Paulius Motiejunas leading candidate for EuroLeague CEO position / News - Basketnews.com

Zalgiris Kaunas GM Paulius Motiejunas is the top contender to become the new CEO of EuroLeague.

Credit: Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS Credit Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS

Paulius Motiejunas is the frontrunner to become the new EuroLeague CEO, according to BasketNews sources.

2-pointers this season

52%19,1Points made:19,1Accuracy:51,6%Place in standings:12Record max:28Record min:12Most made 2FGs:Ignas BrazdeikisTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

EuroLeague shareholders will meet on Thursday to decide on the new CEO. The 42-year-old Lithuanian is considered the favorite to lead the EuroLeague, sources tell BasketNews.

Marc Mundet of RAC1 was the first to report the news.

Sources suggest that if he agrees to take on the role, Motiejunas will have to distance himself from his involvement with the Zalgiris Kaunas organization.

Motiejunas currently controls 75% of the shares of the Zalgiris Group, the holding company that owns the Zalgiris basketball club. He also holds director positions for the Zalgiris basketball team and the Zalgirio Arena.

If Motiejunas takes the CEO position, he will replace Marshall Glickman, who held the position for a year.

"Obviously, it's a prestigious post," Motiejunas told Linas Jocius from Delfi. "If there's trust from all teams… What person that works in basketball wouldn't want to be EuroLeague CEO? It's a big responsibility, a great tournament, great teams, and the best competition in Europe. I don't want to pretend and say it doesn't interest me."

The legendary Serbian basketball player, Dejan Bodiroga, is expected to remain the EuroLeague president.

During Motiejunas' tenure, Zalgiris achieved significant success in the EuroLeague, reaching the playoffs three times and making it to the EuroLeague Final Four in 2018.

Motiejunas took over the ownership of Zalgiris when the club was struggling with a staggering debt of nearly 13 million euros in 2013.

However, over five years, Motiejunas managed to eliminate this debt. In recent years, the budget of the team from Kaunas reached record levels.

Zalgiris has become one of the rare examples in the EuroLeague of how to run a sustainable basketball club in Europe, independent of multimillion-dollar individual investments.

Motiejunas is one of only four EuroLeague executives who won the EuroLeague Executive of the Year award twice. He made history by being the first to achieve consecutive wins in 2018 and 2019.

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