EuroLeague Power Rankings: clear favorite and Panathinaikos return to elite / News - Basketnews.com

With the upcoming EuroLeague 2023-24 season, BasketNews brings back its Power Rankings, with Panathinaikos returning to the Top 4.

Credit: P.Moschandreou, L.Sgamellotti - Getty Images | BasketNews iliustracija Credit P.Moschandreou, L.Sgamellotti - Getty Images | BasketNews iliustracija

The 2023-24 EuroLeague season is upon us. The same 18 teams, many transfers, plenty of intrigues, and the same competitiveness we witnessed last year.

With the EuroLeague coming back, BasketNews EuroLeague Power Rankings also return.

35 media members, including the BasketNews staff and journalists from Greece, Serbia, Israel, Turkey, Spain, and France, ranked the teams from 1st to 18th place, evaluating their pre-season form, built rosters, the overall picture, and the potential they got in the foreseeable future.

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

18. ALBA Berlin

Points: 60 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 16th-18th

During the offseason, ALBA Berlin lost players like Luke Sikma, Maodo Lo, Jaleen Smith, and Tamir Blatt, among others.

ALBA haven't been in the EuroLeague playoffs in the last few years, and losing so many key players in one summer without proper replacements doesn't look good.

Therefore, it's no surprise that most respondents put the German team at the bottom of the standings.

"We have to start over," Ojeda admitted in an interview with BasketNews in July.

17. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Points: 73 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 12th-18th

ASVEL finished the last campaign at the bottom, being the only team that couldn't achieve at least 10 victories during the season. Well, the projections are not looking much better this year for the French club.

ASVEL made some interesting signings in Paris Lee, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Mike Scott, but so far, the Power Rankings respondents are not convinced.

16. Virtus Segafredo Bologna

Points: 130 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 10th-18th

Virtus made a huge move in firing Sergio Scariolo, replacing him with Luca Banchi with just 2 weeks until the start of the new EuroLeague season.

Time will tell how it will pan out, but so far, the respondents have doubts about Virtus, putting the Italian team in 16th place even though it has a solid roster on paper.

However, Virtus showed that they could play good basketball and already won the first trophy of the season after beating Olimpia Milan and Brescia in the Italian Super Cup.

15. Valencia Basket

Points: 146 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 9th-18th

Valencia had the summer with plenty of changes, losing Bojan Dubljevic, Klemen Prepelic, and Sam Van Rossom, among other players, but also signed Brandon Davies and Stefan Jovic.

Even though Valencia was fighting for a place in the EuroLeague playoffs for most of the time, not many people believe its chances this year. Only one respondent gave Valencia 9th place, which would be good enough only for the Play-In Tournament.

Valencia already began its ACB League campaign with one win (vs. Tenerife) and one loss (vs. Girona).

14. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

Points: 213 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 7th-16th

After barely missing the EuroLeague playoffs last year, Baskonia lost Darius Thompson in the summer, leaving a big hole in the backcourt. Sharpshooter Rokas Giedraitis also left the team, so making a deep run could be challenging for this Baskonia team.

Even the head coach Joan Penarroya, whose future was somewhat uncertain at one point during the offseason, admitted that the current team still looks like a mystery.

"The squad is a mystery today, but it has the capacity to be very competitive. There are players who have not played the EuroLeague or have not alternated it with the ACB. We are convinced that they have the capacity to do it well, but they have not done it yet," he said a couple of weeks ago.

Baskonia have a 1-1 record in the ACB League after a 76-88 loss against Murcia last week.

13. FC Bayern Munich

Points: 236 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 5th-16th

Bayern face the new era of Pablo Laso. The Spaniard returns to coaching after a 1-year break, and he'll have good material to work with.

Carsen Edwards, Leandro Bolmaro, Devin Booker, and Serge Ibaka joined the team, so one can assume that the main Bayern's goal will be to return to the EuroLeague playoffs.

In the pre-season games, Bayern beat such teams as Partizan, Crvena Zvezda, and Virtus while suffering losses against Panathinaikos and Laso's former team, Real Madrid.

The fans were also given the opportunity to remember what Laso could be like.

12. Zalgiris Kaunas

Points: 242 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 4th-18th

After making the playoffs against all odds, the Lithuanian powerhouse will aim to repeat the success.

And they have a good base for it, knowing that Zalgiris managed to hold the majority of the roster from last season and added Naz Mitrou-Long and Brady Manek on top of that.

Of course, Ignas Brazdeikis was a big loss and at a very late stage, but Zalgiris also have funds for a replacement.

11. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade

Points: 315 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 3rd-15th

Crvena Zvezda were busy this summer, making 11 new signings and having 20 players on the roster. Probably the biggest question mark is whether this completely new team will gel, and if it will, how long will it take?

Despite losing the Argentinian duo of Facundo Campazzo and Luca Vildoza, Crvena Zvezda's roster on paper looks strong, and it will definitely be among the contenders for the EuroLeague playoffs.

Meanwhile, the club's president, Nebojsa Covic, set an even more ambitious goal.

"What is important to us and where we will try to make a big step forward is the Euroleague, where the goal will be the Final Four," Covic told Pink TV.

Let's see if this new Crvena Zvezda team could make this happen.

10. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

Points: 384 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-14th

The BasketNews EuroLeague Power Rankings Top 10 begins with Crvena Zvezda's archrivals Partizan.

Zeljko Obradovic's squad managed to keep Kevin Punter in one of the craziest offseason turnarounds and added two former NBA players in P.J. Dozier and Frank Kaminsky.

If you wonder whether the new guys make Partizan better, check out this Augustas Suliauskas breakdown.

Nevertheless, as the recent past showed, it will take some time for Partizan to find its best form after suffering a sensational defeat in the ABA SuperCup final against SC Derby.

Despite that, there's no doubt that Partizan will aim to repeat last year's success and go one step further, reaching the Final Four. And they have the personnel for it, but at the same time, everyone knows how competitive this EuroLeague is.

9. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Points: 389 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-14th

Maccabi had a relatively calm offseason without making any marquee signings. However, it's not difficult to understand why, as the Israeli champions kept their core and re-signed Wade Baldwin, Lorenzo Brown, Bonzie Colson, and Josh Nebo.

Therefore, the Power Rankings respondents believe Maccabi will remain a respectful force in the EuroLeague and continue fighting for the playoffs.

During the pre-season, Maccabi played four games against EuroLeague, winning two against Fenerbahce and Crvena Zvezda and losing two to Panathinaikos and Olympiacos.

8. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

Points: 392 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st-13th

Well, as you can see with the last three teams, it's as close as it could get even in the Power Rankings.

Olimpia Milan becomes the first team to receive a 1st place vote, but it doesn't guarantee much for the Italian team in the EuroLeague Power Rankings.

Despite adding Nikola Mirotic and Maodo Lo to its already solid roster, the Italian team finished in 8th place, which is good enough only for the Play-In Tournament.

Of course, a poor season last year didn't give much credit to Milan, and it will need a more solid eye test to see how Mirotic will suit this team. After all, Ettore Messina's squad had already lost the first title of the season, suffering a defeat against Virtus in the Italian Super Cup.

7. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Points: 395 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 3rd-14th

It's not crazy to say that Fenerbahce will have one of the best backcourts in the EuroLeague after the Turkish powerhouse added Yam Madar and Raul Neto, who unfortunately suffered a severe injury, next to Nick Calathes, Scottie Wilbekin, and Tyler Dorsey.

On top of that, Fener welcomed the additions of Georgios Papagiannis and Sertac Sanli to its frontcourt.

Dimitris Itoudis will also begin his second season in Istanbul, meaning that the players should know the system – a factor that should definitely make things easier from the very beginning of the season.

6. Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Points: 417 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st-13th

Anadolu Efes become the first team that is expected to directly qualify for the EuroLeague playoffs, according to our Power Rankings.

The Istanbul club begins a new era without Ergin Ataman, but the expectations for the team will definitely remain the same.

Erdem Can will try to lead the completely changed team that will no longer have Ataman, Vasilije Micic, Bryant Dunston, and Chris Singleton.

Nevertheless, Shane Larkin and Will Clyburn remain, accompanied by Darius Thompson and freshly baked World Champion Justus Hollatz.

Efes had a hectic pre-season, playing 10 games and winning 6 of them.

5. FC Barcelona

Points: 434 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st-12th

For the first time in the last three years, FC Barcelona didn't make the Top 4 in the BasketNews EuroLeague Power Rankings before the beginning of the season.

Barca saw some significant changes, starting from Sarunas Jasikevicius, Nikola Mirotic, and Cory Higgins' exits.

Barcelona decided to hire a rookie head coach, Roger Grimau, and it will be interesting to see how he will cope with such responsibilities.

The Spanish powerhouse also added Willy Hernangomez and Jabari Parker, so Grimau will have to adapt quickly, as the pressure could rise really quickly if Barca has a poor start.

Barca won all of their three friendly games but lost the Spanish Supercopa final against Real Madrid before the start of the season.

4. Panathinaikos Athens

Points: 471 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 2nd-11th

It seems that Ergin Ataman's arrival instantly put Panathinaikos back into the EuroLeague elite, as the sleeping Greek giant took 4th place in the Power Rankings.

Of course, it was not only Ataman who joined Panathinaikos. PAO made plenty of big moves, including Kostas Sloukas, Luca Vildoza, Juancho Hernangomez, and Mathias Lessort, among others.

A new coach and 11 new players will definitely take time to gel, but there's no doubt it's the most talented Panathinaikos team in recent years.

As you might expect, Ataman already promised that we'll see different Panathinaikos this season.

"I have the experience to lead the team to the Final Four. It's important that Panathinaikos has finished in a low position over the past years, but we will change everything. I chose the players, and I think they are very good. I am sure that the OAKA will be on fire this year, and for all teams, it will be very difficult to win here," Ataman noted.

Time will tell, but it seems that our respondents also have high hopes for Panathinaikos.

3. Olympiacos Piraeus

Points: 510 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st-12th

Panathinaikos might have made quite a jump, but Olympiacos still remain higher. At least for now.

Last year's finalists made the Top 3 in the EuroLeague Power Rankings and will try to replicate last campaign's success without a couple of key faces.

Sasha Vezenkov made his move to the NBA, while Sloukas changed his colors to green, and it will be quite a task for Georgios Bartzokas to replace these players.

Olympiacos signed Nigel Williams-Goss, Ignas Brazdeikis, Luke Sikma, and Nikola Milutinov – not a bad group of players to its already solid core.

The Reds have won 3 out of 4 friendly games against EuroLeague teams, but it seems Bartzokas wasn't pleased with the pre-season.

"It's the worst preparation I've done," Bartzokas said. "We had six players on international duty and two sidelined due to injuries. But I am very optimistic."

"We will play selfless basketball. We want to defend and attack together," he said. "Everyone should feel important, and the ball should pass through their hands. After losing a player like Sasha [Vezenkov], who was very creative and helped us with ball movement, we want to be even more inventive and tougher in defense," added Olympiacos head coach.

2. AS Monaco

Points: 551 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st-7th

Monaco was the team that saw very few changes over the summer. Chima Moneke was the only player who left the club, while the Monegasque team added four new players.

While Kemba Walker speaks for himself, Terry Tarpey, Petr Cornelie, and Mam Jaiteh could become those smaller pieces that make all the difference.

Monaco made the Final Four in only their second season, and they have everything to make another step forward in this year's campaign.

Monaco boasts an impressive backcourt of Mike James, Kemba Walker, Jordan Lloyd, and Elie Okobo -- a lineup that might seem formidable on paper. However, head coach Sasa Obradovic said it doesn't guarantee anything.

"We need cohesion in the team, a balance between players who are more or less creative in the team, who do some other things better. It is always the best option to build a team.

We have four creative guys, all of whom need the ball in their hands and need attention, minutes, and shots. As much as you think it looks phenomenal on paper, on the other hand, it's a headache," he said.

1. Real Madrid

Points: 619 Highest/lowest place received in Power Rankings: 1st-4th

If last year's success came as a bit of a surprise, this time, almost everyone expects Real Madrid to replicate their success.

Real crushed the EuroLeague Power Rankings, collecting 27 1st-place votes. 6 more respondents put Los Blancos in 2nd place. Overall, no one put Real Madrid outside the Top 4, meaning that today, all 35 respondents see the Spanish powerhouse in the Final Four.

As usual, Real didn't make numerous signings, as Facundo Campazzo is the only new signing so far, as the Argentinian guard returns to Madrid after 2 seasons.

Do the veterans still have enough in the tank? Will Mario Hezonja and Dzanan Musa take a step forward to take some of the load from more seasoned players? These questions might decide whether Real could claim the second title in a row.

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