Luka Mitrovic spoke to Basketball Sphere about how he decided to join the Moscow giant, the level of quality in the VTB League and his impressions of the newly established Winline Basket Cup, as well as how he experienced his departure from Crvena Zvezda and which EuroLeague club he could very easily have signed for.
Luka Mitrovic undoubtedly marked an era at the club from Mali Kalemegdan. As a high-quality domestic player, he represented the backbone of the red-and-whites for many years, serving as a pillar of the team’s identity that dominated the region and challenged Europe’s best, until the separation came this summer.
The Novi Sad native did not rush into testing himself in a new environment. He waited for the right offer—and it arrived. Since the end of November, he has officially been part of one of the most successful organizations on the Old Continent, CSKA, and with them he is writing a new chapter of his career.
“What stands out is the way the club functions. When it comes to organization, most of the people are still here from the EuroLeague days. In that sense, nothing has changed when we talk about player support and similar things. I truly believe that, in that regard, they are still at the very top of European basketball even today, regardless of the fact that they are not playing in the EuroLeague. From that perspective, I am genuinely pleasantly surprised. I had received some indications from guys who played in Moscow before me, but this has really exceeded all my expectations and assumptions. Every day I enjoy being part of a system like CSKA,” Luka Mitrovic told Basketball Sphere, opening the conversation.
Experience in the VTB League is another new chapter for the former Crvena Zvezda player. He has played in Germany, Spain, Israel, Montenegro… In addition, the VTB League with EuroLeague teams is certainly different from the current situation, when they are absent due to sanctions against Russian clubs.
“To be fair, we’ve really had a somewhat easier schedule. We’ve won quite convincingly in almost all of the games since I arrived. In January, a more challenging period awaits us, when we’ll measure ourselves against teams that are a level or two above the rest in terms of quality. Besides us, those teams are UNICS and Zenit. And truly, when you look at their rosters, you can see many familiar EuroLeague names. So for now, as I said, we’ve been winning rather easily.
Of course, part of it also comes down to us and our approach, because when the approach is right, as it has been for us, that difference in quality becomes even more pronounced. Here you don’t play two competitions, as was the case at Crvena Zvezda, where in the domestic league you can somewhat distribute minutes and play with a certain reserve. Here, this competition is practically all you have, and you prepare for every game in the same way, whether it’s against the last-placed team or your fiercest rivals. So there’s no saving energy—you enter every game at full intensity, and then sometimes those differences in quality become even more evident. I think I’ll truly feel the real quality of the league in these upcoming games.”
It is true that CSKA also plays in the Winline Basket Cup, an interesting new competition that also features teams from the ABA League. It is played during the season, and the Moscow side recently recorded a comfortable 98–70 win over Mega in Belgrade.
“They’ve added a bit of a showtime element and made everything look flashy and shiny, where basketball itself is somewhat pushed into the background. Of course, that also relates to the crowd, and in a way they are trying to animate the fans who come to watch. We try to stick to the basketball side of things, and after these games where you end up winning several matches by 40–50 points, as we did—like what happened with us over the past month—it’s not bad to have this kind of test. In such circumstances, it’s very easy to get a false picture, to relax too much and become complacent. So, the quality is a bit more concentrated in this competition. The best teams from the VTB League are here, along with Mega and Igokea. This competition is not a priority like the VTB League, but it is certainly a good test and good preparation for what awaits us in the championship.”
There were those who were surprised that Luka Mitrovic chose CSKA. After a large number of seasons in the EuroLeague, things could have gone differently.
“When this situation with Crvena zvezda happened in the summer and when I found out that I wouldn’t be staying, the idea was to move toward something like this—that is, to follow the course of events that eventually happened and to wait. The assumption was that a suitable offer probably wouldn’t come during the summer, but rather once the season started and when someone somewhere found themselves short of a player, whether due to injuries or something else. It sounds ugly, but those are the realities of this business. That’s where the saying ‘when one door closes, another opens’ really proves true. So there were some offers during the summer that we consciously put aside. As far as the EuroLeague is concerned, I followed what was written. Most of it was not true. What gave me a certain sense of security was my valid contract with Crvena zvezda, which gave me the space to stay at home a bit longer and wait for an offer that suited me by all criteria.”
On the verge of a transfer to Maccabi Tel Aviv
He was very close to remaining in the elite competition…
“It was very close to an agreement with Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the situation I was in, there was also a third party involved, meaning it wasn’t just between me and Maccabi Tel Aviv, but Crvena Zvezda as well. All three sides had to come to an agreement, and in that case the clubs couldn’t reach one, so I ended up missing out in that situation. Still, I waited, waited, and remained patient. It wasn’t easy at all at certain moments. When you see that the season is already well underway, everyone is playing, and you’re at home, training during the week. The weekend comes, and you’re watching games on TV… I tried to always find some positive angle—to spend more time with family and friends, and to have time for things I didn’t have time for in the previous period.”
And then what he had been hoping for finally happened.
“When CSKA’s offer arrived, I didn’t think for a second—I knew very well where I was going. I’m quite objective, and I never deluded myself into thinking I’d end up somewhere unrealistic. To be honest, at this stage of my career I also enjoy this somewhat lighter pace and rhythm of games, so in the end all that waiting and stress definitely paid off.”
This summer was challenging for him. What happened with Crvena Zvezda was not something he expected, but he is far from viewing the entire experience in a negative light.
“I have no problem with it at all—I’m neither angry nor bitter. I see this as a job, and in a job you sometimes have to make decisions that someone might not like. The only thing that surprised me was the decision to part ways, because I thought I was under contract and that I would see that contract through to the end, and then we would see what and how. It unfolded differently, and I truly have no issue with that. Above all, we are professionals. Everything in life, including sports, has an expiration date, and at Crvena Zvezda I probably achieved the maximum. That cooperation came to an end, and there is no bad blood at all between me and the people there. And that’s how it will remain.”
Sasa Obradovic’s team started the new season furiously, although they are now in a slightly weaker phase and currently hold an 11–10 record.
“Seasons are very turbulent, not only for Crvena Zvezda but for all teams. The era of superteams has passed—like CSKA was when they played in the EuroLeague, or Real Madrid, when they would finish a season with just two or three losses. All teams now go through ups and downs, and that will certainly continue until the end of the season. It’s very difficult to maintain continuity of good performances because unforeseen things happen, such as injuries. The quality is quite balanced. Now, if you open the schedule and someone asks you to predict results from round to round, I guarantee you’ll find it very hard to get most of them right.
It’s evident that Crvena Zvezda has had major problems with injuries—those are things you simply can’t influence. We’ll see; it will definitely be interesting, especially when everyone recovers and when it comes to how roles and minutes will be distributed. It’s clear that with a schedule like this, a roster of around 16, 17, or 18 players is necessary in order to function. There will still be winning streaks and losing streaks, but all of that is normal. The most important thing is how they finish the season, and that’s when the final judgment will be made on whether the season was successful or not. Until then, it’s very difficult to make predictions. I wish Crvena Zvezda all the best, good health, and they can take care of the rest themselves,” Luka Mitrovic concluded in his interview with Basketball Sphere.
