Sportradar's Matt Kamalsky examines the defensive improvements that have vaulted Barcelona and Valencia to top-three spots in the standings
Stats review: Explaining Barcelona and Valencia's rise in the standings
Stats
4 Mins read
There was significant movement at the top of the EuroLeague standings following Round 15 as Valencia Basket and FC Barcelona jumped into the top three, joining Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv to form the trio of teams with at least 10 wins thus far. That is no small feat for a pair of teams that started the season 2-3 and 3-3, respectively, before rattling off impressive strings of performances that now put them in striking distance of first-place heading into the final two-round week of 2025.
For FC Barcelona, the change that has sparked its recent success is pretty specific. With its offense performing at a top-10 level even as it had a couple players in and out of the lineup in the early going, much of its growth has come defensively, hinging almost entirely on a change in approach at guarding pick-and-rolls.
On the surface, Barcelona has gone from allowing 1.07 points per possession over its first six games to only 0.97 per possession over its last nine. That is roughly the equivalent of jumping from 20th to fourth in defensive efficiency. Digging a little deeper, the choices that have supported that improvement are pretty clear. After giving opposing ball handlers quite a bit of latitude in the early going, Barcelona is facing 5 fewer possessions from opposing guards in the pick-and-roll per game — getting over screens more consistently and often just doing a better job of forcing opposing guards to give up the ball, whether hedging or switching. Similarly, rotating early to limit scoring opportunities for opposing screeners — especially on pops to the perimeter, Barcelona has loaded up to stop two-man actions. Even if it is facing more jumpers when the ball is sprayed out to the wings, it has contested looks within pick-and-rolls and deflected enough passes with its rotations to more than compensate.
While Valencia Basket has made its gains on the defensive end as well, its path there has been less conventional; it is taking away opportunities inside and challenging teams to beat it from beyond the arc. After facing 27.6 three-point attempts per game with its defense set through the first five games, it has faced only 20.4 per game in the 10 games since. That’s the difference between rankings 20th and second in three-point attempts allowed in the half-court. With many of those attempts coming off the catch, Valencia has contested a higher percentage of the attempts it has faced on the perimeter than it did in the early going, while allowing a league-best 58% shooting around the rim. While the success in that latter regard aligns with its adjustments, Valencia's opponent’s three-point percentage dropping from 42% to 32% has been a pleasant surprise and key to their rise in the standings.
The challenge for Barcelona and, perhaps even more so, Valencia moving forward is the same as it has been for every team climbing the standings in the EuroLeague over the last several seasons in particular: sustainability. While Fenerbahce was 10-5 through 15 games last season, Panathinaikos had only just fought its way above .500 during its championship run, while Anadolu Efes was just 7-8 during its 2021-22 championship campaign. The level of parity in the EuroLeague does not make it easy for teams to show their championship form, especially in the early part of the year.
While their ultimate placement remains to be seen, Valencia and Barcelona deserve credit for finding their footing and changing their fortunes so quickly. The question remains: is there another team prepared to rise even higher than this year’s current leaders or can the current trio of leaders hold serve over the next several months?