Let's examine which Final Four newcomers can be counted on to make the biggest impacts in Abu Dhabi
What can we expect from the Final Four newcomers?
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From now until the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four tips off at Etihad Arena on Friday, May 23, you will hear plenty about Final Four experience. But what about those new to the Final Four? What impact can they have?
Just last season, Mathias Lessort was tied for the Final Four lead in rebounds (16 total) and ranked second in PIR (42) while teammate Kendrick Nunn was third in scoring (35 points) to help Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens take the crown. It was the first Final Four for both. Another Final Four rookie, Jerian Grant, was every bit as impactful for Panathinaikos with averages of 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the games in Berlin.
Shane Larkin needed no introduction to the Final Four. He was smashing records with Anadolu Efes Istanbul as he tallied 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists for a PIR of 43 in his first game at the 2019 event in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Vassilis Spanoulis (2009 with Panathinaikos), Tyrese Rice (2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv) and Andres Nocioni (2015 with Real Madrid) were all Final Four MVPs in their first time at the end-of-season extravaganza.
All four teams heading to Abu Dhabi have Final Four newcomers on their rosters. Here’s a breakdown of them with a focus on those players most likely to leave their marks.
Olympiacos Piraeus
The Reds have three members of their senior roster who are heading to their first Final Four. Two of them – Evan Fournier and Saben Lee – are completing their first EuroLeague campaign, while the third, Keenan Evans, has not played yet this season due to a knee injury.
Evans would be the best Hollywood script. Olympiacos signed him to a multi-year deal last summer after he was originally hurt with his previous team, Zalgiris Kaunas, banking on him becoming a difference-maker after his return. But the recovery took longer than expected and even though he has returned to practice, it does not appear likely that Evans will play in Abu Dhabi, let alone make an impact.
Lee is Olympiacos’s best bet for instant offense off the bench. A midseason signing who poured in points for Maccabi in his first eight games and for Manisa Basket in Turkiye, Lee’s first year in Europe has been an eventful one. His ability to heat up and change games could prove critical at the Final Four.
If the exercise is to find the newcomer most likely to leave a mark in Abu Dhabi, for Olympiacos the answer is clearly Fournier. The swingman is second on the team in scoring and, after a dozen seasons in the NBA, during which he went to the playoffs four times, Fournier should be ready to shine under the bright lights for the Reds.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
No fewer than six Fenerbahce players and four members of its backcourt could make their Final Four debuts this season. And several of them will have big roles.
Let’s start with Wade Baldwin, who leads the team in assists (3.7 apg.) and is third in scoring (11.1 ppg.). Baldwin missed a dozen games in this campaign, his first with Fenerbahce, and that in some ways limited his impact after he was an All-EuroLeague selection in each of the previous two seasons with Maccabi. While this may be his first Final Four, Baldwin has starred under the pressure of the playoffs before, including a 27-point, 7-assist masterpiece in a Game 5 loss with Maccabi at AS Monaco two years ago. Baldwin can be counted on as a go-to guy in Abu Dhabi.
Errick McCollum joined Fenerbahce during the season and has become a steadying force off the bench. At age 37, the former EuroCup champion and MVP marches into the Final Four comfortable in his role. The newcomer stigma should not apply to McCollum here at all.
Devon Hall has been a part-time starter this season and raised his scoring and PIR in the playoffs. While he has been impactful, especially on the defensive end, Hall has never been a player who posts big numbers and that is unlikely to change at this Final Four. Arturs Zagars did not feature at all in the playoffs and – barring something unexpected – should not have a role in Abu Dhabi.
In the frontcourt, the newcomers are forward Bonzie Colson and center Jilson Bango. Colson is one of only two Fenerbahce players to appear in every game and his never-ending hustle has a way of popping up in big games. Bango is behind Khem Birch and Sertac Sanli on the depth chart, which limits his upside at the Final Four.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
As the defending champs, it is only natural that the majority of Panathinaikos's roster has Final Four experience. Nevertheless, there are a few set to debut at the event this season. Cedi Osman is the premier member of the Greens’ roster without prior Final Four experience and after he set and then re-set his EuroLeague scoring highs in Games 4 and 5 of the playoffs with 22 and 28 points, respectively, all signs point to Osman being a difference-maker again.
Lorenzo Brown's role has dwindled over the season and he did not appear at all in the fifth and final game of the playoffs. That said, the 34-year-old playmaker has a history of stepping up in big moments, like he did last season for Maccabi with 29 points in the Play-In Showdown and a key role in the playoffs. If needed, Brown could be a surprise in Abu Dhabi.
The only EuroLeague rookie on the Panathinaikos roster is Wenyen Gabriel, who joined the club midseason from Maccabi. Not a player known for his offensive impact, Gabriel can be counted on to make a difference with his energy, defense and rebounding. That should not change regardless of the pressure of the Final Four. Another center, Omer Yurtseven, is likely to take part in his first Final Four as an active player, though he was a part of the wider Fenerbahce roster when it reached the 2015 Final Four.
AS Monaco
The Monaco newcomers can be split into the big men upon whom Coach Spanoulis will rely and the fringe players not expected to have big roles. The former is made up of Daniel Theis and Mam Jaiteh.
Theis joined Monaco in February after parts of eight seasons in the NBA. He appeared in 41 NBA playoff games, including the 2022 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics. Theis also won the FIBA World Cup with the German national team. Jaiteh was the 2022 EuroCup MVP after leading Virtus Segafredo Bologna to that crown. These two centers should be ready for the challenges that the Final Four throws at them. The same is true of Petr Cornelie, who was a member of Real Madrid's 2023 championship-winning squad, but did not appear in a Final Four game.
Swingman Terry Tarpey, who is in his second season with Monaco, can lean on his experience at the EuroBasket and World Cup to prepare him for the pressures of the Final Four. Vitto Brown, who only made one appearance in the playoffs, and Juhann Begarin, who did not play at all against FC Barcelona, are unlikely to have roles at the Final Four.