Few teams have ever entered the NBA playoffs with more uncertainty and intrigue than the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets.
On the surface, it's almost unfathomable to consider a team that finished just one game back of the conference's best record could have so many questions marks, but when their three star players appeared in just eight games together in the regular season – and only one (ONE!) contest since the middle of February – it's not difficult to see why there were so many unknowns.
During the regular season, the Nets' power trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving appeared on the court together for just over three and a half hours. By comparison, the last 'Big three' Durant was a part of – the 2018-19 Golden State Warriors – he, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson played over 23 hours together during the regular season. The Warriors' threesome reached the 200-minute mark before the calendar flipped to November, so the Durant-Harden-Irving trio are essentially in early season mode – and again, they only appeared in one game together over the season's final two months.
So with all eyes on Brooklyn in their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, it took all of one game for the trio to find their chemistry.
The Nets got past a Celtics team playing without their second-leading scorer in Jaylen Brown in the playoff opener, though it wasn't exactly an offensive showcase. Brooklyn led by just three points five minutes into the fourth quarter before Durant, Harden and Irving scored 19 of the team's final 22 points to lead the Nets to a 104-93 win.
After passing their first test, the offense aced their last four in dispatching the Celtics in five games, with Boston needing an exceptional 50-point performance from Jayson Tatum in Game 3 to avoid being swept.
In the final four games of the series, the Nets averaged 143.3 points per 100 possessions when Durant, Irving and Harden were together on the court – a total of 105 minutes, 56 seconds. As a team, Brooklyn shot 56.8 per cent from the field and 52.1 from three-point range to go with an eFG percentage of 67.2 and a 28.7 assist rate when the three played together.
This came after their Game 1 tuneup as Brooklyn had an offensive rating of 113.4 in the 23 minutes 48 seconds the three were together on the court, shot 48.7 per cent from the floor, made five of 20 three-point attempts, had a 55.1 eFG percentage and 19.6 assist rate.
The offense has been playing on another level since then, averaging 128.3 points and a coveted 50-40-90 shooting percentage slash line – 51.6 per cent from the field, 47.4 from three-point range and 91.7 on free throws.
They are the first team since the advent of the three-pointer in the 1979-80 season to score at least 115 points, hit at least 15 3-point shots and make at least 20 free throws in four straight games. That's including the regular season, not just four straight games in a single playoff series or four games in a row in a single postseason – all games.
The Nets held an offensive clinic in a 141-126 Game 4 win on Sunday, shooting 57.8 per cent while making 17 of 27 shots from beyond the arc (59.3 per cent) and 29 of 30 foul shots (96.7). In the process, Durant scored 42 and made all 11 of his free throw attempts while Irving added 39 and converted all 11 of his foul shots, making them the first pair of team-mates in NBA history to score 35 or more points while going 10 of 10 or better from the free-throw line in a game – regular or postseason.
All Harden did in that one was dish out 18 assists – his most for any game, regular or postseason – and score 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
In the five games against Boston, Durant averaged 32.6 points, Harden 27.8 and Irving 24.8. Their combined average of 85.2 points is the most by any trio in any playoff series all-time – one more than Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Rudy LaRusso averaged for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1962 Western Division Finals.
With Durant, Harden and Irving together, Brooklyn is able to create scoring opportunities by spacing the floor, which is paying dividends for Harden.
In the last four playoff games, Harden made 51.5 per cent of the jump shots (17 of 33) he took from 15 feet or more from the hoop – the fifth highest rate in the league among the 35 players with a minimum of 25 such shots since May 25. He made just 37.1 per cent of such shots during the regular season to rank 125th out of 192 players with a minimum of 200 attempts..
The jump shot, meanwhile, has long been a friend of Durant, and he has been knocking down his jumpers at an astounding clip since Game 1.
Among those with a minimum of 25 jump shots attempted from 15 feet or more from the hoop since May 25, Durant leads all shooters by connecting on 61.4 per cent of his shots (27 of 44). His 6.8 made jump shots from 15 or more feet out are only just behind the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic at 7.0 for tops in the league since May 25. This came after Durant shot 46.9 per cent on these same jumpers and averaged 4.1 makes per game during the regular season.
With Harden proving to be a more efficient scorer away from the basket, defences now must respect his jump shot. The problem is, he's still as dangerous as ever to drive and either dish it out – his 17 assists to Durant are the second most by any one player to a team-mate this postseason behind Denver Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo's 18 assists to Nickola Jokic – or finish at the rim.
Harden is connecting on 73.7 per cent of his 19 layup attempts this postseason after converting 58.4 per cent of them in the regular season. Like Harden, Irving is also successfully finishing at the hoop, making 60.9 per cent of his 23 layup attempts.
Brooklyn's Big three has quickly established a cohesiveness on the court and looks every bit of the offensive juggernaut many envisioned was possible when the team acquired Harden back in January.
One criticism against the Nets all season has been their defense – or lack thereof. The counterpoint to that is that it doesn't matter how many points you give up as long as you score more. And with Durant, Harden, Irving and the Brooklyn offense firing on all cylinders, the Nets certainly have the capability to pile up more points than anyone.
This theory will be put to the test Saturday when Brooklyn open their Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Milwaukee Bucks – the only team to outscore the Nets in the regular season with a 120.1 scoring average.
Belgium started their preparations for Euro 2020 with a disappointing 1-1 friendly draw with Greece at the King Baudouin Stadium on Thursday.
The Red Devils were without influential midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who sustained fractures to his nose and eye socket in Manchester City's Champions League defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, and they sorely missed his creativity against John van 't Schip's side, who are ranked 50 places beneath them in the world rankings.
Thorgan Hazard had put Roberto Martinez's side ahead midway through the first half after a slick move and he missed a glaring opportunity to add another before the interval.
He was punished for that miss in the 66th minute when Georgios Tzavellas stroked home to seal a draw for the visitors.
Greece started on the front foot, with Giorgos Masouras and Anastasios Bakasetas forcing Simon Mignolet into saves inside the opening 10 minutes.
Romelu Lukaku was denied from point-blank range by Odisseas Vlachodimos as the hosts belatedly woke from their slumber.
It did not take them long to go ahead once they had hit their stride, Hazard volleying home from six yards after a smart one-two with Yannick Carrasco in the 20th minute.
Hazard should have had a second before the interval, but the Borussia Dortmund man inexplicably struck the outside of the post with the goal at his mercy.
Mignolet tipped Masouras' effort around the post on the hour mark, before Tzavellas secured a draw for Greece with an instinctive finish from 10 yards after Kyriakos Papadopoulos' header had bounced back off the post.
What does it mean? Tougher tests to come for Red Devils
Their Euro 2020 group is not packed with giants of European football but if their struggles here are anything to go by then Belgium might not have it all their own way against Finland, Norway and Russia.
Despite their attacking talent, the Red Devils only managed to carve out seven shots to Greece's nine, which will surely concern Martinez so close to a major tournament.
Hazard impresses for hosts
Few in red shone, with Hazard the best of a below-par bunch. His goal came from a game-high three shots, while he gained possession on nine occasions – the joint-highest tally on the pitch.
Doku fails to shine
Martinez has suggested De Bruyne is unlikely to be fit enough for Belgium's opening group game and Jeremy Doku did not exactly stake his claim to deputise for him here. The Rennes man was brought off at half-time after playing just one key pass to a team-mate and failing to register a single shot on target.
What's next?
Belgium face Croatia in a friendly before their Euro 2020 campaign kicks off against Russia on June 12. Greece, meanwhile, face the Red Devils' Group B opponents Norway in a friendly on Sunday.
Ashleigh Barty described her retirement from Thursday's second-round clash against Magda Linette at the French Open as "heartbreaking".
Top seed Barty required medical attention during her first-round win over Bernarda Pera two days earlier, with a hip injury the cause for concern.
The 25-year-old – back at Roland Garros for the first time since winning her maiden grand slam title in Paris in 2019 – vowed to "play through the pain barrier", yet the injury prevented her from continuing when 1-6 2-2 down against her Polish opponent, who will face Ons Jabeur in the next round.
The Australian's retirement throws the draw wide open, with both of the top seeds now out after Naomi Osaka decided to withdraw amid her disagreement with tournament organisers.
Barty's clay-court season ended with a title in Stuttgart, a runner-up finish in Madrid and an appearance in the quarter-finals in Rome, and she could scarcely hide her disappointment at the way things ended for her in the French capital.
"It's heartbreaking," she told a media conference. "I mean, we have had such a brilliant clay-court season, and to get a little bit unlucky with timing and have something acute happen over the weekend and just kind of run out of time against the clock is disappointing.
"It won't take away the brilliant three months that we have had, as much as it hurts right now.
"We did everything, absolutely everything we could to give myself a chance. It was a small miracle that we were able to get on court for that first round.
"I just tried to give myself a chance and see how it felt. Obviously practicing, we've had our restrictions and essentially tried to stay as fresh as possible and not aggravate it in any way, but in a match that's unavoidable at times.
"It got worse today and it was becoming at the stage where it was unsafe. As hard as it is, it had to be done. Right from the first game, I was battling the pain, and it just became too severe."
SVITOLINA CRUISES THROUGH, PLISKOVA DUMPED OUT
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina booked a third-round meeting with Barbora Krejcikova after seeing off Ann Li 6-0 6-4.
Svitolina landed 74 per cent of her first serves and struck 10 winners to cruise past the American in the opening set.
Li bounced back in the second, roaring into a 4-1 lead, but Svitolina clawed her way back to ensure she reached at least the third round in seven of her nine appearances at Roland Garros.
Svitolina, who overturned a 2-5 deficit in the second set to beat Oceane Babel in the first round, said: "In the end, what I'm really happy with is the way that I was down in both matches in the second set and found a way.
"I found a good level and didn't give up on the second set. That was a really good point for me, and I was really playing composed in both matches. It was two different players, but I was really happy that I could win in two sets in both matches."
Up next is Krejcikova, who overcame Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2 6-3.
There is no place in the third round for ninth seed Karolina Pliskova, who was soundly beaten 7-5 6-1 by Sloane Stephens, while number 13 seed Jennifer Brady battled past Fiona Ferro 6-1 1-6 6-4.
KENIN WINS BATTLE OF THE AMERICANS
Fourth seed Sofia Kenin defeated fellow American Hailey Baptiste, a qualifier who won four matches in Paris on her French Open debut, 7-5 6-3.
Kenin will now face another compatriot in 28th seed Jessica Pegula, who beat Tereza Martincova 6-3 6-3.
Elsewhere, defending champion Iga Swiatek thumped Rebecca Peterson 6-1 6-1, Coco Gauff got the better of Wang Qiang 6-3 7-6 (7-1), and Elise Mertens edged out Zarina Diyas 6-4 2-6 6-4.
New Zealand's Devon Conway put himself into the record books with a double hundred on his Test debut, though England got themselves back into contention at Lord's.
Mark Wood (3-81) and England debutant Ollie Robinson – who came into the second day on the back of issuing an apology for offensive historic social media posts – managed to wrestle the hosts back into the fray after the tourists closed on 246-3 on Wednesday.
Robinson finished with impressive figures of 4-75 and would have had a five-for on debut if not for Stuart Broad dropping Tim Southee's drive.
Yet the day belonged to Conway, who brought up his 200 with a six before succumbing to a strange run-out in the Black Caps' 378 all out, with England surviving a nervy start to reach the close on 111-2.
Starting the day on 136 not out and, along with Henry Nicholls (61), New Zealand's opener picked up where he left off and, when he hit 154, had surpassed legendary figures WG Grace and Ranji to establish himself as the highest scoring Test debutant on English soil.
Wood delivered in his second over, a bouncer drawing Nicholls into a miscontrolled hook to Robinson, and the paceman soon had his second and third wickets, dismissing BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner either side of Robinson trapping Colin de Grandhomme lbw.
Kyle Jamieson followed to Robinson after lunch as the Black Caps lost a fifth wicket within the space of 29 runs, though Conway trundled on and, amid a late flurry from Neil Wagner, the 29-year-old got his 200 when a top edge soared over the deep square leg boundary.
Conway's record stand came to an end in bizarre circumstances. Joe Root seemed to have let the opportunity for a run-out slip by when he missed the stumps after collecting Ollie Pope's throw, yet England's captain recovered just in time to knock the bails off before Conway made it back.
In reply, England were a wicket down inside four overs. With Southee having an lbw appeal against Rory Burns rightly turned down, Jamieson struck when Dom Sibley (0) was hit on the pads just in line with off stump.
Zak Crawley edged through to Watling as fears of another batting collapse grew, but Burns and Root steadied the ship, reaching unbeaten tallies of 59 and 42 respectively before stumps.
RECORDS TUMBLE FOR CONWAY
There can be no full house just yet at the home of cricket, but the Lord's crowd were treated to a masterclass of an innings by Conway, who became just the second Black Caps batsman, after Matthew Sinclair in 1999, to score 200 on his Test debut, and just the seventh player ever to score a double century on his first appearance in the longest format.
Conway is the oldest player to hit 200 on his Test debut, and his runs accounted for 52.91 per cent of New Zealand's first-innings total.
ROBINSON FALLS JUST SHORT
Wednesday was a difficult day for Robinson, on what should have been a proud moment for the seamer.
He can at least take pride in what was a resilient response, and if not for Broad's dreadful spill from Southee's shot, Robinson would have had a five-for. It would also have matched a unique statistic, as only once previously in Test history have a century and a five-for been recorded by debutants in the same innings, with Harry Graham (107) and Bill Lockwood (6-101) doing so at Lord's in 1893.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss Euro 2020 after suffering a thigh injury against Austria on Wednesday, England have confirmed.
The Liverpool full-back was the subject of much media speculation ahead of Gareth Southgate's decision to cut his preliminary squad to a selection of 26 earlier this week.
Alexander-Arnold was picked, however, along with three other players capable of playing right-back in Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier.
However, as fate would have it, the 22-year-old will miss out after all, having gone off injured late on in the 1-0 win over Austria after clearing the ball.
Southgate said after the friendly at Middlesbrough – which England won 1-0 – that it "was not a good sign" to see Alexander-Arnold need assistance to walk around the sidelines, and further assessments on Thursday revealed a grade two quad tear.
Alexander-Arnold faces around six weeks out, meaning he will be unable to take part in the Euros – which for England start on June 13 against Croatia – and will instead withdraw from the squad.
Southgate will not confirm a replacement until after Sunday's friendly against Romania.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss Euro 2020 after suffering a thigh injury against Austria on Wednesday, England have confirmed.
The Liverpool full-back was the subject of much media speculation ahead of Gareth Southgate's decision to cut his preliminary squad to a selection of 26 earlier this week.
Alexander-Arnold was picked, however, along with three other players capable of playing right-back in Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier.
However, as fate would have it, the 22-year-old will miss out after all, having gone off injured late on in the 1-0 win over Austria after clearing the ball.
Southgate said after the friendly at Middlesbrough – which England won 1-0 – that it "was not a good sign" to see Alexander-Arnold need assistance to walk around the sidelines, and further assessments on Thursday revealed a grade two quad tear.
Alexander-Arnold faces around six weeks out, meaning he will be unable to take part in the Euros – which for England start on June 13 against Croatia – and will instead withdraw from the squad.
Southgate will not confirm a replacement until after Sunday's friendly against Romania.
Roger Federer produced his best display of the year to defeat Marin Cilic in four sets in the second round of the French Open.
The 20-time grand slam singles champion overcame frustrations with the umpire and the powerful resilience of his opponent to win 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 on Thursday.
The Swiss great holds an 11-1 lead in their head-to-head record, that one defeat coming back in the US Open semi-finals in 2014 when Cilic went on to lift the trophy, and it seemed as though Federer had their latest contest on his racquet early on.
He raced into a 5-1 lead in the first set before closing it out in just 31 minutes, the crowd left stunned when the eighth seed stretched up to produce a remarkable drop-shot return winner.
Matters became trickier in the second set as Cilic went 3-0 ahead and only some precise serve-and-forehand work from Federer prevented the double break.
A curious moment occurred with Cilic leading 3-1 when Federer was issued a time violation when receiving serve at deuce. A bemused Federer spoke at length with the umpire before calling to Cilic, "Am I playing too slow?".
Although far from descending into a shouting match, the incident seemed to throw off Federer, who gifted the set to Cilic with two forehand errors and looked unsettled until he refocused with a ripped backhand winner in the opening game of the third.
Cilic forced the tie-break after Federer had spurned an easy chance for a double break, but a double fault from the world number 47 handed the initiative to his rival, who by this time looked imperious on serve and in control from the baseline.
An ace on his first set point wrapped up the breaker and another Cilic double fault saw him fall a break behind in the fourth. This time, Federer did not allow a sniff of a comeback.
Data Slam: Federer back in the groove with clinical display
More accustomed to facing Cilic in the later stages of majors – he has beaten the Croatian in Wimbledon and Australian Open finals – Federer nonetheless needed to find something close to his best tennis after allowing early control to slip away in only his fourth match since returning after knee surgery.
The 39-year-old fired down 16 aces to one double fault and 47 winners to just 27 unforced errors. As Cilic said before the contest: "No matter the age, Roger has the formula."
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Cilic – 43/44
Federer – 47/27
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Cilic – 12/6
Federer – 16/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Cilic – 3/8
Federer – 5/16
Ronald Koeman will remain as Barcelona head coach for the 2021-22 season, president Joan Laporta confirmed on Thursday.
Ronald Koeman will remain as Barcelona head coach for the 2021-22 season, president Joan Laporta confirmed on Thursday.
Dutchman Koeman – a legend in his playing days at Camp Nou – guided Barca to a third-placed finish in LaLiga last term, meaning they finished outside of the top two for the first time since 2007-08, though the Blaugrana did succeed in winning the Copa del Rey.
They were inspired by Lionel Messi, who scored 30 league goals to win an eighth Pichichi trophy, though the 33-year-old is also the subject of speculation over his next move, with his contract at Barca coming to an end.
Koeman was appointed by Josep Maria Bartomeu last year, after Quique Setien's ill-fated tenure, with the former Netherlands coach signing a two-year contract.
Laporta succeeded Bartomeu in March, taking charge at Camp Nou for a second spell, and reports had suggested he was keen to install his own choice as coach.
On Thursday, however, he confirmed the 58-year-old will remain in charge for at least another year.
"After this reflection period, we have agreed that we will continue the current contract of Ronald Koeman," Laporta told a media conference.
"We're very satisfied with the conversations we have had. They were frank conversations and the coach's behaviour was impeccable.
"We found solutions to any slight differences. We have thought about what is best for Barcelona and we're all happy to make this announcement."
Asked if he would have kept Koeman on if there had not been a year left on his contract, Laporta said: "The year remaining that he had was an independent thing and didn't condition us.
"For now, the previous contract continues. We'll have talks about everything else further down the line.
"He already made an effort last season and we haven't contemplated [a pay cut] this time. He understands the club's situation."
After a poor start to the congested season, Barca did manage to drag themselves into title contention, only to slip up towards the end of the campaign.
Their tally of 79 points is their lowest total since 2007-08, when they managed 67. Indeed, the last coach to earn 76 or fewer points in his first 38 games with the club was Frank Rijkaard in 2003-04 (72 - W21 D9 L8).
With Atletico Madrid triumphing this year and Real Madrid winning LaLiga in 2019-20, it meant Barca have failed to win the title in two successive seasons for the first time since 2008.
Uncertainty over Koeman's future has not stopped Barca acting swiftly in the transfer market, albeit mostly acquiring players who were available on free transfers.
Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia have arrived following the expiration of their contracts at Premier League champions Manchester City, while Barca also exercised their option to bring Emerson back to the club following two seasons at Real Betis.
Novak Djokovic booked a place in the last 32 of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over Uruguayan veteran Pablo Cuevas.
The top seed, seeking just a second triumph at Roland Garros, followed up his emphatic win against Tennys Sandgren in round one with a slightly tougher 6-3 6-2 6-4 triumph against Cuevas.
World number one Djokovic had 31 winners to 22 unforced errors and will now face James Duckworth – who beat Ricardas Berankis earlier on Thursday – in the next round.
Djokovic initially took some time to get going and lost his serve in just the third game, before instantly hitting back in the fourth.
The 18-time grand slam winner did not look back from that point, serving up some impressive tennis on the clay and breaking Cuevas again in the eighth game to take a one-set lead.
Cuevas has reached the third round in Paris on four occasions, but hopes of doing so again this year were effectively put to bed in a blistering second set from Djokovic, who was successful with all 11 of his first serves to close in on victory.
Playing on Court Suzanne-Lenglen did not faze Djokovic – with Roger Federer taking prime position on Court Philippe-Chatrier – as he held throughout a gruelling third set and completed the job with a 10th ace of an entertaining contest.
Data Slam: Another milestone reached for Djokovic
Thursday's match was Djokovic's 350th at a grand slam and he looked very impressive pretty much from the moment he recovered from his early wobble. Cuevas also played well, but his opponent saved eight of the nine break points he faced to set up a meeting with Berankis.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 23/22
Cuevas – 31/26
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 10/3
Cuevas – 5/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 5/8
Cuevas – 1/9
Despite admitting that life inside consecutive bubbles has taken a toll on him mentally, Jamaican all-rounder Andre Russell has vowed to do all he can to lift the Quetta Gladiators once the Pakistan Super League T20 competition resumes on June 9.
Adelaide United booked their place in the A-League Finals with a 2-2 draw against 10-man Western Sydney Wanderers at Coopers Stadium thanks to Craig Goodwin's goal.
The hosts required only a point to make certain of a top-six finish and they were ahead inside 11 minutes when Ziggy Gordon turned Ryan Strain's shot into his own net.
However, Wanderers had lost only one of their last eight league meetings away at United and were back on level terms thanks to a Bruce Kamau shot that deflected in off Strain.
Carl Robinson's side had been eliminated from the top-six picture before kick-off yet they found themselves ahead against United through Graham Dorrans' low drive with half an hour played.
A red card for Tass Mourdoukoutas six minutes later following a reckless challenge on Louis D'Arrigo gave United hope but the visitors held firm until the 56th minute.
Goodwin peeled away at the back post and thumped a low shot past Daniel Margush for his third goal in five games.
That proved to be it as Carl Veart's men held on to pick up a draw which keeps them on course for A-League glory and ended Wellington Phoenix's Finals hopes in the process.
The FA have confirmed the date for the Community Shield, with the traditional English football season curtain-raiser to be played at Wembley on August 7.
Premier League champions Manchester City will take on FA Cup winners Leicester City, a week ahead of the 2021-22 top-flight campaign starting, with the match kicking off at 17:00 BST.
Arsenal beat Liverpool in the 2020 Community Shield, which was played in late August due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the footballing calendar.
Prior to the Gunners' triumph, City had won the trophy in 2018 and 2019.
It will be Leicester's third appearance in a Community Shield match, having won the honour in 1971 – which they qualified for as champions of the second division – and lost to Manchester United in 2016.
While City cruised to their third league title in the space of four seasons in 2020-21, Leicester overcame eventual Champions League winners Chelsea to clinch their first FA Cup success.
In the two league meetings between City and Leicester last season, the Foxes won 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium, before Guardiola's men ran out 2-0 victors in the reverse fixture in April.
Lucas Vazquez has committed his future to Real Madrid, with the winger penning a three-year deal to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as coach for a second stint in charge of Madrid earlier this week, and one of the first moves he reportedly signed off on was the new contract for Vazquez.
The 29-year-old Spain international, who plays predominantly on the wing but was also used as a full-back in 2020-21 by Zinedine Zidane before a knee injury ended his campaign, and his chances of making Luis Enrique's squad for Euro 2020.
Vazquez's deal had been due to expire at the end of June, but he has now agreed to remain with Los Blancos through to June 2024.
Having come through Madrid's academy, Vazquez did not feature under Ancelotti during the Italian's first spell in charge between 2013 and 2015, making his senior debut the following season.
He has made 240 appearances for Madrid in all competitions, scoring 26 times in total, and helping the club to two LaLiga titles and three successive Champions League triumphs.
Vazquez made 34 appearances in total for Madrid in 2020-21, scoring twice, providing seven assists and contributing to 22 victories.
Only Toni Kroos – from eight more games – created a greater number of chances (95) than Vazquez (72).
Vazquez's expected assists per 90 minutes was 0.27, the best in Madrid's squad, and on average he created 2.33 opportunities for every 90 minutes played.
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