EuroLeague Power Rankings: Apologies to Barca and biggest surprise of the season / News - Basketnews.com

In the latest BasketNews EuroLeague Power Rankings, Virtus Bologna made the biggest jump, while Olimpia Milan lost the most places.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis, ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic, A. Martinez, R.Finizio - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration/A.Zaikauskas Credit Vangelis Stolis, ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic, A. Martinez, R.Finizio - Getty Images | BasketNews illustration/A.Zaikauskas

With the 2023-24 EuroLeague season getting underway, BasketNews presents the updated Power Rankings edition.

18 BasketNews staff members had a say, positioning the teams based on their current form and the potential they have in the foreseeable future.

The clubs received 18 points for the 1st place vote, 17 – for 2nd, 16 – for 3rd, 15 – for 4th, and so on.

For starters, we have ten teams falling down, five going up, and three remaining at their previous spot.

Virtus made the biggest jump, climbing up by 12 places. Meanwhile, Olimpia Milan fell from 8th place in the pre-season Power Rankings to 15th position.

18. ALBA Berlin ↔

Points: 18 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 18th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 18th

No surprises here. ALBA were seen as the weakest team before the season started, and now the German club is dead last with only one victory in the first 9 games.

17. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ↔

Points: 39 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 17th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 16-17th

Gianmarco Pozzecco brought life and the first two wins of the season to ASVEL, but the French team is yet to make a jump above 17th place in the BasketNews Power Rankings or EuroLeague standings.

Nevertheless, the improvement is there, so who knows, maybe in the upcoming edition, we'll see ASVEL higher than they are now.

16. FC Bayern Munich ⬇

Points: 63 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 13th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 12-17th

The optimist could say Bayern are only two wins behind 4th-placed Maccabi, but the reality is slightly different. While it wouldn't be fair to call Bayern's situation horrible, Pablo Laso's squad is underperforming.

Bayern are dealing with Isaac Bonga and Andreas Obst's injuries, and the rest of the team is still trying to get used to the new environment. Bayern also lost a couple of close games that didn't help their position.

"It would be very simple for me to say we're playing well, we're performing better, but we want to win games in the end," Laso said after the loss against Zalgiris. "We still have a lot [of the] way to go to be the team that we want to [be]. It's a process, and we're doing a lot of good things to be competitive. For me, it's normal."

15. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan ⬇

Points: 99 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 8th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 3rd-17th

So far, Olimpia Milan have been a mess on and off the court, but the respondents had a wide range of opinions, with one of the voters placing the Italian team as high as 3rd place.

Nevertheless, the squad that was built for the Final Four aspirations currently sits in 15th place and is very far from a team that could contend for the title.

Nikola Mirotic is doing Nikola Mirotic things, but apart from that, there are very few positive things Milan has shown in the first 9 games.

14. Zalgiris Kaunas ⬇

Points: 102 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 12th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 11-15th

Zalgiris dropped a crucial home game against ASVEL, and the lack of reliable options at guard positions seems to hurt the Lithuanians the most.

Yet, Zalgiris managed to compete in basically every game. If the close losses against Anadolu Efes and Panathinaikos had ended up as wins, we would probably be talking about what an incredible season they are having.

Everyone in Lithuania still waits for Ignas Brazdeikis and recently departed Naz Mitrou-Long's replacements. Still, it's safe to expect that Zalgiris will continue to linger around the Play-In spots.

13. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade ⬇

Points: 115 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 11th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 9th-15th

Crvena Zvezda already went through the head coaching change, but we are yet to see a significant Ioannis Sfairopoulos' impact results-wise.

Since Sfairopoulos took over, Crvena Zvezda have a 2-3 record, losing to Partizan, Barcelona, and Olympiacos.

The injury problems also don't help the Serbian powerhouse, so it's been a challenging start to the season. The upcoming home games against Olimpia Milan and Anadolu Efes will be crucial.

12. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade ⬇

Points: 130 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 10th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 9th-16th

Just like last year, Partizan have started a little bit sluggish. However, Kevin Punter hasn't been playing for almost a month now, while Frank Kaminsky and P.J. Dozier are still trying to find their grooves.

Nevertheless, Bruno Caboclo managed to have a quick positive impact, and there's almost no doubt that the Brazilian forward will become one of the cornerstones in this Partizan team.

11. Anadolu Efes Istanbul ⬇

Points: 136 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 6th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 8th-16th

Despite an uninspiring start, Anadolu Efes managed to collect two wins against Zalgiris and Monaco, improving the overall picture. As Augustas Suliauskas pointed out in his article, Efes' main problems lie in defense.

However, when things started to go better, important injury news emerged.

"Shane Larkin, Elijah Bryant, and Tibor Pleiss have serious injuries," head coach Erdem Can confirmed after the Turkish League game.

It doesn't sound optimistic, so seeing how Efes will cope will be interesting. Moreover, the upcoming games will be against Partizan and Crvena Zvezda – two rivals in the standings.

10. Valencia Basket ⬆

Points: 172 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 15th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 4th-13th

Valencia slowed down a bit after an incredible 5-1 start, suffering 3 defeats in a row. Even though Taronges suffered a 31-point loss against Olimpia Milan, they fought with Real Madrid and Barcelona till the very end.

Summer signings Damien Inglis, Brandon Davies, and Semi Ojeleye are having a positive impact so far, and it's not that crazy to think that this Valencia team is capable of fighting for the higher Play-In spots or even the Playoffs places.

9. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ⬆

Points: 179 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 14th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-15th

Dusko Ivanovic and revived Baskonia. Name a better duo, we'll wait.

Ivanovic has returned, and so has peace in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The Montenegrin head coach began his 4th stint in Baskonia with four wins in a row, beating such teams as Partizan, Olympiacos, and Barcelona.

On top of that, Chima Moneke plays on an absolute MVP level, averaging 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 25.3 PIR per game during that 4-game winning streak.

8. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ⬇

Points: 205 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 7th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 3rd-13th

Similar to Valencia, Fenerbahce enjoyed a fabulous 5-1 start, but now things have slowed down, and the Turkish club has lost 3 games in a row.

It doesn't help that the upcoming games include matchups with flaming-hot Baskonia and Virtus, and Real Madrid, with Barcelona on top of that.

It's going to be a challenging stretch for Fenerbahce, so it will be interesting to see how Dimitris Itoudis' squad will cope with that.

Nevertheless, Fenerbahce have the personnel and a top-tier coach, so writing off Fenerbahce simply like that would be a big mistake.

7. Olympiacos Piraeus ⬇

Points: 221 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 3rd Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 3rd-12th

The pains of losing Sasha Vezenkov and Kostas Sloukas are definitely there, but Olympiacos are scrambling in one way or another.

Shaquielle McKissic and Nikola Milutinov are set to return to action, while Georgios Bartzokas openly said that the team is looking for a possibility of making a new signing.

Thomas Walkup's workload is another concern, but props to Alec Peters, who's filling Vezenkov's shoes in the best way possible, averaging 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 17.9 PIR per game. All these stats are team-high, except for the assists.

So, looking at the overall Olympiacos picture, there are more positives than negatives.

6. Panathinaikos Aktor Athens ⬇

Points: 225 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 4th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 4th-10th

Knowing that Panathinaikos went over a complete roster revamp and a coaching change during the summer, the Greens are off to a good start.

Their current 5-4 record is good enough for 5th place in the standings, while the whole team, including the latest signing, Kendrick Nunn, is yet to gel.

"Nunn showed his quality when we were tired," Ergin Ataman said after the Greek League against AEK. "We know his quality. He's a great scorer and player, but he arrived two weeks ago."

"It's not easy to put a dominant player in the system, but every day, he's understanding his role in the team, and we understand better his capacity and where he can help best," Ataman added.

The recent results also tell about the improving chemistry inside the team, as Panathinaikos are currently on a 3-game winning streak.

5. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ⬆

Points: 241 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 9th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 3rd-12th

Knowing the context, Maccabi are dealing with it like true champs. Maccabi played only one game in front of their home fans, while Wade Baldwin IV made only two appearances in this EuroLeague season.

Yet, Maccabi stand in 4th place, having one game in hand. The real challenge will be in the upcoming weeks, though, as the Israeli powerhouse is set to face Barcelona and Real Madrid.

4. Virtus Segafredo Bologna ⬆

Points: 244 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 16th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-12th

Hands down the biggest surprise of the season, so far. Luca Banchi finished the FIBA World Cup chapter in his fairytale story but successfully continues it with Virtus.

Tornike Shengelia is playing the best basketball in his career, and the team that was seen as 3rd-worst before the season is now actually the 3rd-best.

The only question remains whether Virtus can keep it up, but securing the playoffs place alone would be deemed as an incredible success. Nevertheless, it's way too early to talk about it, so let's enjoy this Virtus ride while it lasts.

3. AS Monaco ⬇

Points: 266 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 2nd Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-8th

Monaco had a 5-game winning streak before losing to Anadolu Efes and Real Madrid, and the Monegasque team is in the hands of the same core as it was last year.

Mike James remains the main guy while getting support from Jordan Loyd and Alpha Diallo in the frontcourt.

Kemba Walker remains a non-factor so far, shooting 3-pointers on only 18.8% accuracy. Good thing that when you have the James-Loyd-Okobo backcourt, there's more patience for newcomers.

Meanwhile, John Brown almost feels like a new signing after making a solid improvement from his first season in Monaco.

Maybe Monaco's current form and place in the standings doesn't necessarily grant them the 3rd spot, but they are expected to speed up and deserve some benefit of the doubt.

2. FC Barcelona ⬆

Points: 299 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 5th Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-4th

Well, clearly, we owe an apology to Barca, and well done to them for proving us wrong. Even though Barcelona finished in 5th place in our pre-season Power Rankings, the opinions were way more divided than they are now.

Back in September, Barca received votes from 1st to 12th places, with 21% of the respondents thinking that the Spanish powerhouse wouldn't even make the Play-In while getting only two votes for 2nd place.

Today, out of 18 respondents, 72% placed Barca in 2nd place, while their lowest position was 4th.

Looking at how things stand, it seems that all the summer chaos with Sarunas Jasikevicius, Nikola Mirotic, and Cory Higgins' departures are far away in the past.

Jabari Parker quickly found his role, Jan Vesely looks like peak Jan Vesely, while Nicolas Laprovittola makes an even bigger impact than ever.

Barca also play a nice high-scoring basketball and, so far, deservedly occupy 2nd place in the Power Rankings and the EuroLeague standings.

1. Real Madrid ↔

Points: 324 Place in the previous Power Rankings: 1st Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st

We finish just like we started – with no surprises. Real Madrid are cruising the EuroLeague, and there isn't much to say. The reigning EuroLeague champions are in a league of their own, collecting the maximum of 324 points in our Power Rankings.

It's November 22, and Real have only one loss in all competitions. While Edy Tavares struggled at the beginning of the season, Vincent Poirier stepped up big time, while Facundo Campazzo shows he's the best point guard in Europe.

The only concern for Real is Guerschon Yabusele's injury, as he reportedly might miss multiple months of action.

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