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. Here are the games staff members are most excited about in Round 1.
Games I am looking forward to in Round 1
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Panathinaikos opens the season in its new favorite city
Javier Gancedo
This is going to be a special game, no question about it. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens will play its first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game as a seven-time champion, which is already special enough. And it does so on the court where it lifted its last trophy: Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany, as it faces ALBA Berlin in the competition's season opener, on Thursday, October 3 at 18:45 CET. Panathinaikos will be back in Berlin to start a new challenge: winning back-to-back EuroLeague titles for the first time in club history.
The Greens are back with pretty much the same squad that lifted the EuroLeague trophy in May, led by Final Four MVP Kostas Sloukas, Kendrick Nunn, Mathias Lessort, Dinos Mitoglou and Jerian Grant. ALBA managed to keep a core of players led by last season's EuroLeague Rising Star Gabriele Procida and signed All-EuroCup center Trevion Williams. Expect thousands of Panathinaikos fans in the stands as this game will surely bring back good memories!
Munich’s SAP Garden opens its doors
Frankie Sachs
This is a game that has been nearly a decade in the making. That’s when the decision to build what would come to be known as SAP Garden in the Olympic Village in Munich was made. The state-of-the-art multi-purpose venue will first open its doors in late September when FC Bayern Munich’s co-host, the ice hockey playing Red Bull Munich, skates against an NHL team.
The first basketball game will see Bayern take on the winningest team in European basketball history, Real Madrid, on Thursday, October 3. Bayern’s last home win over Real was in October 2019, but would anybody be surprised to see a little magic from SAP Garden make opening night something for all to remember? This is truly a game worthy of opening night!
Opening week's powerhouse collision
Igor Petrinovic
Round 1 delivers the first big collision of the season with a clash between Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, two ambitious EuroLeague contenders and last season's losing semifinalists from the Final Four in Berlin. This game is set to tip off the action on the second day of the opening week and it will be a big test for both teams and the very first chance to see how the fresh faces in each locker room fit into their coaches' plans.
Fenerbahce has been super active on the market so far this summer, making quite a facelift with the arrivals of Wade Baldwin and Bonzie Colson from Maccabi as well as Nicolo Melli and Devon Hall from Milan. Meanwhile, Olympiacos has re-shaped its backcourt with the return of Tyler Dorsey, who is set to face his former team right away as he spent the last two seasons with Fenerbahce, as well as playmakers Luca Vildoza and an injured Keenan Evans. In my book, this is the game to watch in Round 1.
Paris, welcome to the EuroLeague!
Geoff Gillingham
What a moment this is going to be for Paris Basketball. Just six years old as a club, the side from the French capital secured its spot in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague the hard way – by becoming the BKT EuroCup champion. Paris’s fans were able to watch in awe as TJ Shorts and Nadir Hifi lit up the EuroCup last season, and they’ll be hoping that the backcourt duo can do the same among Europe’s elite.
The brand-new Adidas Arena will play host to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 1, so Paris has an early opportunity to announce itself to the EuroLeague audience. With new head coach Tiago Splitter on the sideline and plenty of buzz surrounding the team, an early scalp from a club like Zvezda would be a fine way to start.