The Reds and Greens are sitting pretty in the top spots
Power rankings on the eve of Round 1: Champs drop, Greek delight
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7 Min lectura
Welcome to the preseason edition of the EuroLeague Power Rankings. The following list is the brainchild of EuroLeague.net's team of experts, which is made up of Geoff Gillingham, Javier Gancedo, Frankie Sachs and Igor Petrinovic. The rankings are not a prediction of what the final standings will look like, but rather where all 20 teams stand – in their humble opinions – today, on the eve of the start of the season.
1. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Key additions: T.J. Shorts, Richaun Holmes
Major losses: Lorenzo Brown, Wenyen Gabriel
Obstacles to start the season: On paper stronger than last season, the Greens must find the right frontcourt mix with Mathias Lessort sidelined and Holmes new to the league.
2. Olympiacos Piraeus
Key additions: Donta Hall, Tyson Ward, Frank Ntilikina
Major losses: Moustapha Fall (injury), Nigel Williams-Goss
Obstacles to start the season: After Thomas Walkup, the point guard position is a little light with Keenan Evans still out and Ntilikina joining camp late. On a team with such great shooters, having strong playmakers is critical.
3. AS Monaco
Key additions: Nikola Mirotic, Nemanja Nedovic, Kevarrius Hayes
Major losses: Jordan Loyd, Mam Jaiteh, Georgios Papagiannis
Obstacles to start the season: Fresh off a first-ever trip to the championship game, there is pressure on Monaco to go one step better. But with just one ball to share, Coach Spanoulis will need to keep everybody on board.
4. Real Madrid
Key additions: Trey Lyles, Chuma Okeke, Theo Maledon
Major losses: Dzanan Musa, Serge Ibaka, Eli Ndiaye
Obstacles to start the season: Real has a much deeper roster to get ready for the marathon of games ahead. Adjusting to Coach Scariolo's philosophy should be its biggest goal at the start of the season, and the fact that some of them played for him in the past helps.
5. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Key additions: Talen Horton-Tucker, Brandon Boston, Armando Bacot
Major losses: Nigel Hayes-Davis, Marko Guduric, Errick McCollum
Obstacles to start the season: Three of Fenerbahce's key signings are not just new to the EuroLeague, but to international basketball altogether. How they adjust to the style of play – and Coach Jasikevicius's brand of coaching – will be pivotal for the defending champs.
6. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Key additions: Nick Weiler-Babb, Jordan Loyd, Isiaha Cordinier
Major losses: Elijah Bryant, Dan Oturu, Darius Thompson
Obstacles to start the season: While a core of stars remain, the roster has been overhauled and Vincent Poirier's injury means that the frontline is quite different. Finding a way to get the team in sync – and the bigs in particular – will be an early-season challenge.
7. FC Barcelona
Key additions: Will Clyburn, Toko Shengelia, Miles Norris
Major losses: Alex Abrines, Justin Anderson, Jabari Parker
Obstacles to start the season: Last season, Barca was heavily damaged by injuries and lack of reinforcements. Staying healthy should be the team's biggest challenge, even though the team is deeper and more athletic than last season, and therefore should be ready for a long season.
8. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Key additions: Shake Milton, Jabari Parker, Dylan Osetowski
Major losses: Brandon Davies, Iffe Lundberg, Frank Ntilikina
Obstacles to start the season: Partizan brings back it top three scorers – and seven of its top 10. Starting the season with only one true center (Tyrique Jones) and without a clear second-string point guard appear to be Coach Obradovic's main obstacles.
9. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Key additions: Marko Guduric, Lorenzo Brown, Devin Booker
Major losses: Nikola Mirotic, Fabien Causeur
Obstacles to start the season: Everything is set up for Milan to have a strong start to the campaign, but after injuries ravaged its last couple of seasons, the key will be to make sure everyone remains healthy.
10. Valencia Basket
Key additions: Omari Moore, Darius Thompson, Neal Sako
Major losses: Chris Jones, Semi Ojeleye, Stefan Jovic
Obstacles to start the season: Valencia has the deepest roster in club history but injuries struck right away, with three perimeter players sidelined. Being able to impose its trademark fast-paced rhythm should be a key to feeling comfortable in such a strong competition right away.
11. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv
Key additions: Vasilije Micic, Elijah Bryant, Dan Oturu
Major losses: Marcus Foster, Joe Ragland
Obstacles to start the season: The deepest team in the league with 19 first-team players, Hapoel's players do not lack EuroLeague experience, but collectively getting a feeling for each other on the fly with the added travel will be a challenge.
12. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Key additions: Devonte' Graham, Chima Moneke, Semi Ojeleye
Major losses: Filip Petrusev, Milos Teodosic, Nemanja Nedovic
Obstacles to start the season: Zvezda may be younger, longer and more athletic than last season, but Coach Sfairopoulos also has nine new players. Getting them all on the same page is the first matter at hand.
13. Dubai Basketball
Key additions: Dzanan Musa, Filip Petrusev, Mfiondu Kabengele
Major losses: Jerry Boutsiele, JaCorey Williams
Obstacles to start the season: Dubai is new to the EuroLeague, Coach Golemac is new to the EuroLeague and a third of the roster is new to the EuroLeague. It could be a bumpy start.
14. Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Key additions: Lonnie Walker, Oshae Brissett, Jeff Dowtin
Major losses: Rokas Jokubaitis, Jasiel Rivero
Obstacles to start the season: Most of Maccabi's rotation is new to the EuroLeague and they will be learning a new brand of basketball while learning each other.
15. Zalgiris Kaunas
Key additions: Nigel Williams-Goss, Moses Wright, Maodo Lo
Major losses: Bryant Dunston, Alen Smailagic, Matt Mitchell
Obstacles to start the season: Tomas Masiulis knows everyone in the club but this is his first year as head coach. Imposing his coaching philosophy in a team full of newcomers is his first challenge. Williams-Goss and Wright arrive from Olympiacos to go from role players to leaders.
16. Virtus Bologna
Key additions: Carsen Edwards, Saliou Niang, Alen Smailagic
Major losses: Toko Shengelia, Isaia Cordinier, Will Clyburn
Obstacles to start the season: It was clear during the Italian Super Cup that Edwards is already in mid-season form, but several questions remain about the team’s defense. How Coach Ivanovic addresses that will say a lot about Virtus’s season.
17. FC Bayern Munich
Key additions: Wenyen Gabriel, Kamar Baldwin, Xavier Rathan-Mayes
Major losses: Carsen Edwards, Nick Weiler-Babb, Devin Booker
Obstacles to start the season: Bayern rebuilt over the summer and then had to pivot when Rokas Jokubaitis was hurt at EuroBasket. With 10 new players and a playmaker (Stefan Jovic) who arrived during training camp, Bayern opens the season as a work in progress.
18. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Key additions: Markquis Nowell, Hami Diallo, Clement Frisch
Major losses: Chima Moneke, Nikos Rogkavopoulos, Donta Hall
Obstacles to start the season: Baskonia has many newcomers who have to adjust to a new coach, Paolo Galbiati, in his first EuroLeague season. Most of its newcomers are EuroLeague rookies, so experienced players like Markus Howard, Tadas Sedekerkis and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot need to deliver right away.
19. Paris Basketball
Key additions: Justin Robinson, Lamar Stevens, Momo Faye
Major losses: T.J. Shorts, Tyson Ward, Mikael Jantunen
Obstacles to start the season: Six of Paris’s top seven scorers from last season have all departed the club, as well as head coach Tiago Splitter. New play-caller Francesco Tabellini will need to get his recruits to gel quickly.
20. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Key additions: Glynn Watson, Zac Seljaas, Thomas Heurtel
Major losses: Theo Maledon, Andre Roberson, Neal Sako
Obstacles to start the season: After reaching 13 wins last season for the first time since 2020-21, the departure of Maledon is going to hurt. Much of ASVEL’s early success will depend on Watson’s adaptation to the EuroLeague.