# 2023–24 ABA League First Division

The 2023–24 AdmiralBet ABA League is the 22nd season of the ABA League with 14 teams from former Yugoslavia, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia participating in it.

## Teams
### Promotion and relegation

A total of 14 teams will contest the league in the 2023–24 season (and until the 2024–25 season).
| Promoted | Krka | 2022–23 ABA 2 Champion |
| Relegated | MZT Skopje Aerodrom | Finished last |

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
| Borac Mozzart | Čačak | Borac Hall | 4,000 |
| Budućnost VOLI | Podgorica | Morača Sports Center | 6,000 |
| Cedevita Olimpija | Ljubljana | Arena Stožice | 12,480 |
| Krka | Novo Mesto | Leon Štukelj Hall | 2,500 |
| Cibona | Zagreb | Dražen Petrović Hall | 5,400 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | Belgrade | Aleksandar Nikolić Hall | 8,000 |
| FMP Meridian | Belgrade | Železnik Hall | 3,000 |
| Igokea m:tel | Aleksandrovac | Laktaši Sports Hall | 3,050 |
| Mega MIS | Belgrade | Ranko Žeravica Sports Hall | 5,000 |
| Mornar Barsko zlato | Bar | Topolica Sport Hall | 2,625 |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | Belgrade | Štark Arena | 18,386 |
| SC Derby | Podgorica | Morača Sports Center | 6,000 |
| Split | Split | Arena Gripe | 3,500 |
| Zadar | Zadar | Krešimir Ćosić Hall | 7,997 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Borac Mozzart | Dejan Mijatović | Nemanja Todorović | — | MozzartSport / P.S. Fashion |
| Budućnost VOLI | Andrej Žakelj | Petar Popović | Spalding | VOLI / Podgorica Capital City |
| Cedevita Olimpija | Zoran Martič | Edo Murić | Adidas | Cedevita |
| Cibona | Dino Repeša | Krešimir Radovčić | GBT | Erste Bank |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | Ioannis Sfairopoulos | Branko Lazić | Adidas | Meridian / mts |
| FMP Meridian | Saša Nikitović | Charles Jenkins | Adidas | Meridian |
| Igokea m:tel | Vladimir Jovanović | Marko Jošilo | GBT | m:tel |
| Mega MIS | Marko Barać | Luka Cerovina | Adidas | Medical Innovation Solutions / Triglav |
| Mornar Barsko zlato | Mihailo Pavićević | Sead Šehović | DaCapo | Bar Municipality / Barsko zlato |
| Krka | Gašper Okorn | Jan Špan | | Krka |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | Željko Obradović | Kevin Punter | Under Armour | NIS / Mozzart Bet |
| SC Derby | Dejan Jakara | Nikola Pavličević | Spalding | Derby |
| Split | Slaven Rimac | Mate Kalajžić | Macron | — |
| Zadar | Danijel Jusup | Marko Ramljak | Macron | OTP Bank / PSK |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced with | Date of appointment |
| Split | Srđan Subotić | 7 June 2023 | Off-season | Slaven Rimac | 28 July 2023 |
| Cedevita Olimpija | Miro Alilović | 13 June 2023 | Off-season | Simone Pianigiani | 13 June 2023 |
| Cibona | Josip Sesar | 15 July 2023 | Off-season | Jakša Vulić | 15 August 2023 |
| Crvena zvezda | Duško Ivanović | 21 October 2023 | 1th (3–0) | Ioannis Sfairopoulos | 22 October 2023 |
| Budućnost | Petar Mijović | 9 November 2023 | 3rd (5–1) | Andrej Žakelj | 18 November 2023 |
| KK SC Derby | Andrej Žakelj | 18 November 2023 | 7th (6–6) | Dejan Jakara | 19 November 2023 |
| Cibona | Jakša Vulić | 5 December 2023 | 12th (3–7) | Dino Repeša | 14 December 2023 |
| FMP | Nenad Stefanović | 12 December 2023 | 12th (3–8) | Stevan Mijović | 13 December 2023 |
| Cedevita Olimpija | Simone Pianigiani | 1 January 2024 | 3rd (10–4) | Zoran Martič | 1 January 2024 |
| FMP Meridian | Stevan Mijović | 30 January 2024 | 12th (5–13) | Saša Nikitović | 31 January 2024 |

### Referees

A total of 57 ABA officials set to work on the 2023–24 season in ABA 1 and ABA 2:
The list of referees for the 2023–24 season :
| Dragan Porobić Ernad Karović Ivan Milićević Milan Danilović Nermin Nikšić Tomislav Stapić Vladimir Marić Bojan Kruljac Boris Hartman Denis Hadžić Gordan Terlević Hrvoje Muhvić Josip Radojković Krešimir Katić Krunoslav Peić Luka Kardum Marko Stanković Marko Mustapić Mateo Pavičić | Tomislav Hordov Tomislav Vovk Bojan Popović Igor Dragojević Igor Janjušević Miloš Koljenšić Miodrag Lakićević Radoš Savović Vojislav Lepetić Aleksandar Davidov Boro Antovski Nikola Jakimovski Vladimir Mihajlović Aleksandar Milojević Dragan Matić Duško Sedlar Ilija Belošević Ivan Stefanović Marko Juras | Milivoje Jovčić Miloš Hadžić Radoš Arsenijević Stefan Ćalić Strahinja Dašić Uroš Obrknežević Uroš Nikolić Vladimir Vesković Vladimir Tomić Andraž Rebeušek Damir Javor Damjan Gajšek Edo Javor Mario Majkić Matej Boltauzer Milan Nedović Milanko Milanović Saša Pukl Sašo Petek |

## Regular season

The regular season is scheduled to commence on 29 September 2023 and end on 5 April 2024.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 26 | 22 | 4 | 2310 | 1877 | +433 | 48 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 2 | Partizan Mozzart Bet | 26 | 20 | 6 | 2423 | 1966 | +457 | 46 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 3 | Budućnost VOLI | 26 | 19 | 7 | 2206 | 2002 | +204 | 45 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 4 | Mega MIS | 26 | 16 | 10 | 2246 | 2140 | +106 | 42 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 5 | Cedevita Olimpija | 26 | 16 | 10 | 2235 | 2184 | +51 | 42 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 6 | Zadar | 26 | 14 | 12 | 2050 | 2008 | +42 | 40 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 7 | Igokea m:tel | 26 | 13 | 13 | 2040 | 2117 | −77 | 39 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 8 | SC Derby | 26 | 11 | 15 | 2206 | 2241 | −35 | 37 | Advance to the Playoffs |
| 9 | Split | 26 | 11 | 15 | 1986 | 2091 | −105 | 37 | |
| 10 | Borac Mozzart | 26 | 10 | 16 | 2064 | 2181 | −117 | 36 | |
| 11 | FMP Meridian | 26 | 10 | 16 | 2032 | 2195 | −163 | 36 | |
| 12 | Cibona | 26 | 9 | 17 | 2033 | 2189 | −156 | 35 | |
| 13 | Mornar Barsko zlato | 26 | 6 | 20 | 2023 | 2349 | −326 | 32 | |
| 14 | Krka | 26 | 5 | 21 | 1960 | 2274 | −314 | 31 | |

### Positions by round

* Advance to the Playoffs
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Budućnost VOLI | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Mega MIS | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Cedevita Olimpija | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Zadar | 13 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Igokea m:tel | 12 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| SC Derby | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Split | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Borac Mozzart | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| FMP Soccerbet | 8 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 |
| Cibona | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Mornar Barsko zlato | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Krka | 6 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BOR | BUD | COL | CIB | CZV | FMP | IGO | KRK | MEG | MOR | PAR | SCD | SPL | ZAD |
| Borac Mozzart | — | 67–86 | 65–74 | 86–79 | 87–93 | 96–75 | 64–70 | 101–83 | 78–94 | 79–71 | 77–84 | 87–76 | 93–83 | 89–81 |
| Budućnost VOLI | 100–79 | — | 81–82 | 93–85 | 84–62 | 82–76 | 79–76 | 82–69 | 73–71 | 103–100 | 83–89 | 82–94 | 72–58 | 103–73 |
| Cedevita Olimpija | 82–78 | 72–80 | — | 93–91 | 96–86 | 82–74 | 106–74 | 91–79 | 89–87 | 105–89 | 95–91 | 102–93 | 97–68 | 73–79 |
| Cibona | 97–101 | 66–98 | 72–97 | — | 59–82 | 89–93 | 70–77 | 91–63 | 69–83 | 73–72 | 74–87 | 94–82 | 81–73 | 71–88 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 90–74 | 95–86 | 94–51 | 84–56 | — | 87–54 | 80–48 | 110–57 | 83–89 | 95–75 | 88–86 | 94–78 | 89–67 | 93–54 |
| FMP Meridian | 86–72 | 84–76 | 84–96 | 72–77 | 72–83 | — | 78–64 | 97–99 | 73–83 | 111–94 | 61–105 | 86–99 | 84–66 | 77–96 |
| Igokea m:tel | 78–62 | 88–74 | 83–72 | 87–91 | 63–81 | 73–74 | — | 90–84 | 78–92 | 84–64 | 52–98 | 91–82 | 77–80 | 100–94 |
| Krka | 89–80 | 75–86 | 92–78 | 54–72 | 67–90 | 87–89 | 80–92 | — | 91–106 | 79–72 | 56–96 | 72–97 | 76–80 | 75–88 |
| Mega MIS | 89–90 | 72–92 | 97–86 | 80–76 | 88–98 | 86–72 | 92–76 | 72–77 | — | 101–87 | 88–86 | 88–79 | 92–78 | 91–81 |
| Mornar Barsko zlato | 80–78 | 61–87 | 74–86 | 88–85 | 66–102 | 75–77 | 86–84 | 86–83 | 65–99 | — | 76–98 | 91–86 | 76–93 | 86–78 |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | 101–56 | 96–83 | 110–102 | 96–67 | 98–87 | 88–57 | 89–91 | 96–76 | 112–80 | 110–78 | — | 99–76 | 67–74 | 113–74 |
| SC Derby | 86–84 | 80–93 | 82–78 | 93–101 | 77–91 | 94–85 | 81–90 | 84–70 | 89–82 | 94–79 | 78–84 | — | 91–92 | 88–75 |
| Split | 75–61 | 75–81 | 93–85 | 76–83 | 73–92 | 78–66 | 90–95 | 78–74 | 88–73 | 87–75 | 53–76 | 72–76 | — | 75–82 |
| Zadar | 79–80 | 57–67 | 88–65 | 91–64 | 74–81 | 72–75 | 74–59 | 70–53 | 74–71 | 92–57 | 84–68 | 79–74 | 77–61 | — |

### Results by round

The table lists the results of teams in each round.
| Win | Loss | Postponed |
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Budućnost VOLI | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | W |
| Mega MIS | L | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Cedevita Olimpija | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | W |
| Zadar | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | L |
| Igokea m:tel | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L |
| SC Derby | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | L |
| Split | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | L | L |
| Borac Mozzart | W | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | W |
| FMP Soccerbet | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | W |
| Cibona | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | L | L |
| Mornar Barsko zlato | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | L |
| Krka | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L |

## Playoffs

As was the case in the previous season, top 8 teams will advance to Playoffs. Quarterfinals will be played in best-of-3 series, while semifinals and finals will be played in best-of-5 series.

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 2–0 | SC Derby | 83–81 | 92–77 | — |
| Mega MIS | 2–0 | Cedevita Olimpija | 119–98 | 85–71 | — |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | 2–0 | Igokea m:tel | 94–85 | 101–80 | — |
| Budućnost VOLI | 2–0 | Zadar | 100–69 | 80–73 | — |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 2–0 | Mega MIS | 103–73 | 94–69 | — |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | 2–1 | Budućnost VOLI | 78–67 | 73–74 | 100–86 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 3–0 | Partizan Mozzart Bet | 85–82 | 80–73 | 82–76 | — | — |

## Relegation Playoffs

The 13th placed team of the First Division season and the runners-up of the Second Division season should play in the Qualifiers for a spot in the next First Division season. However, board meeting of ABA league in April decided that no team would be relegated this season.

## MVP List
### MVP of the Round

| Round | Player | Team | PIR |
| 1 | Jurij Macura | Krka | 31 |
| 2 | Kenan Kamenjaš | SC Derby | 31 |
| 3 | Luka Božić | Zadar | 39 |
| 4 | Luka Božić (2) | Zadar (2) | 29 |
| 5 | Luka Božić (3) | Zadar (3) | 43 |
| 6 | Nikola Topić | Mega MIS | 41 |
| 7 | Jaka Blažič | Cedevita Olimpija | 31 |
| 8 | Luka Božić (4) | Zadar (4) | 48 |
| 9 | Lovre Runjić | Split | 35 |
| 10 | Luka Božić (5) | Zadar (5) | 35 |
| 11 | Nemanja Nedović | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 32 |
| 12 | Luka Božić (6) | Zadar (6) | 44 |
| 13 | Luka Božić (7) | Zadar (7) | 38 |
| 14 | Stefan Miljenović | Mega MIS (2) | 43 |
| 15 | Vladimir Mihailović | Budućnost VOLI | 33 |
| 16 | Uroš Luković | Mornar Barsko zlato | 32 |
| 17 | Tavian Dunn-Martin | Mornar Barsko zlato (2) | 31 |
| 18 | Mateo Drežnjak | SC Derby (2) | 37 |
| 19 | Luka Božić (8) | Zadar (8) | 35 |
| 20 | Stefan Miljenović (2) | Mega MIS (3) | 31 |
| 21 | Uroš Plavšić | Mega MIS (4) | 35 |
| 22 | Yago dos Santos | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (2) | 40 |
| 23 | Luka Božić (9) | Zadar (9) | 34 |
| 24 | Jaka Blažič (2) | Cedevita Olimpija (2) | 37 |
| 25 | Stefan Miljenović (3) | Mega MIS (5) | 34 |
| 26 | Uroš Plavšić (2) | Mega MIS (6) | 36 |
| QF1 | Nikola Đurišić | Mega MIS (7) | 38 |
| QF2 | Kenan Kamenjaš (2) | Budućnost VOLI (2) | 29 |
| SF1 | Aleksa Avramović | Partizan Mozzart Bet | 19 |
| SF2 | Freddie Gillespie | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (3) | 24 |
| SF3 | James Nunnally | Partizan Mozzart Bet (2) | 27 |
| F1 | Yago dos Santos (2) | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (4) | 21 |
| F2 | Nemanja Nedović (2) | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (5) | 20 |
| F3 | Luka Mitrović | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (6) | 23 |
Source: ABA League

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2023 ||||
| October | Luka Božić | Zadar |
| November | Karlo Matković | Cedevita Olimpija |
| December | Luka Božić (2) | Zadar (2) |
| 2024 ||||
| January | Shannon Shorter | Split |
| February | Marcus Weathers | Mornar Bar |
| March | Luka Božić (3) | Zadar (3) |

## Awards

| Pos. | Player | Team |
| MVP ||||
| SF | Luka Božić | Zadar |
| Finals MVP ||||
| PG | Yago dos Santos | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet |
| Top Scorer ||||
| SF | Luka Božić | Zadar |
| Best Defender ||||
| SG | Branko Lazić | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet |
| Top Prospect ||||
| PG | Nikola Topić | Mega MIS / Crvena zvezda Meridianbet |
| Coach of the Season ||||
| HC | Danijel Jusup | Zadar |
| The Ideal Starting Five ||||
| PG | Nikola Topić | Mega MIS / Crvena zvezda Meridianbet |
| SG | Miloš Teodosić | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet |
| SF | Luka Božić | Zadar |
| PF | Zach LeDay | Partizan |
| C | Kenan Kamenjaš | SC Derby / Budućnost VOLI |

## Clubs in European competitions

| Competition | Team | Progress | Result |
| EuroLeague | Partizan Mozzart Bet | Regular season | 11th (16–18) |
| EuroLeague | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | Regular season | 16th (11–23) |
| EuroCup | Cedevita Olimpija | Regular season Group A | 10th (1–17) |
| EuroCup | Budućnost VOLI | Regular season Group B | 7th (8–10) |
| Champions League | Igokea m:tel | Regular season Group H | 4th (0–6) |
| Champions League | FMP Meridian | Qualification Group II Quarter-finals | Eliminated by Openjobmetis Varese, 71–73 |
| Champions League | Mornar Barsko zlato | Qualification Group III Quarter-finals | Eliminated by Monbus Obradoiro, 56–90 |
| FIBA Europe Cup | Mornar Barsko zlato | Regular season Group D | 4th (1–5) |