# 2018–19 VTB United League

The 2018–19 VTB United League was the 10th complete season of the VTB United League. It was also the sixth season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level. It started in October 2018 with the first round of the regular season and ended in June 2019 with the last game of the finals.
CSKA Moscow is the defending champion.

## Format changes

From this season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. All series are played in a best-of-five format with a 2–2–1 structure.

## Teams

A total of 14 teams from six countries contest the league, including nine sides from Russia, one from Belarus, one from Estonia, one from Kazakhstan, one from Latvia and one from Poland.
Zielona Góra made their debut in the competition. Polish teams returned to the competition four years after.

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
| Astana | Astana | Arena Velotrack | 9,270 |
| Avtodor Saratov | Saratov | DS Kristall | 5,500 |
| CSKA Moscow | Moscow | USC CSKA | 5,000 |
| Enisey | Krasnoyarsk | Arena.Sever | 4,000 |
| Kalev/Cramo | Tallinn | Saku Suurhall | 5,500 |
| Khimki | Khimki | BCMO | 4,000 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | Krasnodar | Basket-Hall | 7,500 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod | Trade Union Sport Palace | 5,500 |
| Parma | Perm | UDS Molot | 7,000 |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Minsk | Minsk-Arena | 15,000 |
| UNICS | Kazan | Basket-Hall | 7,000 |
| VEF Rīga | Riga | Arēna Rīga | 12,000 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg | SK Yubileyniy | 6,381 |
| Zielona Góra | Zielona Góra | CRS Hall Zielona Góra | 6,080 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Main front sponsor |
| Astana | Emil Rajković | Túta | - |
| Avtodor Saratov | Evgeniy Pashutin | DiGS-Line | - |
| CSKA Moscow | Dimitrios Itoudis | Nike | Aeroflot |
| Enisey | Oleg Okulov | Nike | - |
| Kalev/Cramo | Donaldas Kairys | Nike | Cramo |
| Khimki | Georgios Bartzokas | Adidas | Gazprom Investholding |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | Saša Obradović | Under Armour | RZD |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Zoran Lukić | Nike | T Plus |
| Parma | Nikolajs Mazurs | Peak | T Plus |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Aliaksandr Krutsikau | Adidas | Green |
| UNICS | Dimitrios Priftis | Peak | - |
| VEF Rīga | Jānis Gailītis | Adidas | VEF |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Vasily Karasev | Nike | Nipigas |
| Zielona Góra | Igor Jovović | Spalding | Stelmet |

## Regular season

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

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow | 26 | 22 | 4 | 2404 | 1969 | +435 | .846 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | UNICS | 26 | 21 | 5 | 2190 | 1945 | +245 | .808 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | Khimki | 26 | 20 | 6 | 2230 | 1973 | +257 | .769 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 26 | 17 | 9 | 2171 | 2004 | +167 | .654 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 26 | 15 | 11 | 2300 | 2180 | +120 | .577 | Advance to playoffs |
| 6 | Astana | 26 | 15 | 11 | 2239 | 2169 | +70 | .577 | Advance to playoffs |
| 7 | Kalev/Cramo | 26 | 14 | 12 | 2342 | 2275 | +67 | .538 | Advance to playoffs |
| 8 | Nizhny Novgorod | 26 | 14 | 12 | 2158 | 2173 | −15 | .538 | Advance to playoffs |
| 9 | Enisey | 26 | 11 | 15 | 2154 | 2276 | −122 | .423 | |
| 10 | VEF Rīga | 26 | 10 | 16 | 1962 | 2134 | −172 | .385 | |
| 11 | Avtodor Saratov | 26 | 9 | 17 | 2379 | 2478 | −99 | .346 | |
| 12 | Zielona Góra | 26 | 5 | 21 | 2020 | 2330 | −310 | .192 | |
| 13 | Parma | 26 | 5 | 21 | 2025 | 2298 | −273 | .192 | |
| 14 | Tsmoki Minsk | 26 | 4 | 22 | 1959 | 2329 | −370 | .154 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | AVT | CSK | ENI | KAL | KHI | LOK | NIZ | PAR | TSM | UNI | VEF | ZEN | ZGA |
| Astana | — | 100–83 | 61–86 | 93–85 | 105–78 | 67–76 | 83–93 | 83–89 | 79–71 | 101–71 | 79–83 | 90–77 | 93–91 | 84–70 |
| Avtodor Saratov | 64–88 | — | 110–116 | 106–91 | 112–109 | 92–100 | 95–102 | 85–91 | 93–76 | 95–99 | 95–111 | 83–85 | 95–94 | 112–106 |
| CSKA Moscow | 91–72 | 110–76 | — | 101–71 | 102–75 | 75–65 | 70–57 | 84–78 | 108–84 | 119–88 | 73–83 | 92–66 | 83–73 | 102–78 |
| Enisey | 93–84 | 88–84 | 66–91 | — | 80–88 | 67–99 | 86–93 | 92–88 | 83–78 | 80–68 | 78–99 | 75–67 | 85–87 | 109–81 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 102–74 | 102–113 | 80–85 | 109–91 | — | 85–96 | 81–76 | 94–84 | 93–82 | 108–83 | 95–107 | 75–85 | 96–80 | 80–77 |
| Khimki | 93–80 | 85–77 | 73–72 | 86–94 | 80–73 | — | 82–84 | 80–93 | 97–63 | 70–50 | 78–65 | 75–51 | 90–67 | 100–80 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 71–90 | 95–91 | 76–93 | 79–67 | 80–85 | 83–87 | — | 78–71 | 93–75 | 80–69 | 77–84 | 92–63 | 96–64 | 73–41 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 85–78 | 75–98 | 89–95 | 79–64 | 68–82 | 93–97 | 75–88 | — | 100–98 | 77–70 | 91–85 | 93–83 | 85–83 | 101–61 |
| Parma | 80–85 | 93–105 | 69–79 | 92–88 | 75–105 | 70–80 | 87–95 | 80–85 | — | 92–83 | 68–66 | 73–78 | 78–107 | 72–92 |
| Tsmoki Minsk | 86–93 | 86–93 | 61–101 | 73–95 | 82–95 | 92–108 | 66–97 | 78–87 | 80–68 | — | 57–99 | 91–84 | 68–79 | 71–88 |
| UNICS | 95–98 | 76–63 | 71–68 | 95–92 | 76–74 | 73–58 | 79–75 | 89–64 | 76–82 | 88–69 | — | 89–74 | 74–72 | 86–66 |
| VEF Rīga | 71–93 | 89–78 | 80–107 | 68–70 | 82–74 | 67–96 | 75–71 | 65–67 | 76–80 | 70–66 | 52–82 | — | 77–86 | 83–57 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 103–95 | 103–81 | 93–86 | 116–81 | 100–87 | 86–82 | 78–94 | 103–78 | 84–76 | 84–72 | 74–77 | 101–102 | — | 83–71 |
| Zielona Góra | 82–91 | 108–100 | 74–115 | 72–83 | 100–117 | 74–97 | 67–73 | 80–72 | 88–63 | 78–80 | 73–82 | 78–92 | 78–109 | — |

## Playoffs

All series are played in a best-of-five series, with a 2–2–1 format.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| CSKA Moscow | 3 | | |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 0 | | |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 0 | CSKA Moscow | 3 |
| | | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 1 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 0 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3 | | | | |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3 | | | CSKA Moscow | 3 |
| | | | | Khimki | 0 |
| UNICS | 3 | | | Khimki | 0 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 0 | | | | |
| Kalev/Cramo | 0 | UNICS | 1 | | |
| | | Khimki | 3 |
| Khimki | 3 | Khimki | 3 |
| Astana | 0 | | |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | Nizhny Novgorod | 87–50 | 86–66 | 80–72 | 0 | 0 |
| UNICS | 3–0 | Kalev/Cramo | 92–82 | 108–84 | 96–84 | 0 | 0 |
| Khimki | 3–0 | Astana | 82–59 | 94–64 | 88–81 | 0 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 1–3 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 69–78 | 70–69 | 78–94 | 85–87 | 0 |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 98–82 | 83–81 | 69–68 | 0 | 0 |
| UNICS | 1–3 | Khimki | 96–91 | 98–103 | 64–91 | 91–92 | 0 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | Khimki | 106–85 | 103–92 | 80–62 | 0 | 0 |

## Final table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Qualification |
| | CSKA Moscow | 35 | 31 | 4 | 2019–20 EuroLeague |
| | Khimki | 36 | 26 | 10 | 2019–20 EuroLeague |
| | UNICS | 33 | 25 | 8 | 2019–20 EuroCup |
| 4 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 33 | 18 | 15 | 2019–20 EuroLeague wildcard |
| 5 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 30 | 18 | 12 | 2019–20 EuroCup |
| 6 | Astana | 29 | 15 | 14 | |
| 7 | Kalev/Cramo | 29 | 14 | 15 | |
| 8 | Nizhny Novgorod | 29 | 14 | 15 | 2019–20 Champions League |
| 9 | Enisey | 26 | 11 | 15 | 2019–20 FIBA Europe Cup |
| 10 | VEF Rīga | 26 | 10 | 16 | |
| 11 | Avtodor Saratov | 26 | 9 | 17 | |
| 12 | Zielona Góra | 26 | 5 | 21 | |
| 13 | Parma | 26 | 5 | 21 | |
| 14 | Tsmoki Minsk | 26 | 4 | 22 | |

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

* Alexey Shved – Khimki

#### Young Player of the Year

* Nikita Mikhailovsky – Avtodor Saratov

#### Coach of the Year

* Emil Rajković – Astana

#### Sixth Man of the Year

* Dorell Wright – Lokomotiv Kuban

#### Performance of the Season

* Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow

#### Defensive Player of the Year

* Maurice Ndour – UNICS

#### Regular Season MVP

* Alexey Shved – Khimki

#### Playoffs MVP

* Nikita Kurbanov – CSKA Moscow

### All-Tournament First Team

* Alexey Shved – Khimki
* Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow
* Jalen Reynolds – Zenit
* Jordan Mickey – Khimki
* Othello Hunter – CSKA Moscow

### All-Tournament Second Team

* Errick McCollum – UNICS
* Mateusz Ponitka – Lokomotiv Kuban
* J. J. O'Brien – Astana
* Jānis Timma – Khimki
* Arnett Moultrie – Kalev/Cramo

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2018 ||||
| October | Alexey Shved | Khimki |
| November | Nando de Colo | CSKA Moscow |
| December | Anthony Clemmons | Astana |
| 2019 ||||
| January | Jalen Reynolds | Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| February | Pierriá Henry | UNICS |
| March | Alexey Shved (2) | Khimki |
| April | Arnett Moultrie | Kalev/Cramo |

## VTB League teams in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| CSKA Moscow | EuroLeague | Champions |
| Khimki | EuroLeague | Regular season |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | EuroCup | Quarterfinals |
| UNICS | EuroCup | Semifinals |
| BC Zenit Saint Petersburg | EuroCup | Top 16 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Champions League | Quarterfinals |
| Avtodor Saratov | Champions League | First qualifying round |
| Avtodor Saratov | FIBA Europe Cup | Round of 16 |
| Tsmoki-Minsk | Champions League | First qualifying round |
| Tsmoki-Minsk | FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season |