Fans have many reasons to look forward to the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup with a new and exciting competition format that promises to make the regular season even more compelling. Now that the regular season draw has taken place, let's look at how Group A stacks up.
Hapoel's EuroCup debut last season was splendid as Coach Danny Franco led the team to the quarterfinals. The club is already working on bringing back much of that team's core and giving its passionate fans another wild ride as Hapoel looks to climb high in both the EuroCup and the Israeli League.
One of only two former EuroCup champions in this season's edition of the competition, Joventut reached the semifinals last season and had the best record in the regular season the year before. Coach Carles Duran knows that it will take a special season to top those and Joventut is aiming to do exactly that.
Cedevita comes off a disappointing season in which it missed out on the EuroCup knockout stages after narrowly missing out on a spot in the semifinals the year before. The club has turned to Coach Simone Pianigiani, who twice led Montepaschi Siena to the EuroLeague Final Four, to turn things around and help Cedevita contend again.
Paris hit the ground running in its first EuroCup season and got as far as the quarterfinals before crashing into eventual champion Gran Canaria. Coach Thomas Iisalo was hired this summer to help push Paris to the next level and a motivated front office will make sure he has all the right tools to do so.
Reyer reached the elimination rounds in each of the last two seasons, but has not yet played a quarterfinals game – a stage it qualified for in 2020 before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent signing of All-EuroCup center Bruno Caboclo is just one reason Reyer is confident it can reach the top eight this time.
The only EuroCup debutant in the 2023-34 season, Wolves is a club on the rise in Lithuania and eager to show the rest of EuroCup how good it can be. With former EuroLeague champ Jeffery Taylor on the floor and former EuroLeague head coach Kestutis Kemzura on the sidelines, Wolves is a force to be reckoned with.
Besiktas makes its return to the EuroCup this season after seven years away and, eager to make a strong start, it hired 2021-22 EuroCup Coach of the Year Dusan Alimpijevic and has signed several players with EuroLeague experience. A EuroCup Quarterfinalist in 2008, Besiktas will have its sights aimed high again in its first season back.
Hamburg made a coaching change last season and now has Coach Benka Barloschky in charge for the entire preseason. Hamburg has reached the knockout stages in both of its EuroCup appearances to date and with a team built around the coach and front office's vision, the club hopes to get past the eighthfinals for the first time in 2024.
The Cinderella story of the 2022-23 season, Ukrainian side Prometey reached the semifinals despite having to play its home games in Latvia and Lithuania. Coach Neno Ginzburg guided the entertaining team and he returns with many of his top players and a few key reinforcements to try to take the club even further.
The EuroCup thrilled fans in the English capital last season with the Lions putting on shows as they reached the eighthfinals in their competition debut. A year later and with many of last season's stars returning, including Sam Dekker, London will look to continue its rise by reaching the elimination rounds again.