The Lakers Win Even Without Dončić, Giannis Passes Bird, and Partizan Asks Whether a EuroLeague Place Can Be Bought With Money

Dončić on the bench with a sore back, Austin Reaves drops 43 in Detroit

Without Luka Dončić, who is resting a back injury, the Lakers opened a four-game road trip with a 121:116 win over the Pistons. Austin Reaves carried the load: 43 points, a season high, shooting 14 of 27 from the field and 4 of 6 from three, plus five rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. It's the fifth 40-point game of his career, tying him with Wilt Chamberlain for 12th in Lakers history - Magic Johnson has more, with six. The Lakers are 9-2, and Dončić's status remains uncertain. Next up is Atlanta, the second road game in two nights. How long can Reaves carry a team built around someone else?

Giannis passes Larry Bird - while going 1 of 7 from the line

Giannis Antetokounmpo, with 29 points and 14 rebounds in Miami's 114:108 win over Sacramento, reached 21,806 career points and passed Boston legend Larry Bird (21,791). He is now 40th on the all-time list, just seven points short of Gary Payton. The numbers in his first season in Miami are powerful - 27.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. There's also one that sticks out: 62.2 percent from the free-throw line, and 1 of 7 in this game. Miami, meanwhile, has just four wins from its first ten games. History is being written; the standings, so far, are not.

Partizan asks: can a EuroLeague licence only be bought with money?

Partizan's basketball director Vladimir Micov openly questioned the EuroLeague's criteria for long-term licences. According to him, history, fans and sporting results must count as much as invested capital. Micov paid respect to investors but pointed out that even 70 million euros, which by his account is what Hapoel Tel Aviv invested, doesn't guarantee a trophy. PAOK, Aris and Bahçeşehir are investing more and more, and according to some reports PAOK would pay more than 100 million euros for a place in the league. If the licence goes to the richest, where does that leave clubs like Partizan and Crvena Zvezda, which carry the EuroLeague with history and full stands?

Macedonian international Moses Wright fined in Milan for being late

Naturalised Macedonian international Moses Wright started on the bench against Trento, for the first time this season in the Italian league. Interim coach Marco Ramondino explained why: Wright was late for the pre-game meeting. The centre still played 14 minutes and finished with 11 points and five rebounds in Olimpia's narrow 88:86 win. In the EuroLeague he averages 12.1 points and 5.5 rebounds, but Milan are bottom of the table with one win from ten rounds, and after Giuseppe Poeta's dismissal Luca Banchi has taken over the bench. Next up is Wright's former club, Žalgiris. When a team is losing, even one late arrival becomes a message.

A rejuvenated women's national team heads to Bucharest

The new head coach of the senior women's team, Viktor Petrovski, has no time to warm up: as early as Wednesday, 11 November, Macedonia plays Romania away in Bucharest, and on Saturday, 14 November, hosts Estonia in Shtip, in the pre-qualifiers for EuroBasket 2029. Petrovski is announcing a generational change and says this may be one of the youngest teams in the competition. In Bucharest the team will be joined by the experienced Cvetanka Dimova and Tea Mitreva. "We have to be realistic," the coach says - building a competitive national team takes time and patience. The question is whether the federation will give him that time even after the first defeat.