Alexey Shved: One guy can win a game, but he can’t win a tournament

Khimki have returned to the EuroLeague with a bang, notching up two wins in as many games, but star man Alexey Shved doesn’t want his side to get too carried away as they have 28 more challenges to go.

But the Russian side have been one of the positive talking points to open the new season, and Shved admits that the seemingly relaxed atmosphere within the team has certainly helped.

“Yeah. You know, sometimes I just want to be a good guy,” Shved says. “It’s important not just to be a good player, but to be a good guy also off of the court. If you want to win, everybody needs to stay together and have fun off the court.

“So it’s important I think. I joke around and talk to the guys. I try to help the guys who came for the first time to play in Europe, especially the first time to play in Russia. I like to have fun with the fans too, to play with the kids after the games, stuff like that.”

And that calm approach has guided Khimki to a strong start in the EuroLeague, securing wins at home over Valencia and Zalgiris, but in order for that to continue, the Russian international, who won EuroCup MVP honours last season wants his side to keep playing together.

“I feel good because the last couple of years I’ve played as a leader, but I would say that I’m only one of the guys who is a leader on this team,” he said.

“We have a lot of guys, especially this year, who came from the NBA or China or [big teams] in Europe and we have a great team here too. One guy can win a game, but he can’t win a tournament. So we just need to stay together; one day one scores and another day the other one. We just have to play together.”

EuroLeague.net’s Frankie Sachs contributed to this report.