2021–22 VTB United League

The 2021–22 VTB United League was the 13th season of the VTB United League. It was the 9th season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level. Two teams left the league mid-season because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

VTB United League
Season2021–22
Duration23 September 2021 – 17 April 2022
(Regular season)
22 April 2022 – 5 June 2022
(Playoffs)
Teams10
Regular season
Season MVPCroatia Mario Hezonja
Finals
ChampionsRussia Zenit Saint Petersburg (1st title)
  Runners-upRussia CSKA Moscow
Third placeRussia UNICS
Fourth placeRussia Lokomotiv Kuban
Playoffs MVPUnited States Jordan Mickey
Records
Biggest home winLokomotiv Kuban 109–57 Astana
(30 March 2022)
Biggest away winTsmoki Minsk 44–92 CSKA Moscow (23 September 2021)
Astana 48–96 CSKA Moscow (10 April 2022)
Highest scoringZenit 110–111 (2OT) CSKA Moscow
(27 May 2022)
Highest attendance12,231
CSKA Moscow 75–81 Zenit
(5 June 2022)
Lowest attendance290
Avtodor 81–74 Zielona Góra
(11 December 2021)
Excluding the games played without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the games played with restricted attendance for the same reason
All statistics correct as of 5 June 2022.

Teams

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A total of 10 teams from three countries contest the league, including eight sides from Russia, one from Belarus, and one from Kazakhstan.[1]

BC Khimki didn't apply for this season because of the financial difficulties.[2]

On 24 February 2022, Estonian club Kalev/Cramo terminated their membership in the VTB United League in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3] The next day the league confirmed receiving declaration letter from the club.[4] On 25 February, Polish club Zielona Góra also suspended their participation in the competition.[5][6] On 1 March, VTB United League released a statement "Zielona Góra has suspended participation in the League at the moment, the next three home games have been postponed".[7]

Venues and locations

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Locations of teams in the 2021–22 VTB United League
Team Home city Arena Capacity
  Astana Nur-Sultan Arena Velotrack 9,270[8]
  Avtodor Saratov DS Kristall 5,500[9]
  CSKA Moscow Moscow Megasport Arena 13,344[10]
  Enisey Krasnoyarsk Arena.Sever 4,000[11]
  Kalev/Cramo Tallinn Saku Suurhall 7,200[12]
  Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar Basket-Hall 7,500[13]
  Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod Trade Union Sport Palace 5,500[14]
  Parma Perm UDS Molot 7,000
  Tsmoki Minsk Minsk Minsk-Arena 15,000[15]
  UNICS Kazan Basket-Hall 7,000[16]
  Zenit Saint Petersburg Sibur Arena 6,381[17]
  Zielona Góra Zielona Góra CRS Hall Zielona Góra 6,080


Regular season

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In the regular season, teams play against each other twice (home-and-away) in a round-robin format.

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT Qualification or relegation
1   CSKA Moscow 18 15 3 1596 1260 +336 .833 Advance to playoffs
2   Zenit Saint Petersburg 18 14 4 1537 1332 +205 .778
3   UNICS 18 14 4 1530 1316 +214 .778
4   Lokomotiv Kuban 18 11 7 1663 1566 +97 .611
5   Parma 18 10 8 1370 1388 −18 .556
6   Avtodor 18 9 9 1475 1559 −84 .500
7   Enisey 18 6 12 1381 1474 −93 .333
8   Nizhny Novgorod 18 6 12 1353 1418 −65 .333
9   Tsmoki Minsk 18 3 15 1225 1543 −318 .167
10   Astana 18 2 16 1212 1486 −274 .111
11   Zielona Góra 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retired from the league
12   Kalev/Cramo 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: VTB League

Results

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Home \ Away AST AVT CSK ENI KAL LOK NIZ PAR TSM UNI ZEN ZGA
Astana 61–84 48–96 80–87 87–83 49–69 65–82 64–65 53–84 60–94 84–70
Avtodor 83–82 86–102 79–80 95–108 100–94 70–86 95–79 81–76 75–93 81–74
CSKA Moscow 84–65 92–65 97–88 104–62 91–71 80–72 98–71 101–54 103–105 79–78 105–71
Enisey 76–65 95–101 62–87 82–86 87–79 61–78 86–79 80–83 56–79
Kalev/Cramo 85–67 93–97 67–56 81–87 66–86 53–80 74–75
Lokomotiv Kuban 109–57 106–83 69–88 101–93 97–70 101–74 92–87 101–94 79–106
Nizhny Novgorod 76–73 70–83 72–92 61–79 65–71 108–104 79–65 72–65 50–65 74–80
Parma 108–101 94–73 60–82 61–58 78–74 85–90 71–67 91–68 66–73 77–67 83–72
Tsmoki Minsk 66–60 64–72 44–92 72–68 93–91 79–104 53–95 75–78 72–92 74–90
UNICS 71–59 103–67 69–64 97–77 71–54 96–87 85–71 78–48 98–56 80–84 92–63
Zenit Saint Petersburg 69–83 74–83 81–68 89–66 75–60 91–75 90–74 82–75 93–73 97–81 97–80
Zielona Góra 91–83 59–93 90–98 77–95 96–64 80–85 52–79
Source: VTB United League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

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Quarterfinals, semifinals, and bronze medal series were played in a best-of-five format (2-2-1). Finals were played in a best-of-seven format (2-2-1-1-1).

Bracket

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1   CSKA Moscow 3
8   Nizhny Novgorod 0
1   CSKA Moscow 3
4   Lokomotiv Kuban 1
4   Lokomotiv Kuban 3
5   Parma 0
1   CSKA Moscow 3
2   Zenit Saint Petersburg 4
2   Zenit Saint Petersburg 3
7   Enisey 0
2   Zenit Saint Petersburg 3 Bronze medal
3   UNICS 1
3   UNICS 3 3   UNICS 3
6   Avtodor 0 4   Lokomotiv Kuban 1

Quarterfinals

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Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
CSKA Moscow   3–0   Nizhny Novgorod 78–64 91–89 88–75
Zenit Saint Petersburg   3–0   Enisey 104–55 83–75 82–55
UNICS   3–0   Avtodor 106–76 97–59 88–79
Lokomotiv Kuban   3–0   Parma 76–70 100–84 101–78

Semifinals

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Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
CSKA Moscow   3–1   Lokomotiv Kuban 93–90 86–72 82–94 94–84
Zenit Saint Petersburg   3–1   UNICS 65–74 76–67 68–67 75–69

Bronze medal series

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Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
UNICS   3–1   Lokomotiv Kuban 90–75 81–94 93–87 94–73

Finals

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Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
CSKA Moscow   3–4   Zenit Saint Petersburg 83–59 82–73 79–93 111–110 95–97 63–82 75–81

To be played only if necessary.

VTB League teams in European competitions

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Team Competition Progress
CSKA Moscow EuroLeague Regular season
(teams were suspended)
UNICS
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Lokomotiv Kuban EuroCup
Nizhny Novgorod Champions League Regular season
Kalev/Cramo Regular season
Avtodor FIBA Europe Cup Second round
Parma Second round
Tsmoki-Minsk Regular season
Enisey Qualifying rounds

Awards

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Season awards

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Award Player Team Ref.
Regular Season MVP   Mario Hezonja   UNICS
Playoffs MVP   Jordan Mickey   Zenit Saint Petersburg
Scoring Champion   Errick McCollum   Lokomotiv Kuban
Young Player of the Year   Andrey Martyuk   Lokomotiv Kuban
Coach of the Year   Dimitrios Itoudis   CSKA Moscow
Performance of the Season   Anthony Hickey   Astana
Sixth Man of the Year   Billy Baron   Zenit Saint Petersburg
Defensive Player of the Year   Jordan Mickey   Zenit Saint Petersburg
First Team   Errick McCollum   Lokomotiv Kuban [25]
  Alexey Shved   CSKA Moscow
  Mario Hezonja   UNICS
  Jordan Mickey   Zenit Saint Petersburg
  Nikola Milutinov   CSKA Moscow
Second Team   Jordan Loyd   Zenit Saint Petersburg [26]
  Billy Baron   Zenit Saint Petersburg
  Will Clyburn   CSKA Moscow
  Johnathan Motley   Lokomotiv Kuban
  Alex Poythress   Zenit Saint Petersburg

MVP of the Month

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Month Player Team Ref.
2021
September/October   Gabriel Lundberg   CSKA Moscow [27]
November   Mario Hezonja   UNICS [28]
December   Kenny Chery   Avtodor [29]
2022
January   Jeremiah Hill   Parma [30]
February   Alex Poythress   Zenit Saint Petersburg [31]
March   Alexey Shved   CSKA Moscow [32]
April   Billy Baron   Zenit Saint Petersburg [33]

References

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  1. ^ Арасланов, Марат. "«Заявки на следующий сезон прислали все клубы, кроме «Химок». Это очень грустная новость»". www.championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  2. ^ Гусейнов, Микаил. "«Химки» не выступят в Единой лиге ВТБ в следующем сезоне". www.championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  3. ^ "Official statement by the club regarding the participation in VTB League after actions taken by Russian Federation". bckalev.ee. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Kalev withdraws from the VTB United League". vtb-league.com. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Oświadczenie klubu w sprawie występów w lidze VTB". basketzg.pl. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Zielona Gora joins Kalev/Cramo in departing the VTB United League". eurohoops.net. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  7. ^ "VTB League 2021/22 season continues". vtb-league.com. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  8. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Arena Velotrack Capacity: 9270 spectators
  9. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. DS Kristall Capacity: 5500
  10. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  11. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Arena.Sever Capacity: 4000 spectators
  12. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Saku Suurhall» Capacity: 7200 spectators
  13. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Basket-hall» Capacity: 7500 spectators
  14. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Nizhniy Novgorod Trade Union Sport Palace» Capacity: 5500 spectators
  15. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Minsk-Arena» Capacity: 15,000 spectators
  16. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Basket-Hall Capacity: 7000 spectators
  17. ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. SK Yubileyniy Capacity: 6381 spectators
  18. ^ "Марио Хезонья — MVP регулярного сезона" (in Russian). VTB United League. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Эрик Макколлум — обладатель приза «Самый результативный игрок сезона-2021/22»" (in Russian). VTB United League. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Андрей Мартюк – лучший молодой игрок Лиги в сезоне 2021/22" (in Russian). VTB United League. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Димитрис Итудис — лучший тренер сезона 2021/22" (in Russian). VTB United League. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Энтони Хики — обладатель награды «Лучший перфоманс сезона-2021/22»" (in Russian). VTB United League. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Билли Бэрон – лучший «шестой» игрок в сезоне 2021/22" (in Russian). VTB United League. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Джордан Мики – лучший защищающийся игрок в сезоне 2021/22" (in Russian). VTB United League. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  25. ^ "VTB United League Teams". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  26. ^ "VTB United League Basketball 2021-2022 Teams". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  27. ^ "Iffe Lundberg becomes the first MVP of the 21/22 season". VTB United League. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Mario Hezonja is the MVP of November". VTB United League. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Kenny Chery is the MVP of December". VTB United League. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  30. ^ "Jeremiah Hill is the MVP of January". VTB United League. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  31. ^ "Alex Poythress is the MVP of February". VTB United League. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Алексей Швед — MVP марта" (in Russian). VTB United League. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  33. ^ "Билли Бэрон — MVP апреля" (in Russian). VTB United League. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
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