After a dominant regular season and playoff sweep, Los Blancos are the team to beat at the Final Four
The case for Real Madrid: Back-to-back titles are in its sights
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6 Mins read
Real Madrid started the season with a 10-0 record and later clinched a playoff spot and home-court advantage before anyone else in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign. Then, it became the first team to qualify to the Final Four. However, all that will become a distant memory if Real fails to deliver in the German capital.
It is very easy to make the case as to why Real Madrid will be this year’s EuroLeague champion. Los Blancos come into the Final Four with a 30-7 record – it swept Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 3-0 in the playoffs – and now has the chance to win back-to-back EuroLeague titles for the first time since 1968.
Real has the complete package. If you look back at recent EuroLeague champions, Real ticks all the boxes in terms of creativity, defensive focus and, of course, experience.
Final Four connoisseurs
Let's put it this way, Real arrives in Berlin as one of the most experienced teams in competition history. Together, all its players have combined for 23 EuroLeague championships, which are way more than all the other Final Four teams combined (9). The main players in its rotation have all won the EuroLeague title, and some have done so multiple times.
Team captain Sergio Llull is entering his 10th Final Four and leads this stage in scoring (198 points) this century. Sergio Rodriguez ranks third in that list (190) and first in assists (70). "El Chacho" is playing in his ninth Final Four, just as many as Rudy Fernandez, who needs two steals to be the Final Four's all-time leader in this category.
Llull, Rodriguez and Fernandez are looking to secure their fourth EuroLeague title, something that just 12 players have achieved since European competitions started in 1958.
There’s more. Fabien Causeur, Facu Campazzo and Walter Tavares are two-time champions. Tavares is the only Final Four MVP present in Berlin, having won the award last season. In other words, if experience matters, Real has a very significant advantage.
Sharing is caring
Los Blancos have a very recognizable playing style, based on locking down the defensive boards and running the floor to play fast-paced offense, often taking three-point shots in transition. Having two mobile centers like Tavares and Vincent Poirier, able to run the floor, play pick-and-roll and finish over the rim is one of the keys to Real's success in recent years.
Real is averaging a league-best 20.8 assists this season. Sharing the ball better than its opponents has been a priority for head coach Chus Mateo's team. Indeed, Real is 27-3 this season when it has had more assists than the opposition, and 3-4 when it has recorded less assists than the other team.
Added to that, Real limits turnovers to just 12.1 per game, leading the competition in assist-per-turnover ratio (1.71). Fernandez leads the league in this category, having had 6.6 assists per turnover.
Real Madrid can light it up from deep
Three-pointers have become a must-use weapon for any elite basketball club in the world. Real has been using them in the right way, making sure they have an advantage in this regard. In fact, Los Blancos are 22-1 when they hit more three-pointers than their opponents. When outscored from the three-point line, Real is 8-6. It has not been an issue in key games, however, as Baskonia hit more three-pointers than Real in two playoff games, yet Los Blancos still won.
Real is the only EuroLeague team to attempt more than 1,000 three-pointers in each of the last four seasons. It averages 27.4 attempts from downtown in the 2023-24 campaign, ranking fourth in accuracy (37.9% 3FG).
Four Real players are shooting over 40% from beyond the arc this season: Guerschon Yabusele (46.3% 3FG), Mario Hezonja (45.2%), Dzanan Musa (41.7%) and Alberto Abalde (41.3%). Some teams tend to open the floor to get Tavares and Poirier out of the paint, but Real has made sure it has enough firepower from three-point range to counteract this, making the team even more unpredictable and hard to guard on offense.
Where it all begins
If you want to find the key to Real's offense, you had better keep an eye on the other end of the court. Real has led the EuroLeague in defensive rebounds in each of the last four seasons. The concept is simple: you need the basketball to start a quick offense. Real forces its opponents to shoots a league-low 51.0% two-point shooting, while it gets a lot of defensive boards and finds either of its creative playmakers, Campazzo or Rodriguez, to get its offense going. Real has made it look easy but, of course, it isn't.
It takes a lot to make it work, starting with a team-wide attitude to grab the defensive boards. As many as 13 Real players average over 1.0 defensive rebound per game, led by Tavares (4.2 drpg.), Yabusele (4.0) and Hezonja (3.9). Having the competition's best two shot blockers definitely helps, too, as Tavares and Poirier combine for over 3.0 blocks on average.
Real Madrid kept most of its players from one season to another, but that is not a guarantee in the 2024-25 campaign. It may be a last Final Four for some of the key veteran players on the team, who will be ready to do their all in Berlin to help the club win its 12th continental crown.