Basketball player Kurbanov: “All Russian teams are interested in returning to the Euroleague”

Three-time Euroleague champion with CSKA Nikita Kurbanov spoke about what he expects from Russian clubs returning to the international arena.

Russian teams and national teams have been suspended from participating in international tournaments since 2022 due to the situation in Ukraine.

— All Russian clubs are interested in returning to the Euroleague. It’s just that nothing depends on us here. If the club understands that in a year or two we will return to the Euroleague, then we need to prepare. We must return as a team that has not only been added to the Euroleague, but also has some ambitions, and corresponds to the level of the tournament.

Many viewers miss the Euroleague, the whole atmosphere. And we, the players, miss it too. When you come to Greece, Serbia, to 20,000-seat stadiums, it’s a different adrenaline rush, a different atmosphere. On the other hand, even if we come back next year, I’ll already be 39 years old.

This would be a certain challenge and motivation for me – to try to maintain the form and level of play that would allow me to play in the Euroleague and bring significant benefits to the team, – quotes Kurbanov as saying in “Championship”.