Kalinić heads the Ideal Starting Five

Crvena zvezda mts star player Nikola Kalinić is the player that received the highest % of combined votes of the head coaches, journalists and fans in the voting for the Ideal Starting Five of the 2021/22 season. He won the total of 13.9% votes and is followed by Jaka Blažič (12.1%), Kevin Punter (10.7%), Zach LeDay (9.1%) and Kenan Kamenjaš (7.4%).

Justin Cobbs (7.3%), Bryce Jones (6.9%), Mathias Lessort (2.7%), Dalibor Ilić (2.6%) and Willie Reed (1.9%) are the ones that follow them.

In the votings of both the AdmiralBet ABA League teams’ head coaches and journalists, Nikola Kalinić received the highest number of votes ahead of Jaka Blažič in both cases, while in the voting of the fans, Kevin Punter finished atop of the voting and his teammate of Partizan NIS Zach LeDay finished second.

In the traditional ABA League voting for the Ideal Starting Five of the AdmiralBet ABA League season and the individual honours, the final results of the voting combine the votes of the head coaches of AdmiralBet ABA League teams (50% of the total voting results), the votes of basketball journalists from the AdmiralBet ABA League countries (30% of the total voting results) and the votes of fans (20% of the total voting results).

Kevin Punter (Partizan NIS) – The black and white sharp-shooter has joined the ranks of Partizan NIS this season and has quickly demonstrated his true qualities, as he led his squad to the second place in the Regular Season, averaging 11.5 points, 3.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and a valuation of 11.1, while spending 24.2 minutes per game on court on average.

Jaka Blažič (Cedevita Olimpija) – Cedevita Olimpija captain for the third season in a row, has been an undisputed leader of the Ljubljana squad, as he led them to the AdmiralBet ABA League Playoffs for the first time since the merger of Petrol Olimpija and Cedevita Zagreb. He has been averaging 14.6 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a valuation of 16 in the Regular Season, while leading the Dragons towards the fourth place in the standings.

Nikola Kalinić (Crvena zvezda mts) – Nikola Kalinić has joined the ranks of Crvena zvezda mts ahead of this AdmiralBet ABA League season and his first season in the red and white jersey has been a success already. He has been averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a valuation of 13. However, his greatest success for the Regular Season has not been his individual impact, but rather his contribution to the team’s success, as he has pushed Crvena zvezda mts to the first place in the Regular Season.

Zach LeDay (Partizan NIS) – Partizan NIS has been strong in the paint all season long and for sure one of the main reasons is the big man Zach LeDay, who has been shining ever since he has joined the ranks of the Steamroller, averaging 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a valuation of 17 in 26.7 minutes spent on court per game on average, while leading the Belgrade powerhouse to the second place in the Regular Season.

Kenan Kamenjaš (SC Derby) – Kenan Kamenjaš is a newcomer on this level of the regional competition, as he has advanced from the NLB ABA League 2 to the AdmiralBet ABA League, while joining SC Derby from the ranks of Spars. His first AdmiralBet ABA League season has been a breakthrough one, as he has been shining for the Podgorica squad with an average of 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.1 steal and a valuation of 21.

Ideal Starting five awards so far in the regional league:

2013/14 – DeMarcus Nelson (Crvena zvezda mts), Bogdan Bogdanović (Partizan NIS), Dario Šarić (Cibona), Joffrey Lauvergne (Partizan NIS), Boban Marjanović (Crvena zvezda mts)
2014/15 – Malcolm Armstead (Krka), Suad Šehović (Budućnost VOLI), Aleksandar Pavlović (Partizan NIS), Milan Mačvan (Partizan NIS), Boban Marjanović (Crvena zvezda mts)
2015/16 – Jacob Pullen (Cedevita), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (Mega Leks), Tadija Dragićević (Budućnost VOLI), Miro Bilan (Cedevita), Maik Zirbes (Crvena zvezda mts)
2016/17 – Stefan Jović (Crvena zvezda mts), Charles Jenkins (Crvena zvezda mts), Marko Simonović (Crvena zvezda mts), Novica Veličković (Partizan NIS), Miro Bilan (Cedevita)
2017/18 – Taylor Rochestie (Crvena zvezda mts), Nemanja Gordić (Budućnost VOLI), Džanan Musa (Cedevita), Novica Veličković (Partizan NIS), Uroš Luković (Mornar)
2018/19 – Joe Ragland (Crvena zvezda mts), Jacob Pullen (Cedevita), Stratos Perperoglou (Crvena zvezda mts), Jock Landale (Partizan NIS), Goga Bitadze (Budućnost VOLI)
2020/21 – Jordan Loyd (Crvena zvezda mts), Nikola Ivanović (Budućnost VOLI), Jaka Blažič (Cedevita Olimpija), Marko Simonović (Mega Soccerbet), Filip Petrušev (Mega Soccerbet)
2021/22 – Kevin Punter (Partizan NIS), Jaka Blažič (Cedevita Olimpija), Nikola Kalinić (Crvena zvezda mts), Zach LeDay (Partizan NIS), Kenan Kamenjaš (SC Derby)