# 2016–17 VTB United League

The 2016–17 VTB United League was the 8th complete season of the VTB United League. It is also the fourth season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level. CSKA Moscow was the defending champion and successfully defended its title. This season, 13 teams participated in the league after four sides from the previous year left.

## Teams

VITA Tbilisi, Bisons Loimaa, ČEZ Nymburk left the league, after participating in the 2015–16 season. Parma Perm from the Russian Basketball Super League joined the league.
On August 30, 2016, the league announced that BC Krasny Oktyabr would not play in the league, because the host arena of the team was not approved to support events.
Because of these changes, the number of teams was reduced to 13.

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home City | Arena | Capacity |
| Astana | Astana | Saryarka Velodrome | 10,000 |
| Avtodor Saratov | Saratov | Kristall Ice Sports Palace | 6,100 |
| CSKA Moscow ● | Moscow | Universal Sports Hall CSKA | 5,500 |
| Enisey | Krasnoyarsk | Arena Sever | 4,100 |
| Kalev/Cramo | Tallinn | Saku Suurhall Arena | 7,000 |
| Khimki | Khimki | Basketball Center | 4,000 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | Krasnodar | Basket-Hall | 7,500 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod | Trade Union Sport Palace | 5,600 |
| Parma ◆ | Perm | Universal Sports Palace Molot | 7,000 |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Minsk | Minsk Arena | 15,000 |
| UNICS | Kazan | Basket Hall Arena | 7,500 |
| VEF Rīga | Rīga | Arēna Rīga | 12,500 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg | Yubileyni Arena | 7,044 |

   #### Notes

    ◆ Team makes its debut in the VTB United League.
    ● The defending champions, winners of the 2015–16 VTB United League.

## Regular season
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2274 | 1782 | +492 | .917 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 24 | 21 | 3 | 2187 | 1930 | +257 | .875 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | Khimki | 24 | 19 | 5 | 2108 | 1895 | +213 | .792 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 24 | 19 | 5 | 1959 | 1688 | +271 | .792 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | UNICS | 24 | 15 | 9 | 2136 | 2021 | +115 | .625 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 6 | Enisey | 24 | 13 | 11 | 1974 | 2041 | −67 | .542 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 7 | VEF Rīga | 24 | 11 | 13 | 1857 | 1961 | −104 | .458 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 8 | Astana | 24 | 9 | 15 | 1806 | 1930 | −124 | .375 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 9 | Nizhny Novgorod | 24 | 8 | 16 | 2051 | 2173 | −122 | .333 | |
| 10 | Avtodor Saratov | 24 | 8 | 16 | 2073 | 2184 | −111 | .333 | |
| 11 | Kalev/Cramo | 24 | 5 | 19 | 1876 | 2109 | −233 | .208 | |
| 12 | Tsmoki Minsk | 24 | 5 | 19 | 1757 | 1987 | −230 | .208 | |
| 13 | Parma | 24 | 1 | 23 | 1840 | 2197 | −357 | .042 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | AVT | CSK | ENI | KAL | KHI | LOK | NIZ | PAR | TSM | UNI | VEF | ZEN |
| Astana | | 83–78 | 76–92 | 98–97 | 72–78 | 87–90 | 51–71 | 93–84 | 88–73 | 84–67 | 68–84 | 66–64 | 82–105 |
| Avtodor Saratov | 78–79 | | 103–104 | 94–87 | 90–63 | 109–118 | 79–88 | 95–92 | 110–99 | 88–81 | 77–84 | 96–84 | 90–96 |
| CSKA Moscow | 81–63 | 95–80 | | 85–63 | 100–68 | 95–79 | 83–77 | 105–78 | 98–74 | 109–74 | 92–88 | 82–51 | 105–56 |
| Enisey | 88–78 | 97–92 | 84–97 | | 99–90 | 64–104 | 85–86 | 99–93 | 87–82 | 88–70 | 75–66 | 88–71 | 75–100 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 84–67 | 86–94 | 68–87 | 82–91 | | 77–84 | 64–95 | 87–91 | 85–79 | 79–70 | 86–110 | 74–82 | 95–98 |
| Khimki | 83–66 | 102–70 | 70–92 | 72–64 | 81–57 | | 73–65 | 90–84 | 92–66 | 80–72 | 87–70 | 73–76 | 66–74 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 67–59 | 79–61 | 83–74 | 66–68 | 86–75 | 84–89 | | 88–75 | 86–61 | 81–72 | 75–64 | 107–64 | 80–83 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 76–72 | 110–68 | 65–101 | 80–93 | 102–81 | 90–99 | 66–93 | | 115–94 | 102–95 | 98–112 | 74–81 | 93–97 |
| Parma | 65–82 | 97–101 | 55–116 | 79–81 | 72–86 | 83–87 | 71–84 | 75–84 | | 61–67 | 98–105 | 74–81 | 86–119 |
| Tsmoki-Minsk | 70–80 | 89–83 | 63–100 | 78–86 | 88–81 | 73–77 | 63–87 | 77–52 | 62–71 | | 87–85 | 69–72 | 58–71 |
| UNICS | 83–78 | 95–83 | 91–105 | 100–56 | 104–91 | 73–98 | 77–83 | 104–81 | 89–73 | 98–71 | | 89–84 | 84–109 |
| VEF Rīga | 73–62 | 87–76 | 83–99 | 84–81 | 78–66 | 90–104 | 69–80 | 73–78 | 91–80 | 88–85 | 82–86 | | 73–82 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 99–72 | 89–78 | 90–77 | 94–78 | 89–73 | 114–110 | 62–68 | 101–88 | 101–72 | 84–56 | 84–95 | 90–76 | |

## Playoffs

All series were played in a best-of-five play-off series, which were played in a 2-2-1 format. The Playoffs started on May 1 and ended on June 13.
| Quarterfinals 1–12 May | Quarterfinals 1–12 May | Quarterfinals 1–12 May | Semifinals 25 May–4 June | Semifinals 25 May–4 June | Semifinals 25 May–4 June | Finals 8–13 June | Finals 8–13 June | Finals 8–13 June |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Astana | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Astana | 0 | 1 | CSKA Moscow | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 3 | 4 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 0 | | | |
| 5 | UNICS | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | UNICS | 1 | | | | 1 | CSKA Moscow | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Khimki | 0 |
| 2 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3 | | | | | | | 3 | Khimki | 0 |
| 7 | VEF Rīga | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | VEF Rīga | 0 | 2 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Khimki | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Khimki | 3 | 3 | Khimki | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Enisey | 0 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | Astana | 77–54 | 94–74 | 91–73 | 0 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 3–1 | UNICS | 62–71 | 92–76 | 83–71 | 84–79 | 0 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3–0 | VEF Rīga | 93–81 | 79–74 | 92–51 | 0 | 0 |
| Khimki | 3–0 | Enisey | 91–84 | 109–81 | 89–68 | 0 | 0 |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 101–95 | 84–71 | 74–66 | 0 | 0 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2–3 | Khimki | 99–95 | 92–89 | 73–97 | 71–73 | 84–90 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | Khimki | 94–88 | 99–79 | 95–72 | 0 | 0 |

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow (C) | 33 | 31 | 2 | 3083 | 2454 | +629 | Qualification to EuroLeague |
| 2 | Khimki | 35 | 25 | 10 | 3080 | 2835 | +245 | Qualification to EuroLeague |
| 3 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 31 | 26 | 5 | 2870 | 2580 | +290 | Qualification to EuroCup |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 31 | 22 | 9 | 2512 | 2244 | +268 | Qualification to EuroCup |
| 5 | UNICS | 28 | 16 | 12 | 2433 | 2342 | +91 | Qualification to EuroCup |
| 6 | Enisey | 27 | 13 | 14 | 2207 | 2330 | −123 | Qualification to Champions League |
| 7 | VEF Rīga | 27 | 11 | 16 | 2063 | 2225 | −162 | |
| 8 | Astana | 27 | 9 | 18 | 2007 | 2192 | −185 | |
| 9 | Nizhny Novgorod | 24 | 8 | 16 | 2051 | 2173 | −122 | Qualification to Champions League |
| 10 | Avtodor Saratov | 24 | 8 | 16 | 2073 | 2184 | −111 | Qualification to Champions League |
| 11 | Kalev/Cramo | 24 | 5 | 19 | 1876 | 2109 | −233 | |
| 12 | Tsmoki-Minsk | 24 | 5 | 19 | 1757 | 1987 | −230 | |
| 13 | Parma | 24 | 1 | 23 | 1840 | 2197 | −357 | Qualification to Europe Cup qualifying rounds |
* ↑ CSKA Moscow was already qualified for the 2018–19 EuroLeague, as the team holds a 10-year license contract with the league.

## All-Star Game

The VTB League's inaugural All-Star Game was held this season on February 11, 2017. The game was played at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia. The game was played in a Russia Stars vs. the World Stars format. The Russian Stars won the game against the World Stars, by a score of 131:121. Andrey Vorontsevich was named the MVP of the game. Jānis Timma won the All-Star Game's slam dunk contest, and Sergey Karasev won the 3-Point Contest.
Russian Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team | Selections |
| Starters ||||
| G | Alexey Shved | Khimki | 1 |
| G | Sergey Karasev | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 |
| G | Dmitry Khvostov | Lokomotiv Kuban | 1 |
| F | Victor Khryapa | CSKA Moscow | 1 |
| F | Andrey Vorontsevich | CSKA Moscow | 1 |
| Reserves ||||
| G | Anton Ponkrashov | UNICS | 1 |
| G | Sergey Bykov | Avtodor Saratov | 1 |
| G | Evgeny Voronov | UNICS | 1 |
| G | Evgeny Kolesnikov | Avtodor Saratov | 1 |
| G | Ivan Strebkov | Nizhny Novgorod | 1 |
| F | Sergei Monia | Khimki | 1 |
| F | Vladislav Trushkin | Enisey | 1 |
| C | Andrey Zubkov | Lokomotiv Kuban | 1 |
| C | Petr Gubanov | Nizhny Novgorod | 1 |
| Head coach: Evgeniy Pashutin (UNICS) ||||
World Stars :
| Pos | Player | Team | Selections |
| Starters ||||
| G | Miloš Teodosić | CSKA Moscow | 1 |
| G | Nando De Colo | CSKA Moscow | 1 |
| F | Keith Langford | UNICS | 1 |
| F | Jānis Timma | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 |
| C | Artsiom Parakhouski | UNICS | 1 |
| Reserves ||||
| G | Stefan Marković | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 |
| F | Jānis Blūms | VEF Rīga | 1 |
| G | Danilo Andjušić | UNICS | 1 |
| G | Taylor Rochestie | Lokomotiv Kuban | 1 |
| F | Ryan Broekhoff | Lokomotiv Kuban | 1 |
| F | DeAndre Kane | Nizhny Novgorod | 1 |
| F | Nick Minnerath | Avtodor Saratov | 1 |
| C | Frank Elegar | Enisey | 1 |
| Head coach: Dimitrios Itoudis (CSKA Moscow) ||||
* INJ^ Petr Gubanov, Ivan Strebkov and Miloš Teodosić didn't play because of injury.
* REP^ Danilo Andjušić was named as Teodosić' replacement.

## Awards
### Season Awards
#### Scoring Champion

* Nick Minnerath – Avtodor Saratov

#### Young Player of the Year

* Ivan Ukhov – Parma

#### Defensive Player of the Year

* Nikita Kurbanov – CSKA Moscow

#### Sixth Man of the Year

* Suleiman Braimoh – Enisey

#### Coach of the Year

* Dimitrios Itoudis – CSKA Moscow

#### Regular Season MVP

* Alexey Shved – Khimki

#### Playoffs MVP

* Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow

### All-Tournament First Team

* Alexey Shved – Khimki
* Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow
* Sergey Karasev – Zenit
* Nick Minnerath – Avtodor
* Frank Elegar – Enisey

### All-Tournament Second Team

* Miloš Teodosić – CSKA Moscow
* Kevin Jones – Lokomotiv Kuban
* Jānis Timma – Zenit Saint Petersburg
* Mardy Collins – Lokomotiv Kuban
* Artsiom Parakhouski – UNICS

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2016 ||||
| October | Keith Langford | UNICS |
| November | Alexey Shved | Khimki |
| December | Andrey Zubkov | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| 2017 ||||
| January | Sergey Karasev | Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| February | Alexey Shved (2) | Khimki |
| March | Stefan Marković | Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| April | Kevin Jones | Lokomotiv Kuban |

## Statistics
### Statistical leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Average |
| Efficiency | Nick Minnerath | Avtodor Saratov | 20.6 |
| Points | Nick Minnerath | Avtodor Saratov | 23.3 |
| Rebounds | Frank Elegar | Enisey | 9.0 |
| Assists | Quino Colom | UNICS | 8.4 |
| Steals | Dijon Thompson | Nizhny Novgorod | 2.8 |
| Blocks | Mickell Gladness | Kalev/Cramo | 1.5 |
| Turnovers | Demonte Harper | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3.4 |
| 2P% | Artsiom Parakhouski | UNICS | .732 |
| 3P% | Petr Gubanov | Nizhny Novgorod | .562 |
| FT% | Sergey Karasev | Zenit Saint Petersburg | .923 |
Source: VTB United League

### Individual game highs

Keith Langford set a new all-time scoring record for the VTB United League by scoring 42 points on October 31.
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Efficiency | Keith Langford | UNICS | 47 |
| Points | Keith Langford | UNICS | 42 |
| Rebounds | Frank Elegar | Enisey | 19 |
| Assists | Stefan Marković | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 17 |
| Steals | DeAndre Kane | Nizhny Novgorod | 8 |
| Blocks | Artsiom Parakhouski | UNICS | 5 |
| Three pointers | Jānis Blūms | VEF Rīga | 8 |
| Turnovers | Demonte Harper | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 8 |
Source: VTB United League

## Attendance data

Attendances include playoff games:
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Parma | 61,390 | 7,316 | 3,920 | 5,116 | n/a$^†$ |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 65,312 | 7,139 | 2,161 | 4,354 | +31.2%$^†$ |
| 3 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 61,105 | 5,690 | 1,700 | 3,594 | +22.5%$^†$ |
| 4 | Avtodor | 31,800 | 4,000 | 1,800 | 2,650 | −17.5%$^†$ |
| 5 | Khimki | 37,730 | 3,500 | 1,400 | 2,219 | +10.6%$^†$ |
| 6 | CSKA | 39,337 | 4,500 | 700 | 2,185 | −14.4%$^†$ |
| 7 | Enisey | 21,200 | 2,700 | 900 | 1,631 | −8.3%$^†$ |
| 8 | UNICS | 20,282 | 3,200 | 950 | 1,449 | −27.7%$^†$ |
| 9 | Kalev | 13,585 | 3,700 | 500 | 1,132 | +18.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Tsmoki-Minsk | 13,270 | 2,005 | 730 | 1,106 | −17.7%$^†$ |
| 11 | VEF | 10,500 | 2,000 | 400 | 808 | +20.6%$^†$ |
| 12 | Nizhny Novgorod | 9,126 | 1,300 | 500 | 761 | −33.7%$^†$ |
| 13 | Astana | 9,055 | 1,315 | 250 | 697 | −36.0%$^†$ |
| | League total | 393,692 | 7,316 | 250 | 2,187 | +31.0%$^†$ |
Source: VTB League