# 2017–18 VTB United League

The 2017–18 VTB United League was the 9th complete season of the VTB United League. It is also the fifth season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level. It started on 5 October 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 10 June 2018 with the championship game of the Final Four. CSKA Moscow were the defending champions.
CSKA Moscow successfully defended its title as it won the final over Khimki.

## Format changes

From this season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. These are played in a best-of-five format with a 1–2–2 structure. The four teams that win their playoff series qualify for the Final Four tournament, which decides the new champion.

## Teams

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

### 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 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Astana | Kostas Flevarakis | Tuta | |
| Avtodor Saratov | Vladimir Anstiferov | Digs | |
| CSKA Moscow | Dimitrios Itoudis | Nike | Rostelecom |
| Enisey | Oleg Okulov | Nike | |
| Kalev/Cramo | Donaldas Kairys | Nike | Cramo |
| Khimki | Georgios Bartzokas | Adidas | Khimki Group |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | Saša Obradović | Under Armour | Russian Railways |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Zoran Lukić | Nike | T+ Group |
| Parma | Vyacheslav Shushakov | Peak | T+ Group |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Igor Griszczuk | Adidas | |
| UNICS | Dimitrios Priftis | Peak | |
| VEF Rīga | Jānis Gailītis | Adidas | |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Vasiliy Karasev | Nike | Nipigas |

## Regular season

In the regular season, teams play against each other twice (home-and-away) in a double round-robin format. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. The regular season started on 5 October 2017.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2268 | 1894 | +374 | .917 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | UNICS | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2074 | 1829 | +245 | .917 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 24 | 17 | 7 | 2036 | 1755 | +281 | .708 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 24 | 16 | 8 | 2053 | 2052 | +1 | .667 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | Avtodor Saratov | 24 | 14 | 10 | 2107 | 2104 | +3 | .583 | Advance to playoffs |
| 6 | Khimki | 24 | 13 | 11 | 2038 | 1942 | +96 | .542 | Advance to playoffs |
| 7 | Nizhny Novgorod | 24 | 10 | 14 | 2046 | 2094 | −48 | .417 | Advance to playoffs |
| 8 | VEF Rīga | 24 | 8 | 16 | 1864 | 1980 | −116 | .333 | Advance to playoffs |
| 9 | Tsmoki Minsk | 24 | 8 | 16 | 1792 | 1982 | −190 | .333 | |
| 10 | Astana | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1836 | 1932 | −96 | .292 | |
| 11 | Parma | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1951 | 2086 | −135 | .292 | |
| 12 | Kalev/Cramo | 24 | 6 | 18 | 2030 | 2196 | −166 | .250 | |
| 13 | Enisey | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1892 | 2141 | −249 | .250 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | SAR | CSK | ENI | KAL | KHI | LOK | NIZ | PAR | TSM | UNI | VEF | ZEN |
| Astana | — | 75–92 | 72–92 | 92–75 | 102–92 | 84–79 | 50–83 | 73–85 | 78–84 | 77–59 | 73–78 | 67–53 | 87–64 |
| Avtodor Saratov | 92–86 | — | 98–110 | 102–83 | 82–77 | 104–92 | 77–110 | 84–75 | 82–87 | 104–82 | 78–80 | 89–84 | 92–107 |
| CSKA Moscow | 79–63 | 93–66 | — | 108–73 | 108–100 | 90–71 | 79–90 | 97–80 | 101–94 | 90–54 | 80–63 | 94–69 | 100–84 |
| Enisey | 90–76 | 83–88 | 72–87 | — | 88–91 | 84–89 | 49–75 | 98–90 | 96–77 | 91–80 | 89–93 | 68–75 | 84–104 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 83–73 | 95–89 | 95–105 | 97–88 | — | 92–84 | 62–88 | 97–103 | 74–76 | 80–85 | 67–75 | 98–94 | 89–95 |
| Khimki | 72–71 | 88–75 | 81–96 | 92–62 | 96–85 | — | 83–90 | 90–87 | 90–87 | 83–55 | 80–83 | 73–77 | 66–76 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 79–78 | 90–93 | 75–78 | 106–57 | 95–62 | 93–78 | — | 94–64 | 94–64 | 67–56 | 67–77 | 83–70 | 87–84 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 79–78 | 84–82 | 90–104 | 79–85 | 103–85 | 79–82 | 92–86 | — | 73–88 | 82–91 | 89–91 | 80–64 | 100–90 |
| Parma | 84–90 | 94–96 | 76–111 | 96–73 | 104–84 | 69–106 | 73–86 | 80–82 | — | 81–88 | 81–88 | 87–69 | 94–99 |
| Tsmoki Minsk | 75–66 | 82–85 | 83–93 | 74–88 | 87–84 | 79–82 | 88–84 | 70–78 | 66–65 | — | 65–91 | 84–77 | 81–82 |
| UNICS | 90–75 | 89–82 | 75–88 | 91–76 | 104–78 | 80–79 | 93–65 | 99–93 | 84–70 | 87–62 | — | 89–81 | 94–60 |
| VEF Rīga | 89–77 | 79–82 | 83–102 | 94–67 | 87–83 | 64–104 | 69–71 | 94–90 | 78–67 | 82–70 | 69–81 | — | 80–90 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 84–73 | 79–93 | 87–83 | 85–73 | 85–80 | 80–98 | 79–78 | 92–89 | 98–73 | 83–76 | 82–99 | 84–83 | — |

## Playoffs

In the playoffs, a best-of-five games format is used. The team that wins the series will be the first team to win three games. The first game will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams, the second and third game will be played on the playing court of the next four highest-place teams and the fourth and fifth game, if necessary, will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams. The playoffs started on 23 May 2018.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | VEF Rīga | 112–83 | 100–80 | 99–73 | 0 | 0 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3–0 | Avtodor Saratov | 91–80 | 79–73 | 90–78 | 0 | 0 |
| UNICS | 3–1 | Nizhny Novgorod | 84–66 | 74–77 | 95–94 | 101–86 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 0–3 | Khimki | 66–79 | 72–77 | 73–86 | 0 | 0 |

## Final Four

The four winners of the quarterfinals qualified for the inaugural Final Four. The Final Four will be held from 8 until 10 June. In April 2018, it was announced that the VTB Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia will host the tournament.
The four winners of the play-offs during the 2017–18 season qualified for the Final Four. The tournament will be hosted between 8 June and 10 June 2018.
The last final four was held in 2012, as the league was decided through playoff series in the previous years. Khimki, the runners-up of the Final Four, qualified for the 2018–19 EuroLeague (as CSKA Moscow was already qualified).
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 8 June | 8 June |
| CSKA Moscow | 84 |
| CSKA Moscow | 84 | 10 June | 10 June |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 67 | 10 June | 10 June |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 67 | CSKA Moscow | 95 |
| 8 June | 8 June | | CSKA Moscow | 95 |
| 8 June | 8 June | Khimki | 84 |
| UNICS | 71 | Khimki | 84 |
| Khimki | 76 | | |
| Khimki | 76 | Third place game | Third place game |
| | | 10 June | 10 June |
| | | UNICS | 79 |
| | | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 93 |

### Final
## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Qualification |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow | 29 | 27 | 2 | Qualification to EuroLeague |
| 2 | Khimki | 29 | 17 | 12 | Qualification to EuroLeague |
| 3 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 29 | 20 | 9 | Qualification to EuroCup |
| 4 | UNICS | 30 | 25 | 5 | Qualification to EuroCup |
| 5 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 27 | 17 | 10 | Qualification to EuroCup |
| 6 | Avtodor Saratov | 24 | 14 | 10 | Qualification to Champions League |
| 7 | Nizhny Novgorod | 28 | 11 | 17 | Qualification to Champions League |
| 8 | VEF Rīga | 27 | 8 | 19 | |
| 9 | Tsmoki Minsk | 24 | 8 | 16 | |
| 10 | Astana | 24 | 7 | 17 | |
| 11 | Parma | 24 | 7 | 17 | |
| 12 | Kalev/Cramo | 24 | 6 | 18 | |
| 13 | Enisey | 24 | 6 | 18 | |
* ↑ CSKA Moscow was automatically qualified for the 2018-19 EuroLeague as it holds a 10-year contract with the league.

## Attendance

Attendance include playoff games:
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Parma | 57,499 | 6,254 | 3,517 | 4,792 | −6.3%$^†$ |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 58,688 | 7,389 | 2,856 | 4,514 | +3.7%$^†$ |
| 3 | UNICS | 54,195 | 6,223 | 1,786 | 3,871 | +167.1%$^†$ |
| 4 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 45,304 | 5,670 | 1,780 | 3,485 | −3.0%$^†$ |
| 5 | Avtodor Saratov | 38,016 | 5,048 | 1,470 | 2,715 | +2.5%$^†$ |
| 6 | CSKA Moscow | 28,896 | 4,500 | 600 | 2,064 | −5.5%$^†$ |
| 7 | Khimki | 27,721 | 3,500 | 1,014 | 1,980 | −10.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Nizhny Novgorod | 24,905 | 2,598 | 1,078 | 1,779 | +133.8%$^†$ |
| 9 | Astana | 14,994 | 1,952 | 734 | 1,250 | +79.3%$^†$ |
| 10 | Tsmoki Minsk | 13,570 | 1,363 | 851 | 1,131 | +2.3%$^†$ |
| 11 | Kalev/Cramo | 13,350 | 2,800 | 600 | 1,113 | −1.7%$^†$ |
| 12 | Enisey | 10,810 | 3,000 | 400 | 901 | −44.8%$^†$ |
| 13 | VEF Rīga | 8,100 | 1,500 | 350 | 623 | −22.9%$^†$ |
| | League total | 396,048 | 7,389 | 350 | 2,343 | +7.1%$^†$ |
Updated to match(es) played on 31 May 2018. Source: VTB United League

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

* Alexey Shved – Khimki

#### Young Player of the Year

* Isaiah Briscoe – Kalev

#### Top Performance of the Year

* Stevan Jelovac – Nizhny Novgorod

#### Defensive Player of the Year

* Dmitry Kulagin – Nizhny Novgorod

#### Sixth Man of the Year

* Jamar Smith – UNICS

#### Coach of the Year

* Dimitrios Itoudis – CSKA Moscow

#### Regular Season MVP

* Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow

#### Final Four MVP

* Sergio Rodríguez – CSKA Moscow

### All-Tournament First Team

* Alexey Shved – Khimki
* Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow
* Kyle Kuric – Zenit
* Coty Clarke – Avtodor
* Kyle Hines – CSKA Moscow

### All-Tournament Second Team

* Justin Robinson – Avtodor
* Jamar Smith – UNICS
* Will Clyburn – CSKA Moscow
* Mardy Collins – Lokomotiv Kuban
* Stevan Jelovac – Nizhny Novgorod

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2017 ||||
| October | Quino Colom | UNICS |
| November | Nando de Colo | CSKA Moscow |
| December | Mardy Collins | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| 2018 ||||
| January | Sergey Karasev | Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| February | Justin Robinson | Avtodor Saratov |
| March | Jamar Smith | UNICS |
| April | Coty Clarke | Avtodor Saratov |
| May | Stevan Jelovac | Nizhny Novgorod |

## VTB United League clubs in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| Avtodor Saratov | Champions League | Third qualifying round |
| Avtodor Saratov | FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season |
| CSKA Moscow | EuroLeague | Fourth place |
| Enisey | Champions League | Regular season |
| Kalev/Cramo | Champions League | Second qualifying round |
| Khimki | EuroLeague | Playoffs |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | EuroCup | Runner-up |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Champions League | Second qualifying round |
| Nizhny Novgorod | FIBA Europe Cup | Quarterfinal |
| Parma | FIBA Europe Cup | Second qualifying round |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Champions League | Third qualifying round |
| Tsmoki Minsk | FIBA Europe Cup | Round of 16 |
| UNICS | EuroCup | Quarterfinal |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | EuroCup | Quarterfinal |