By Aris Barkas and Stavros Barbarousis/ info@eurohoops.net
Power Rankings are fun and can be useful in a league with two groups, but not when you have the weekly standings to prove exactly where each team stands.
When you have two different standings, like in the NBA with East and West, or maybe in the future 24-team EuroLeague, which is expected to be divided into two groups, then the Power Rankings really serve a purpose. Maybe a prediction model that can give an outlook of what to expect in the near future of the standings might be more usefull but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
Power Rankings are still really, really important at the start of the season when everyone has zero wins and the race to the trophy just starts. With all teams being on the same level until the first tip-off, Power Rankings give you an idea of what to expect, and that’s why they are here.
1. Panathinaikos Aktor Athens
They have the MVP in Kendrick Nunn, they signed the “unofficial” MVP in T.J. Shorts, and the Final Four will be held in their home gym. Is there anything more to write about them?
2. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
In theory, the defending champions are always starting on top of the Power Rankings, but after losing Nigel Hayes-Davis and Marko Guduric, despite adding talent like Armando Bacot, Brandon Boston Jr., and, of course, Talen Horton-Tucker, the chance of a repeat is not bad at all.
3. Olympiacos Piraeus
Yes, the Greeks were disappointing in the Final Four semifinal against Monaco, but the duo of Even Fournier and Sasha Vezenkov can make things happen, plus they finished on top of the regular season standings. The “curse” of finishing on top may have been their downfall; however, this is where they belong.
4. Real Madrid
Sergio Scariolo on the bench heralds a new era with Sergio Llull, Eddy Tavares, Facundo Campazzo, and Mario Hezonja being the link with past glories. Add also Theo Maledon, Trey Lyles, and Chuma Okeke, so the Final Four is within reach.
5. AS Monaco
After reaching last season’s final, essentially, they kept pretty much the same team with Nikola Mirotic being the new marquee addition. Can he be the missing ingredient for them to get all the way? That will be a hell of a redemption story for him, but this has to be proven on the court.
6. Anadolu Efes
Igor Kokoskov returns to the EuroLeague, and Efes got an upgrade in the backcourt, adding Nick Weiler-Babb, Jordan Loyd, and Isaia Cordinier, sharpshooter Cole Swider, and the duo of Giorgos Papagiannis and Kai Jones in the center position. With the veterans Shane Larkin and Rodrigue Beaubois leading the way, the sky seems to be the limit.
7. Armani Milan
Milan changed many things after one more disappointing season, and the additions of Lorenzo Brown, Marko Guduric, Vlatko Cancar, and Devin Booker, plus Bryant Dunston, provide stability and experience, something that the team was clearly missing.
8. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Partizan missed the play-ins on the 11th hour last season, and the additions of Shake Milton, Dylan Osetkowski, and Jabari Parker, even if there’s a huge gap in the center position which has not been filled yet, make them even more dangerous this year.
9. FC Barcelona
Barcelona added the Virtus duo of Toko Shengelia and Will Clyburn, plus Myles Cale from Trento, while losing Jabari Parker. Despite finishing 5th last season, things are going to be even more difficult this time around.
10. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv
If they were not newcomers and didn’t have to play in Sofia their home games but in Tel Aviv, they would have a higher ranking. Still, all eyes will be watching, especially Vasilije Micic’s return to the EuroLeague.
11. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
They finished in the 10th position last year, and this time around, things are going to be even harder for them. The fact that everything is built almost from scratch in the team means that they will also need time.
12. Zalgiris Kaunas
With two Olympiacos former players in Nigel Williams-Goss, who is also a EuroLeague champion with Real Madrid, and Moses Wright, plus Maodo Lo in the mix, Zalgiris can be even stronger this year. Still, their main strength seems to be their home court.
13. Maccabi Rapid Tel Aviv
Lonnie Walker is a great addition, but Maccabi will be playing outside Tel Aviv for one more season, and this remains a huge handicap. They seem improved since last year, but on paper, their roster is worse compared to Hapoel, and last season they ended up being 14th.
14. Dubai Basketball
The newcomers, with Dzanan Musa leading the charge, are essentially an X-factor, since this is their first experience in any continental competition. It’s hard to imagine them doing much better than this position, but it would not be the first time that we were wrong on something.
15. Paris Basketball
Despite some impressive prep games, the roster has a lot of question marks and not a “new TJ Shorts”. They will be more than fun to watch, but coach Francesco Tabellini and his players have some big shoes to fill.
16. Virtus Bologna
Losing a leader like Toko Shengelia hurts, and even with him, Virtus didn’t do much last season. Newcomers Carsen Edwards and Luca Vildoza will have to have a stellar season to make things happen.
17. Bayern Munich
Probably Bayern would be higher, but after the Eurobasket injuries of Rokas Jokubaitis and Johannes Voigtmann, unless they make some big additions, their fate seems to have already been sealed.
18. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
They added Thomas Heurtel and Zach Seljaas, who already has a cult following. On the other hand, Theo Maledon is in Madrid, and ASVEL may need more than they have now to be able to put up a fight.
19. Valencia Basket
They have the best arena in Europe, but they will need a lot of effort in their return to the EuroLeague to compete with the rest of the league simply because of the level of the competition.
20. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
It sounds crazy, however, Baskonia, which last season lost a ton of games at the buzzer and got 14 wins, couldn’t be ranked higher in our opinion. They need Markus Howard to find himself after a lost season, and this seems to be their only hope to turn things around.