Basketball: the main stories of 20.09.2026

Anadolu Efes are the first foreign club to win the VTB United League Super Cup, beating Lokomotiv-Kuban 88-82 in the final. Krasnodar forward Anton Kvitkovskikh put the defeat down to his own side's errors rather than anything the Turkish club did. CSKA tightened things up in the third-place game and beat UNICS 79-59, after which vice-president Nataliya Furaeva said the week's defeats were the useful part. One outlet carries league president Sergei Kushchenko saying the next Super Cup and the 2027 All-Star Game will both be staged in Moscow.

Real Madrid took the first EuroLeague Super Cup on the same weekend, 93-89 against Olympiacos, with Edy Tavares named the competition's first MVP. Minnesota come out of the summer with a different front line: Julius Randle and Naz Reid are gone, LaMelo Ball is in, and general manager Matt Lloyd said the Jonathan Kuminga signing took 94 phone calls. Chris Finch, who called last season very disappointing, says the two arrivals give him more ways to use Anthony Edwards.

• A day after Monaco's appeal was rejected, Tony Parker said the collapsed Villeurbanne project is paying for that fallout, with the DNCCG applying stricter terms.
• The Lakers signed guards Michi Johnson and Chase Ross and waived Anton Watson.
• Brian Windhorst says the Reaves contract leaves the Lakers without flexibility or picks for a star trade; he separately dismissed talk of Jokić plotting an exit from Denver.
• Steve Kerr will hand the Golden State defence to Frank Vogel, who joined the staff for 2026/27.
• An anonymous scout told one outlet that Fred VanVleet's return gives Houston what they lacked around Kevin Durant.
• Andrei Kirilenko expects Egor Dyomin to kick on in his second Brooklyn season.
• Memphis will wear a patch for Brandon Clark all season, with a ceremony before the opener against Utah on 21 October.
• Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports the Heat will leave the 15th roster spot open.
• By all accounts from a single report, Malik Newman and Dynamo-Vladivostok will terminate by mutual consent without a competitive appearance.
• The EuroLeague met its Head Coaches Council in Abu Dhabi over a closer working structure with coaches.
• Uralmash beat Parma 90-80 to win the Ural-Great Cup.