Nikita Kurbanov named VTB League’s Best Defender!

Our team’s forward Nikita Kurbanov has been named the 2016-17 VTB United League Defensive Player of the Year. He received his award today in Moscow prior to Game 1 of the CSKA – Astana quarterfinal series.

The league’s expert panel made the final selection. This is the 4th year that the VTB United League has given out the Defensive Player of the Year award. CSKA teammate Alexander Kaun picked up the award in 2013-14, while teammate Andrey Vorontsevich was honored in 2014-15, Kyle Hines got the award in 2015-16.

“I want to thank everyone in VTB League who took this decision,” said Kurbanov. “It’s a prestigious award and I didn’t expect I could get it. It’s great that there is a special award for the players who do all the dirty work. I know that Army Men got the prize in previous years, so I’m glad to continue the tradition. I pay a lot of attention to defense because it’s the basis of success in basketball. It is important to say that now it is quite difficult to stop an opponent alone, that’s why successful actions on own half of the court are the result of a team game. I’m happy to share the award with each of my teammates.”