Basketball in 2023: What were the most memorable moments? / News - Basketnews.com

With 2023 coming to an end, BasketNews invites you to remember and relive the most memorable and exciting basketball moments of the year.

Credit: BasketNews Illustration Credit BasketNews Illustration

With 2023 coming to an end, BasketNews invites you to remember and relive the most memorable and exciting basketball moments of the year.

It had plenty of exciting matchups, incredible finals, and unexpected transfers, followed by the FIBA Basketball World Cup, among other memorable events.

So, take a seat and remember the most important basketball events of 2023.

January

3rd: Donovan Mitchell delivered a historic performance against the Chicago Bulls, scoring an impressive 71 points. This marked the highest-scoring individual effort since Kobe Bryant's iconic 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

4th: EuroLeague imposed sanctions on Crvena Zvezda, preventing them from registering newcomer Facundo Campazzo until February 28. This setback significantly affected the Serbian club's chances of making the 2023 EuroLeague Playoffs.

13th: Enes Kanter Freedom found himself on the Grey list of the Turkish Interior Ministry's 'Terrorist Wanted List.' A reward of up to 10 million Turkish liras (~€490,000) was offered for information leading to his capture. Kanter has long been a vocal critic of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime in Turkey.

14th: The San Antonio Spurs set an NBA attendance record with 68,323 spectators during their 50th-anniversary season. Returning to their former home, Alamodome, they faced the Golden State Warriors, surpassing the previous record set in 1998.

15th: For the first time in top European men's basketball competition history, three female referees -- Anne Panther, Danjana Rey, and Alexandra Pawlik -- were in charge of the match between Veolia Towers Hamburg and BG Gottingen in the German BBL.

18th: Mantas Kalnietis, a symbol of Zalgiris Kaunas and the Lithuanian national team, announced his retirement.

25th: FIBA initiated an investigation into Pierria Henry, suspending the player's license after a routine anti-doping check. Subsequently, Baskonia and Henry mutually agreed to suspend their contract until the matter was resolved. FIBA suspected Henry of using a fake sample during his test.

February

3rd: Nando De Colo achieved a significant milestone by surpassing Nikos Galis as the all-time leading scorer in European Cups. He notched his 4905th point in his international club career during the EuroLeague game against Virtus Bologna.

5th: The Mavericks orchestrated a major trade, sending Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick, and multiple second-round picks to acquire Kyrie Irving.

8th: LeBron James etched his name in NBA history as the league's all-time leading scorer, breaking Kareem Abdul Jabbar's scoring record.

9th: Kevin Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In exchange, the Suns were sending the Brooklyn Nets a package including Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first-round picks, and additional draft compensation, with Jae Crowder being involved as well.

19th: Mac McClung made history as the first G League player to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He executed a flawless 360-degree dunk in his final attempt.

20th: Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron 184-175 in an NBA All-Star Game that saw Jayson Tatum collect MVP honors, scoring 55 points on 22-for-31 shooting to set the record for the most points scored in an All-Star Game.

27th: The Argentinian national team suffered elimination from contention in the FIBA World Cup 2023. This followed their loss in a do-or-die game against the Dominican Republic in the Americas Qualifiers, marking the first time since 1982 that Argentina did not participate in the FIBA World Cup.

March

1st: Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Tyler Dorsey reached an agreement until the end of the 2024-25 season. The Greek-American scoring guard was a player for the Texas Legends, splitting time between the G-League and the NBA (Dallas Mavericks).

8th: Pau Gasol saw his No.16 Los Angeles Lakers jersey get retired in a special ceremony. The franchise reached three straight NBA Finals after Gasol's arrival in February 2008, winning championships in 2009 and 2010. Gasol made three of his six career All-Star teams during his time with Los Angeles while averaging 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

9th: Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim left the Syracuse basketball team after 47 years as the head coach of the program. Most notably, Boeheim became the national champion in 2003 with a roster led by Carmelo Anthony.

The coach is a three-time Olympic gold medalist as an assistant coach with the USA national team in 2008, 2012, and 2016. He is also a two-time gold medalist at the FIBA World Cup in 2010 and 2014.

21st: Hall of Famer Willis Reed passed away at 80 years old following several congestive heart problems. Reed, a New York Knicks legend, was a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and 1970 MVP award winner. The center spent his entire professional playing career with the Knicks, from 1964 to 1974. His No. 19 jersey was retired by New York in 1976.

31st: After 16 seasons in the NBA, LaMarcus Aldridge retired from professional basketball. Aldridge became a 7-time All-Star and a 5-time All-NBA member. He was also named the 2006-07 Rookie of the Year. Throughout his career, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds.

LaMarcus AldridgeCredit AP – Scanpix

April

12th: Game 2 of the Basketball Champions League matchup between AEK Athens and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem caused a serious conflict between the fans of both teams.

The Greek fans started throwing various things at the Israeli supporters. One of the fans was injured in the process. AEK fans threw firecrackers at the opposing fans, and started burning an Israeli flag, while several Palestinian flags were seen in the arena as well.

As a result, AEK received a hefty €50,000 fine, in addition to being ordered to play all their 2023-24 home games with a 20% capacity.

14th: Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry completed the sale of his Bucks stake to Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Haslam Sports Group for a $3.5 billion valuation.

Lasry owned about 25% of the Bucks. He was also a primary Bucks governor. The $3.5 billion valuation is the second-highest for an NBA team ever, trailing only the $4 billion Mat Ishbia purchased the Phoenix Suns, and third-highest for an American sports franchise.

18th: Despite IOC recommendations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition, FIBA decided not to allow the registration of either national team for FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments, making it impossible for them to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Two days later, FIBA Europe took action against the two countries, banning them from FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers.

26th: After getting selected No. 1 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, Paolo Banchero was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, beating out Walker Kessler and Jalen Williams in the process.

In his first year in the league, Banchero averaged 20 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the Magic. He went on to represent Team USA in the 2023 World Cup, his first major international tournament.

27th: In what went down as the ultimate brawl in EuroLeague history, Real Madrid and Partizan players engaged in a massive fight during Game 2 of their playoff series.

With under two minutes remaining in the outing held in the Spanish capital, Sergio Llull violently fouled Kevin Punter. Wanting to defend himself, Punter squared off against Llull. The conflict caused a huge fight. In the process, Guerschon Yabusele bodyslammed Dante Exum while Mathias Lessort pushed Dzanan Musa to the ground.

Almost every single player from both teams was involved in the fight. Overall, 21 players received disqualifying fouls.

At the time of the fight, Partizan were leading 95-80. The game was finished due to the sheer amount of players involved in the fight. The game has resulted as it was during the moment of the fight.

However, the EuroLeague judge imposed a 5-game suspension on Yabusele, which meant that the Frenchman would miss out on the remainder of the season (including the Final Four) while handing lighter sanctions to Punter, Gabriel Deck, and Mathias Lessort.

Real ended up winning the series 3-2, becoming the first team to bounce back from 0-2 in the playoffs.

May

3rd: Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was announced as the 2022-23 NBA MVP.

Embiid was up against fellow finalists Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, the latter of whom looked like the favorite for most of the year. Jokic finished runner-up in the MVP voting, and Giannis was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15 first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.

Embiid recorded a career-high and league-leading 33.1 points per game to go along with 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists (tying his career-high), one steal, and 1.7 blocks (his highest average since 2018-19).

3rd: After years of speculation and deliberation, Panathinaikos Athens officially got control of the OAKA for the next 49 years. The development paved the way for the installation's full refurbishment, as owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos has already started to turn the historic gym (which first opened its doors in 1995) into a state-of-the-art arena with numerous amenities for its visitors.

Based on the agreement PAO BC made with the Greek government, the club will also receive 100% of the income both from the tickets and the parking fees, and 70% of general revenue from events.

5th: Gran Canaria became the EuroCup champions while remaining perfect at home throughout the entire season. Jaka Lakovic's team defeated Turk Telekom Ankara in the EuroCup final 71-67 behind an 18-point performance by Final MVP John Shurna.

However, some days later, the Spanish side renounced its EuroLeague participation on financial grounds. Gran Canaria became the first EuroCup winner to decline a spot in Europe's top competition.

Gran CanariaCredit Rodolfo Molina, Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

5th: The Milwaukee Bucks fired coach Mike Budenholzer just over a week after their stunning first-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat spoiled a season in which they owned the NBA's best record. Budenholzer's ousting comes just two years after he guided the Bucks to their first NBA title in half a century.

The Bucks posted the most combined regular-season and playoff wins of any team during Budenholzer's tenure and had the league's best regular-season record in three of his five seasons on the job. He posted a 271-120 regular-season record and a 39-26 playoff mark in Milwaukee.

14th: Telekom Baskets Bonn put the exclamation mark next to a dream-like season. The German side, coached by Finnish tactician Tuomas Iisalo, downed Hapoel Jerusalem 77-70 in the FIBA Basketball Champions League final game held in Martin Carpena, Malaga in front of almost 10,400 fans.

Bonn thus became the fourth German team to win a European trophy after ALBA Berlin (1995 Korac Cup), Gottingen (2010 EuroChallenge), and the Frankfurt Skyliners (2016 FIBA Europe Cup). They won the 1-million euro prize allocated to the winning team.

BCL MVP TJ Shorts deservedly won himself another accolade, the Final Four MVP award. The American guard scored a game-high 29 points and 3 assists for a PIR of 23.

14th: After getting eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinal, the Phoenix Suns parted ways with head coach Monty Williams.

Throughout his four years with the organization, Williams was elected Coach of the Year in 2022 and brought the team to the NBA Finals in 2021. He had three years and more than $20 million left in his contract.

19th: Brittney Griner made an emotional return to women's basketball, playing her first competitive game in nearly two years following her incarceration in Russia.

Griner, who was released by Russia as part of a prisoner swap, made her first appearance in a WNBA game in 579 days as the Phoenix Mercury faced the Los Angeles Sparks in a season opener in California. Griner eventually finished with 18 points and six rebounds but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a comprehensive 94-71 loss.

Brittney GrinerCredit Getty Images via AFP-SCANPIX

21st: Olympiacos Piraeus were leading for 37 minutes in the EuroLeague title game in Kaunas, but Sergio Llull's jumpshot over Moustapha Fall's with just 3.1 seconds of time left handed Real Madrid their 11th continental crown.

Los Blancos prevailed by 79-78, leaving the Reds empty-handed for the third straight time in a final game. Olympiacos had topped the regular season standings, while Giorgos Bartzokas won his second straight Coach of The Year award, and Sasha Vezenkov was the obvious choice for MVP.

22nd: After 19 NBA seasons, Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from basketball. A 10-time NBA All-Star, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, a select on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and currently ranked ninth on the NBA All-Time Scoring List (28,289 points), 'Melo' cemented himself as one of the best pure shooters in the NBA over the last 20 years.

Anthony's last team was the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22. During his career, he represented the Denver Nuggets (2003-11), New York Knicks (2011-17), Oklahoma City Thunder (2017-18), Houston Rockets (2018-19), and Portland Trail Blazers (2019-21). His NBA career averages mark 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists over 1,260 games.

June

1st: Monty Williams agreed to the largest deal in history to become the head coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Williams reportedly agreed to a 6-year $78.5 million deal. However, it's not going well for Williams and the Pistons, as the Detroit team has a 2-28 record.

2nd: Andrea Trinchieri announced his departure from FC Bayern Munich. Bayern lost the German League quarterfinal series against ratiopharm Ulm 0-3.

The 55-year-old Italian joined Bayern in 2020 and led the team to two German Cup titles but didn't manage to win a single BBL trophy. Trinchieri also guided Bayern to two EuroLeague playoff appearances.

In the last EuroLeague season, Bayern finished with an 11-23 record, which was good enough for 15th place.

Andrea TrinchieriCredit Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

5th: Marshall Glickmann ended his tenure as the EuroLeague CEO after only 1 season. Under Glickman's leadership, the EuroLeague secured an ESPN broadcasting deal.

The US media giant streamed the 2022-23 EuroLeague Playoffs and the entire Final Four in Kaunas. The agreement also includes broadcasting rights for the 2023-24 EuroLeague season as well.

8th: Nikola Jokic became the first player in the NBA Finals history to record a triple-double with 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Denver Nuggets superstar finished the NBA Finals Game 3 against the Miami Heat with 32 points (11/19 2PT, 1/2 3PT, 7/8 FT), 21 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 turnovers in 44 minutes of play.

"To be honest, [it] doesn't mean much," Jokic said about his historic triple-double. "It was a big win for us just because they won in our arena."

12th: Pablo Laso returned to coaching after joining Bayern and replacing Andrea Trinchieri.

Laso spent the 2022-23 season as a free agent after getting let go byReal Madrid last summer after experiencing health issuesduring the final series of the Spanish Liga Endesa (ACB).

13th: The Denver Nuggets became the NBA champions for the first time in franchise history, while Nikola Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP.

The Serbian superstar has been named a unanimous NBA Finals MVP after averaging 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game during the Finals series in which the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 4-1.

15th: Paulius Motiejunas was officially announced as the new EuroLeague CEO. Motiejunas, 42, was unanimously appointed by Euroleague Basketball shareholders and replaced Marshall Glickman, who was the acting CEO during the 2022-23 season.

16th: Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant got a 25-game suspension for showing a firearm on social media.

"Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

18th: Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns were involved in a blockbuster trade.

The Suns acquired Bradley Beal in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, several second-round picks, and multiple pick swaps

20th: Ergin Ataman was officially announced as the new Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach. The Turkish coach signed a 2-year deal.

Under Ataman's guidance, Anadolu Efes went from being the worst team in the EuroLeague to reaching the EuroLeague final in the 2018-19 season. The 57-year-old also guided the team to two consecutive EuroLeague trophies in 2021 and 2022.

Ergin AtamanCredit Vangelis Stolis

23rd: Victor Wembanyama has been selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The San Antonio Spurs rookie enjoys a solid campaign, averaging 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and 2.8 assists per game in 26 appearances.

26th: FC Barcelona announced that Sarunas Jasikevicius left the club after both parties could not reach an agreement on a contract extension.

A few hours later, Barca announced that Saras was replaced by Roger Grimau.

July

1st: EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov signed a 3-year, $20 million deal with the Sacramento Kings.

The Bulgarian forward still looks for a consistent role in the NBA, as he averages 13 minutes, 5.3 points, and 2.6 rebounds per game in 26 appearances.

1st: Another EuroLeague star, Vasilije Micic, signed a 3-year, $23.5 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

However, Micic played in only 11 games, averaging 2.8 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

8th: Panathinaikos made arguably the biggest EuroLeague signing of the summer, announcing Kostas Sloukas. The former Olympiacos guard signed a 3-year deal with the Greens.

13th: Willy Hernangomez made his return to Europe, signing a 3-year deal with Barcelona.

18th: Facundo Campazzo made his return to Real Madrid, signing a 4-year deal.

20th: Nikola Mirotic officially parted with Barcelona. However, the Spanish club unilaterally terminated Mirotic's contract, as he still had 2 years on his contract.

27th: Juancho Hernangomez became another Panathinaikos marquee signing, agreeing to a 2-year contract.

August

3rd: After leaving Barcelona, Nikola Mirotic signed with Olimpia Milan after agreeing to a 3-year deal.

"I am very happy to become part of this great Olimpia Milano family and to contribute to the competitiveness of this great team and organization," Mirotic said.

23rd: Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani was elected as the new FIBA president. He has been FIBA Vice President for the previous cycle, which began in 2019, and President of FIBA Asia since 2002, having formerly been President of the Qatar Basketball Federation and a Vice President of the Qatar Olympic Committee.

25th: The 19th FIBA Basketball World Cup began. The latest edition was hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.

25th: The Philippines shatter the FIBA World Cup attendance record when 38,115 fans gathered for the national team's first game against Italy.

26th: Shane Larkin and Scottie Wilbekin get suspended and fined for refusing to play for the Turkish national team in the Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament due to injuries.

27th: US sprinter Noah Lyles gets famous worldwide after his comments about NBA champions claiming to be world champions. His comment sparks an immediate and harsh reaction from NBA players.

"World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong - I love the US at times, but that ain't the world," Lyles proclaimed.

September

2nd: South Sudan qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as the best African team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. It was South Sudan's debut performance in the competition and will make its debut in the Olympics as well.

3rd: Serbia's Borisa Simanic loses a kidney following a complication after a hit he sustained in a 2023 FIBA World Cup game against South Sudan.

The player initially underwent urgent surgery on game day when the team's doctor had to search for blood in the middle of the night. A few days later, it was determined removing one of his kidneys was the only solution to preserve the player's life.

8th: Both Team USA and Canada were defeated in the 2023 FIBA World Cup semifinals. In what was regarded as one of the best games in recent history, Germany outplayed the US, while Serbia stopped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander behind Aleksa Avramovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic's effort.

9th: Latvia's Arturs Zagars sets a new FIBA World Cup record with 17 assists in a single game.

10th: Team USA suffers its third loss in the 2023 FIBA World Cup after getting defeated by Canada in the third-place game. It was the first time Team USA had lost three times in a single tournament since the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

10th: Germany beat Serbia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup final, capturing their first title in the country's history. Dennis Schroder gets named the tournament's MVP.

12th: Nemanja Bjelica signs with Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. Even though his arrival was hyped by the local fans, the former NBA champion ended up not playing a single second for the Serbian club.

15th: Virtus Segafredo Bologna fired head coach Sergio Scariolo after the coach's comments during a press conference where he criticized the management for its decisions during the offseason. Luca Banchi replaced Scariolo.

Sergio ScarioloCredit Simone Lucarelli/LPS via ZUMA Press Wire - Scanpix

16th: Serge Ibaka signs with FC Bayern Munich to return to Europe following a 14-year NBA career.

27th: Damian Lillard finally gets traded from the Portland Trail Blazers after weeks and months of speculation. Lillard went to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team team, with the Phoenix Suns as the third team.

October

1st: Jrue Holiday gets traded to the Boston Celtics after first landing in Portland following the Damian Lillard trade. In exchange, The Blazers received Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, a 2024 1st-round pick, and a 2029 unprotected 1st-rounder.

5th: Joel Embiid commits to play for Team USA, declining offers to play for France and Cameroon.

7th: Hamas launches thousands of rockets toward Israel, causing an all-out war that still continues. All sporting events get canceled in the country. As a result, all teams that compete internationally were forced to play their home games outside of Israel.

18th:Kemba Walker makes his debut in the EuroLeague, recording 2 points and 2 rebounds in a game against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.

20th: Andre Iguodala retires from basketball. Throughout his 19-year NBA career, Iguodala won the league championship four times, becoming the 2015 Finals MVP. He was a two-time All-Defensive Team member and a one-time All-Star.

20th: TJ Parker gets dismissed from LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne after a tough start to the season. Gianmarco Pozzecco is named as his replacement.

21st:Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade part ways with head coach Dusko Ivanovic. Greek specialist Ioannis Sfairopoulos takes over the team a day later.

24th: Giannis Antetokounmpo signs a new three-year $186 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, which will keep the player in the franchise until 2027 and includes a player option for the following year.

25th: Victor Wembanyama plays his first official game in the NBA. The French phenom finished the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 5 turnovers.

31st: James Harden gets traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers traded away Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, multiple draft picks, and a pick swap. In return, the 76ers sent PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers.

31st: Former NBA All-Rookie Kendrick Nunn signs with Panathinaikos Athens to play until the end of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

November

11th: Milan's head coach Ettore Messina gets into a public scandal after claiming in an interview that then-Crvena Zvezda guard Shabazz Napier was constantly texting his former teammates in Milan, wanting to return. In the same interview, Messina declared Kevin Pangos was not the right point guard to lead the team. Pangos hasn't played since.

14th: Draymond Green chokes Rudy Gobert during a game between the Warriors and the Timberwolves. Two days later, Green received a five-game suspension.

19th: Alperen Senguns becomes the youngest player in the Rockets' history to reach 2000+ points, 1000+ rebounds, and 500+ in his career at 21 years/117 days old.

27th: FIBA announces that Piraeus, Riga, San Juan, and Valencia will be the host cities of the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

28th: Filip Petrusev returns to Europe after an unsuccessful stint in the NBA and signs with Olympiacos Piraeus.

December

3rd: Achille Polonara returned to the court after undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer. He scored five points in eight minutes against Tortona.

4th: Amid speculation of his departure, Olimpia Milano officially announced that Ettore Messina extended his contract as the team's head coach until the end of the 2025-26 season.

8th: Mike James scored his 4154th point to overtake Juan Carlos Navarro and improve to the 3rd place in the all-time EuroLeague scoring list.

10th: Los Angeles Lakers secured a decisive 123-109 victory against the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament championship game, clinching the first NBA Cup. LeBron James was named the MVP of the tournament.

11th: USC's Bronny James played his first NCAA game after suffering cardiac arrest and scored 4 points against Long Beach State.

11th: AEK Athens announced the mutually agreed termination of their partnership with former NBA veteran Ben McLemore, concluding his first European stint earlier than expected.

12th: Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv submitted a proposal suggesting a partial reduction in players' salaries to cope with the financial impact of relocation and playing games without spectators.

13th: Draymond Green was ejected for the third time this NBA season, delivering a forceful right-hand swing to Jusuf Nurkic's face, specifically landing a slap in the ear area.

14th: Sarunas Jasikevicius officially replaced Itoudis on the Fenerbahce bench, signing a deal that runs through the 2025-26 season.

15th: Zalgiris Kaunas confirmed that the Lithuanian coach Kazys Maksvytis would continue his duties following player protests against his dismissal.

16th: Kyle Hines surpassed Felipe Reyes for second place in the EuroLeague's all-time rebounds list and now chases Paulius Jankunas.

16th: A fan who spouted racist comments at EuroLeague referee Joseph Bissang in the Olympiacos Piraeus-Valencia Basket game received a lifetime ban from accessing EuroLeague events.

18th: Stephen Curry's record streak of making at least one three-pointer in 268 consecutive games was broken during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers, going 0/8 from beyond the arc.

21st: Shabazz Napier completed his move from Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade to his former team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. The return of Napier to Milan is noteworthy, especially considering his past disagreement with the team's head coach, Ettore Messina, in November.

27th: Detroit Pistons made NBA history by becoming the first team to experience a staggering 27-game losing streak in a single season.

30th: Two weeks after publicly declaring full confidence in head coach Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris Kaunas dismissed the Lithuanian tactician. Maksvytis was replaced by Andrea Trinchieri.

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