Now that the schedule for the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season has been unveiled, EuroLeague.net's staff is eyeing all the mouth-watering action.
Games I am looking forward to in October
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4 Mins read
Here are the games staff members are most excited about in October. They already selected their must see games for Round 1.
Round 2: The battle for Istanbul bragging rights
Geoff Gillingham
It’s always a lot of fun whenever Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul go head-to-head, and that will certainly be the case when they face off in Round 2. Fenerbahce has gone about trying to create an Avengers-like squad by adding the likes of Wade Baldwin, Bonzie Colson and Nicolo Melli to an already stacked roster, while Efes will be hoping to continue the momentum it generated after Tomislav Mijatovic’s late-season appointment last year. Shane Larkin remains the face of Efes after penning a new four-year deal at the club, and he’ll be backed up by new recruits Stanley Johnson, Rolands Smits and Vincent Poirier.
Round 2 is too early to make any sweeping judgements, but the winner of this game should have a good idea about where they stand in relation to their season goals. They'll have bragging rights until they meet again in Round 19, too.
Round 4: A rematch of last season's Final
Javier Gancedo
When the calendar came out on July 15, Real Madrid and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens quickly looked for this matchup. It will be the teams' first meeting since last season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. Panathinaikos beat Real 80-95 to add a seventh star to its logo and deny Los Blancos the possibility of winning back-to-back EuroLeague titles for the first time since 1968.
Panathinaikos is back with pretty much the same team that won the EuroLeague last season featuring Final Four MVP Kostas Sloukas, Kendrick Nunn, Mathias Lessort, Juancho Hernangomez and Dinos Mitoglou. Real also kept its main players, adding reinforcements like Xavier Rathen-Mayes and Andres Feliz. As always, it will a special game for Real forward and long-time Panathinaikos fan Mario Hezonja. Last season, Panathinaikos beat Real in the Spanish capital for the first time since 2013. It should be nothing but an extraordinary basketball game!
Round 6: James and Monaco visit Belgrade Arena
Igor Petrinovic
The reigning EuroLeague MVP Mike James has been re-united in Monaco's backcourt with his former teammate and close friend Nick Calathes. When the two were together at Panathinaikos few years back, James was a Robin to Calathes's Batman, but their roles will now be reversed as the EuroLeague’s all-time scoring leader (James) and the competition's all-time leader in assists and steals (Calathes) have only one goal set in mind – to win the EuroLeague championship.
To battle its way there, the team will need to win games in fiery environments, and a Round 6 visit the Belgrade Arena will be a perfect early litmus test for Coach Sasa Obradovic’s squad. Equally so, a brand-new Partizan team under the other Coach Obradovic, the nine-time EuroLeague winner Zeljko, will have a chance to show how it will compete. With a crazy atmosphere in a surely sold-out arena, James and Calathes on the floor for the visiting team, and two Obradovics on the sidelines, what's not to like about this one?
Round 7: Olympiacos hosts Barca in a playoff rematch
Frankie Sachs
The last time these teams met at Peace & Friendship Stadium, Olympiacos Piraeus smacked down FC Barcelona 92-58 to even their best of five playoff series at 2-2. A few days later, the Reds stunned Barca on the road to advance to the Final Four. This will be their first clash since.
With the exception of Joan Penarroya stepping in as Barcelona’s new head coach, the roster turnover on these two teams so far this summer has been minimal, which means the passions of that playoff series should rise to the top pretty quickly. Barcelona will want to avenge its defeat, while Olympiacos will seek a repeat result. There is a rich tradition between these teams, including four Final Four meetings, and another intense game on the last day of October could be what raises the stakes and makes it a rivalry.