisi633503501+2985–8783–7977–75
4 Tofaş624478489−11881–9390–7972–91

Group J

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationTFESPBIGOVEF
1 Lenovo Tenerife651484426+5811Advance to Final Eight89–6080–7577–64
2 San Pablo Burgos642462436+2610101–7983–7176–75
3 Igokea633440453−13962–8277–75[a]64–58
4 VEF Rīga606381452−71664–7745–6775–91
  1. ^ The rescheduled game was played in Burgos instead of Laktaši by agreement between both teams.[11]

Group K

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationNIZSIGAEKTTE
1 Nizhny Novgorod642506457+4910Advance to Final Eight87–9788–6096–82
2 SIG Strasbourg633491474+17968–7391–7391–81
3 AEK633429468−39979–7877–6874–65
4 Türk Telekom624460487−27871–8483–7678–66

Group L

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PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualificationNYMZARBRODIN
1 ERA Nymburk651532497+3511Advance to Final Eight98–7891–8790–89
2 Casademont Zaragoza642521522−11090–7177–65105–88
3 Brose Bamberg624513504+9880–91[a]117–7692–86
4 Dinamo Sassari615502545−43773–9183–9583–72
  1. ^ The rescheduled game was played in Laktaši (Bosnia and Herzegovina) instead of Bamberg due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic between Germany and Czech Republic.[12]

Final Eight

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The concluding Final Eight tournament was played in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, between 5 May and 9 May 2021.[13]

Draw

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Pot 1
ERA Nymburk
Hapoel Holon
Lenovo Tenerife
Nizhny Novgorod
Pot 2
Casademont Zaragoza
San Pablo Burgos
Pınar Karşıyaka
SIG Strasbourg

Bracket

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
6 May
 
 
Hapoel Holon77
 
7 May
 
San Pablo Burgos86
 
San Pablo Burgos81
 
6 May
 
SIG Strasbourg70
 
Lenovo Tenerife86
 
9 May
 
SIG Strasbourg (OT)88
 
San Pablo Burgos64
 
5 May
 
Pınar Karşıyaka59
 
Nizhny Novgorod78
 
7 May
 
Casademont Zaragoza86
 
Casademont Zaragoza79
 
5 May
 
Pınar Karşıyaka84Third place
 
ERA Nymburk73
 
9 May
 
Pınar Karşıyaka84
 
SIG Strasbourg77
 
 
Casademont Zaragoza89
 

Quarterfinals

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The quarterfinals were played on 5–6 May 2021.

Team 1 Score Team 2
Lenovo Tenerife 86–88 OT SIG Strasbourg
Hapoel Holon 77–86 San Pablo Burgos
Nizhny Novgorod 78–86 Casademont Zaragoza
ERA Nymburk 73–84 Pınar Karşıyaka

Semifinals

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The semifinals were played on 7 May 2021.

Team 1 Score Team 2
San Pablo Burgos 81–70 SIG Strasbourg
Casademont Zaragoza 79–84 Pınar Karşıyaka

Third place game

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The third place game was played on 9 May 2021.

Team 1 Score Team 2
Casademont Zaragoza 89–77 SIG Strasbourg

Final

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The final was played on 9 May 2021.

Team 1 Score Team 2
Pınar Karşıyaka 59–64 San Pablo Burgos

Individual awards

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Season awards

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The annual season awards were announced on 5 May.[14][15]

AwardPlayerClub
Most Valuable Player Bonzie Colson SIG Strasbourg
Final Eight MVP Vítor Benite San Pablo Burgos
Best Young Player Yoan Makoundou Cholet
Best Coach Zoran Lukić Nizhny Novgorod
First TeamSecond Team
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
C.J. Harris Hapoel Holon Dylan Ennis Zaragoza
Kasey Shepherd Nizhny Novgorod Darius Thompson New Basket Brindisi
Bonzie Colson SIG Strasbourg Jasiel Rivero San Pablo Burgos
Raymar Morgan Karşıyaka Omar Prewitt Nymburk
Giorgi Shermadini Canarias Michale Kyser VEF Rīga

MVP of the Month

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MonthPlayerClubRef.
2020
October
Steven Gray Peristeri
November
Yanick Moreira AEK
December
Kyle Allman Jr. VEF Rīga
2021
January
Raymar Morgan Pınar Karşıyaka

Play-Offs MVP

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PlayerClubRef.
Kasey Shepherd Nizhny Novgorod

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b ""We're here to stay": BCL's past, present and future in an exclusive interview with Patrick Comninos". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Strongest BCL lineup to date ahead of season 5". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  3. ^ "Comninos on BCL criteria: It's meritocratic, we have objective ranking on each club". Eurohoops. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  4. ^ "Korvpalliliit sel hooajal Eesti meistritiitleid välja ei jaga". basket.ee. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  5. ^ "DRAFT - regulations.pdf" (PDF). www.fiba.basketball. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  6. ^ Basketball Champions League (3 December 2020). "Basketball Champions League Play-Offs and Finals format updated". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds format updated and hosts announced". Champions League Basketball. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ορίστηκε το εξ αναβολής παιχνίδι, Χάποελ Ιερουσαλήμ - Ιγκοκέα".
  9. ^ "Competition System". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  10. ^ "Basketball Champions League Play-Offs Draw explained". championsleague.basketball. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  11. ^ "ABA League clubs in Europe (schedule)".
  12. ^ "Spielverlegungen in der Basketball Champions League".
  13. ^ "Final Eight field confirmed". FIBA. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  14. ^ "Star Lineup revealed, Makoundou Best Young Player". Basketball Champions League. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Colson named MVP of the Season". Basketball Champions League. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Record-breaking Gray named MVP of the Month for October". Basketball Champions League. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  17. ^ "AEK big man Moreira named MVP of the month for November". Basketball Champions League. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  18. ^ "VEF Riga's Kyle Allman named MVP of the month for December". Basketball Champions League. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Pinar Karsiyaka's Raymar Morgan named MVP of the month for January". Basketball Champions League. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Nizhny Novgorod's Kasey Shepherd named Play-Offs MVP". Basketball Champions League. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
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