The 2022–23 KK Crvena zvezda season was the 78th season in the existence of the club. For the season it was referred to as Crvena zvezda mts until 31 December 2022 and later on as Crvena zvezda Meridianbet for sponsorship reasons. The club was a two-time triple crown (ABA League, Serbian League, and Serbian Cup) defending champion.
On 21 June 2022, German center Maik Zirbes announced that he will be leaving the club as a free agent. This was his second spell at the club.[11] On 26 June, Serbian international forward Dejan Davidovac left the club after his contract expired and joined Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow. He spent five seasons with the Crvena zvezda winning three Adriatic leagues, four Serbian leagues, one Adriatic supercup and two Serbian cups.[12] On 27 June, American guard Austin Hollins left the club after his contract expired and joined Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv.[13]
On 30 June, the club parted ways with head coach Dejan Radonjić who agreed on a two-years deal with Greek club Panathinaikos after his contract with Crvena zvezda expired. This ended his second spell at the club which made him one of the most successful coaches in Crvena zvezda's history with 5 Serbian leagues, 5 Adriatic leagues and 5 Serbian cups and also a coach with most games coached in club's history.[14] Reportedly, the club expressed their interest to sign head coaches Ioannis Sfairopoulos, Zoran Lukić, and Pablo Laso among others, following departure of Radonjić.[15][16] Coach Laso declined the offer due to health issues.[4]
On 7 July, the club brought in the first signing for upcoming season - Serbian international guard Nemanja Nedović and Olympics silver medalist from 2016 signed a three-years deal with the club after his contract with Greek side Panathinaikos expired. This will be his second spell with the Crvena zvezda, for whom he previously played between 2008 and 2012.[17]
On 8 July, the club announced Vladimir Jovanović as their new head coach. Jovanović, who previously coached FMP and Cibona and is a current head coach of Serbia men's national under-20 basketball team, signed a three-years contract. On the same day, a club's veteran Marko Simonović announced his retirement as an active player and was instead hired as a new assistant coach. This ended his third spell with the club during which he won 13 titles in total.[18]
Crvena zvezda announced that they have signed two-years-long contract with American center Hassan Martin who previously played for Greek powerhouse Olympiacos on 9 July.[19][20] Three days later, on 12 July, they have signed a year-long contract with Puerto Rican swingmanJohn Holland who previously played for Turkish side Frutti Extra Bursaspor.[21][22][23] On 12 July, a Serbian forward Nikola Kalinić, who was Adriatic League regular season MVP and member of the Ideal Starting Five, left the club to join Spanish side FC Barcelona. This was his second spell with the club with whom he won 6 titles in total.[24] On the other side, a team captain Branko Lazić signed a two-year contract extension on 13 July.[25][26] On 14 July 2022, the club signed Bosnian-born and Serbia international forward Dalibor Ilić on a four-year contract.[27][28] On 19 July 2022, the club signed their former youth system player and the 2022 EuroLeague champion center Filip Petrušev.[29][30] On the next day, 20 July, club signed Ghanaian power forward Ben Bentil who spent previous season playing for Italian side Olimpia Milano.[31] The seventh new player arrived on 29 July, when the club signed American point guard Jaylen Adams who arrived from NBL champions Sydney Kings.[32]
Last signing during the pre-season was former Serbian international center and silver medalist from EuroBasket, World Cup and the Olympics Miroslav Raduljica who arrived at the club on 28 September and signed two-years-long contract. He signed as a free agent, having previously played for South Korean side Goyang Carrot Jumpers until he was waived in December 2021.[40]
October
Club had a strong start in Adriatic league, winning its first 4 games of the season and ending the month on the fourth place in the league. On the other hand, in Euroleague, club won only one of the first five matches ending the month in 16th place.
In Adriatic League club played three more games, winning two of them and suffering first loss of the season in a home game against Zadar. This secured them third place in the league at the end of the month. While in Euroleague club played five more games, and won three of them, which brought them up to the 14th place at the end of the month.
On 3 November, just three months after arriving, the club parted ways with American point guard Jaylen Adams, who played only five games.[43]
On 13 November, head coach Jovanović parted ways with the club.[44][45] On the next day, the club hired Montenegrin coach Duško Ivanović as their new head coach.[46] On 19 November, the club parted ways with Jovanović's assistant coaches Marko Simonović, Branko Jorović, and Miodrag Dinić following a hire of new head coach.[47] On the next day, they have hired Spanish coach Carles Marco as new assistant coach.[48]
December
During this month in Adriatic league club played and won four more games extending their winning run to six games. This secured them second place in the regular season at the end of December. In Euroleague club played six games, winning four and losing two of them. With these four wins club managed to climb to the tenth place of the regular season table at the end of the month. Argentinian guard Luca Vildoza was named EuroLeague MVP of the Month for this month. This was the second time that player from Crvena zvezda received this award, with the first one being Ognjen Kuzmić during the 2016–17 season[49]
In early December, Crvena zvezda expressed their interest to sign Argentine NBA guard Facundo Campazzo,[50] following his release from the Dallas Mavericks. Ultimately, he signed on 19 December for the club.[51]
On 18 December, in a pre-game warm-up against Mega MIS, all Zvezda's players wore a t-shirt with a picture of Siniša Mihajlović with a title 'Legends Live Forever!', honoring him following his recent death.[52] Mihajlović was a Crvena zvezda football player in the early 1990s.
By the end of December, the club expressed their interest to sign Italian power forward Achille Polonara.[53][54]
January
Club managed to continue their good form in Adriatic league during the January, winning all five of games played and extending their unbeaten run to eleven games. This kept them on the second place of the table at the end of the month, with one game behind leading Partizan. Good form from the Adriatic league didn't extend to Euroleague this month. Zvezda played six games, winning two and losing four of them including derby against their rivals Partizan. This brought them down to 13th place on regular season table.
On 4 January 2023, Euroleague Basketball's Finance Panel imposed sanction consisting of a prohibition to register new players and coaches until February 28, 2023, and a fine of €25,000 on the club for violations of the Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations. This prohibition also applied to Facundo Campazzo who was previously signed by the club on 19 December 2022.[56]
On 14 February 2023, head coach Ivanović announced the 12-man roster for upcoming Radivoj Korać Cup in Niš, excluded guard Ivanović, forwards Ilić and Holland, and center Raduljica from the season roster.[60]
Players
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
On 13 November 2022, head coach Jovanović parted ways with the club.[70][71] On the next day, the club hired Montenegrin coach Duško Ivanović as their new head coach.[72] On 19 November, the club parted ways with Jovanović's assistant coaches Marko Simonović, Branko Jorović, and Miodrag Dinić following a hire of new head coach.[73] On the next day, they have hired Spanish coach Carles Marco as new assistant coach.[74]
The following is the technical staff of Crvena zvezda for the 2022–23 season.[75]
Crvena zvezda is scheduled to play seven pre-season games. The first two games were played in Belgrade. Then, they were participated at a tournament in Antalya, Turkey, from 14 to 18 September 2022.[78] Furthermore, the team is scheduled to play at the 2022 Neofytos Chandriotis Basketball Tournament (NCBT) together with Peristeri, Olympiacos, and Hapoel Holon in Nicosia, Cyprus, from 23 to 24 September 2022.[79][80]
The 2023 Radivoj Korać Cup is the 21st season of the Serbian men's national basketball cup tournament. Crvena Zvezda successfully defended their title beating Mega in the finals, winning their 9th title and 3rd one in a row, surpassing Partizan.