It may not be arriving in Berlin as the favorite, but Fenerbahce is as dangerous and confident as any team competing for EuroLeague glory in the German capital
The case for Fenerbahce: An offense brimming with confidence
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2019 and in search of its second EuroLeague title, having been crowned the champion in 2017. Fenerbahce might be the team with the fewest victories and the lowest winning percentage of the four teams, but don't think for a second that Fenerbahce is a big underdog in Berlin following a season in which the team and the players set several records and accomplished historic feats.
The Canaries arrive at the Final Four loaded with confidence. After all, they made history by becoming the first team to ever win Game 5 on the road and did it no less than in overtime, which is another first.
Fenerbahce also did so by repeatedly bouncing back. That Game 5 win came after the team had a chance to clinch the series in the fourth game, but lost it at home. Moreover, the entire playoff success came right after an early April four-game losing streak in all competitions, as it appeared that Fenerbahce was reeling at the worst possible time.
But the team showed plenty of character, not only late in the season, but throughout the entire campaign, which is exactly what it will need in Berlin.
Fenerbahce is the first team to make an in-season coaching change and still reach the Final Four since Real Madrid in 2011. Sarunas Jasikevicius took over for Dimitris Itoudis in mid-December, just ahead of Round 14.
Jasikevicius turned things around immediately as Fenerbahce won its first four games under the new coach and seven of its first eight. The team went on to win 14 of those final 21 regular-season games, and 10 victories came by a double-digit margin. Only two teams scored more points the rest of the regular season than Fenerbahce's 87.1 under Saras.
That is also all before the memorable five-game playoff series, in which Fenerbahce won two road games, both in overtime.
Also, you will be hard-pressed to find a team that made, or attempted, more three-pointers, than this Fenerbahce squad did this season.
Fenerbahce has set the single-season record by making 449 triples and heads to the Final Four just seven attempts shy (1,136) of the all-time mark, too. The team shoots from all ranges and positions and has four players who have made more than 40 triples this season, led by Scottie Wilbekin's 118.
Fenerbahce has made a double-digit number of three-pointers in 28 games, including an all-time single-game record of 24 back in March in a win over Valencia Basket. Under Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce is making 12.7 triples per game. In the playoffs, that number rose to 13.4 per game.
Add to the fact that in late March, All-EuroLeague forward Nigel Hayes-Davis became the first player to score 50 points in a EuroLeague game and it is easy to conclude that this team is brimming with confidence in its offense.
And it surely has everything needed to go all the way in Berlin.