# 2020–21 VTB United League

The 2020–21 VTB United League was the 12th season of the VTB United League. It was the eight season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level.

## Teams

A total of 13 teams from five countries contested the league, including nine sides from Russia, one from Belarus, one from Estonia, one from Kazakhstan, and one from Poland.

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
| Astana | Nur-Sultan | Arena Velotrack | 9,270 |
| Avtodor | 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 |
| Zenit | Saint Petersburg | Sibur Arena | 6,381 |
| Zielona Góra | Zielona Góra | CRS Hall Zielona Góra | 6,080 |

## Regular season

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

### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 24 | 20 | 4 | 2010 | 1718 | +292 | .833 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 24 | 18 | 6 | 2138 | 1943 | +195 | .750 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | UNICS | 24 | 18 | 6 | 1962 | 1794 | +168 | .750 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 24 | 17 | 7 | 2219 | 1861 | +358 | .708 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | Nizhny Novgorod | 24 | 14 | 10 | 1914 | 1921 | −7 | .583 | Advance to playoffs |
| 6 | Zielona Góra | 24 | 13 | 11 | 2094 | 2075 | +19 | .542 | Advance to playoffs |
| 7 | Khimki | 24 | 12 | 12 | 2028 | 1962 | +66 | .500 | Advance to playoffs |
| 8 | Parma | 24 | 10 | 14 | 1878 | 1925 | −47 | .417 | Advance to playoffs |
| 9 | Avtodor | 24 | 10 | 14 | 2019 | 2092 | −73 | .417 | |
| 10 | Kalev/Cramo | 24 | 9 | 15 | 1821 | 1998 | −177 | .375 | |
| 11 | Enisey | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1866 | 2093 | −227 | .250 | |
| 12 | Astana | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1843 | 2101 | −258 | .250 | |
| 13 | Tsmoki Minsk | 24 | 3 | 21 | 1747 | 2056 | −309 | .125 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | AVT | CSK | ENI | KAL | KHI | LOK | NIZ | PAR | TSM | UNI | ZEN | ZGA |
| Astana | — | 83–92 | 60–93 | 60–78 | 61–77 | 77–82 | 86–82 | 69–79 | 80–84 | 74–109 | 74–87 | 70–77 | 88–82 |
| Avtodor | 107–85 | — | 82–98 | 85–79 | 87–61 | 85–82 | 89–85 | 93–99 | 70–93 | 113–66 | 97–110 | 62–89 | 90–91 |
| CSKA Moscow | 100–77 | 100–66 | — | 109–60 | 102–107 | 92–73 | 94–80 | 85–84 | 95–97 | 101–67 | 102–86 | 71–74 | 105–73 |
| Enisey | 77–76 | 86–85 | 80–91 | — | 89–94 | 77–92 | 79–106 | 86–96 | 52–86 | 81–86 | 77–84 | 67–85 | 73–94 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 85–92 | 85–77 | 72–94 | 75–86 | — | 91–84 | 94–105 | 86–84 | 72–85 | 88–82 | 49–76 | 51–87 | 79–86 |
| Khimki | 88–89 | 80–84 | 86–78 | 89–83 | 92–74 | — | 90–92 | 64–69 | 103–83 | 89–65 | 87–93 | 67–79 | 94–99 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 90–84 | 104–89 | 103–94 | 100–98 | 20–0 | 91–102 | — | 73–64 | 85–68 | 77–76 | 93–81 | 96–81 | 83–76 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 75–73 | 86–80 | 63–83 | 83–79 | 95–85 | 96–85 | 73–94 | — | 88–73 | 78–57 | 66–91 | 62–70 | 100–93 |
| Parma | 83–84 | 93–100 | 61–95 | 67–84 | 80–72 | 69–72 | 84–81 | 67–72 | — | 74–65 | 69–76 | 78–76 | 79–85 |
| Tsmoki Minsk | 78–80 | 69–86 | 60–87 | 74–81 | 72–80 | 65–81 | 75–101 | 77–76 | 65–78 | — | 66–76 | 73–99 | 75–80 |
| UNICS | 101–83 | 94–65 | 76–83 | 75–64 | 83–66 | 83–76 | 77–98 | 87–56 | 69–51 | 83–77 | — | 59–58 | 65–64 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 85–52 | 97–71 | 81–77 | 84–71 | 91–83 | 78–81 | 90–85 | 78–73 | 89–84 | 104–73 | 81–64 | — | 83–74 |
| Zielona Góra | 110–86 | 77–64 | 93–90 | 117–79 | 88–95 | 70–89 | 99–114 | 93–97 | 95–92 | 89–75 | 92–86 | 74–94 | — |

## Playoffs

Quarterfinals were played in a best-of-three format (1-1-1). Semifinals and finals were played in a best-of-five format (2-2-1).

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Parma | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Parma | 0 | 1 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 | | | |
| | | | 4 | CSKA Moscow | 3 | | | |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 2 | 4 | CSKA Moscow | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Nizhny Novgorod | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Nizhny Novgorod | 1 | | | | 3 | UNICS | 0 |
| | | | | | | 4 | CSKA Moscow | 3 |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 2 | | | | | | | 4 | CSKA Moscow | 3 |
| 7 | Khimki | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Khimki | 0 | 2 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 0 | | | |
| | | | 3 | UNICS | 3 | | | |
| 3 | UNICS | 2 | 3 | UNICS | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Zielona Góra | 0 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2–0 | Parma | 86–66 | 98–62 | – |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 2–0 | Khimki | 89–80 | 92–85 | – |
| UNICS | 2–0 | Zielona Góra | 87–60 | 90–79 | – |
| CSKA Moscow | 2–1 | Nizhny Novgorod | 84–59 | 72–76 | 79–75 |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1–3 | CSKA Moscow | 73–78 | 107–104 OT | 82–96 | 71–85 | – |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 0–3 | UNICS | 87–98 OT | 69–79 | 70–74 | – | – |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| UNICS | 0–3 | CSKA Moscow | 77–85 | 57–76 | 81–89 | – | – |

## VTB League teams in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| CSKA Moscow | EuroLeague | 4th place |
| Khimki | EuroLeague | Regular season |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | EuroLeague | Quarterfinals |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | EuroCup | Quarterfinals |
| UNICS | EuroCup | Runner-up |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Champions League | Quarterfinals |
| Tsmoki-Minsk | Champions League | Regular season |
| Parma | FIBA Europe Cup | 4th place |

## Awards
### Season awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Regular Season MVP | Mantas Kalnietis | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| Playoffs MVP | Daniel Hackett | CSKA Moscow |
| Scoring Champion | Marcus Keene | Kalev/Cramo |
| Young Player of the Year | Nikita Mikhailovsky | Avtodor Saratov |
| Coach of the Year | Xavi Pascual | Zenit |
| Performance of the Season | Anton Astapkovich | Nizhny Novgorod |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Rolands Freimanis | Zastal Zielona Góra |
| Defensive Player of the Year | John Brown | UNICS |
| Newcomer of the Year | Gabriel Lundberg | Zastal Zielona Góra |
| First Team | Mantas Kalnietis | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| First Team | Mike James | CSKA Moscow |
| First Team | Marcus Keene | Kalev/Cramo |
| First Team | Rolands Freimanis | Zastal Zielona Góra |
| First Team | Jordan Mickey | Khimki |
| Second Team | Alexey Shved | CSKA Moscow |
| Second Team | Kevin Pangos | Zenit |
| Second Team | Will Clyburn | CSKA Moscow |
| Second Team | Mindaugas Kuzminskas | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| Second Team | Geoffrey Groselle | Zastal Zielona Góra |

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2020 ||||
| September/October | Billy Baron | Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| November | Alan Williams | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| December | Gabriel Lundberg | Zielona Góra |
| 2021 ||||
| January | Jamar Smith | UNICS |
| February | Drew Gordon | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| March | Johannes Voigtmann | CSKA Moscow |
| April | Marcus Keene | Kalev/Cramo |