The best lineups of the modern EuroLeague era

By Stelios Toromanidis / info@eurohoops.net

Since the 2000-2001 season, when the management of Europe’s top club competition changed and ended up in the hands of the teams themselves, a group of 11 organizations with a type A license was gradually created. For those that don’t know, this is a deal that ensures these clubs’ annual participation in the EuroLeague. Essentially, they are the backbone of the competition in this new league format, in which 16 teams take part. In fact, two years ago (in the summer of 2016) the “permanents” signed a new 10-year deal.

We are talking, of course, about the Spanish teams Barcelona, Real Madrid and Baskonia; the Greek teams Olympiacos and Panathinaikos; the Turkish Fenerbahce and Efes; the Russian CSKA Moscow; the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv; the Lithuanian Zalgiris Kaunas; and the Italian Armani Milan, who were added to the group a bit later (2005).

All these years, there have been hundreds of athletes that have played in every one of these teams, but only a few have left or continue to leave an indelible mark and, as a result, they are a big part of the history of each of these 11 clubs.

Based on trophies, appearances in the Final Four and their general contribution, Eurohoops picked out and presents here the best lineups in the modern history of the EuroLeague (2000-today) for every one of the competition’s 11 “permanent” teams. At the same time, there are important stats relating to the clubs’ course so far in Europe’s top club competition.

GREECE

Olympiacos

Seasons in the modern era of the EuroLeague: 18

Games: 427

Trophies: 2 (2012, 2013)

Appearances in the Final Four: 6 (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)

Record (W-L): 261-166 (61.1%)

Best lineup in the modern era of the EuroLeague:

Two Greeks and three Americans make up Olympiacos’s best lineup in the modern era of the EuroLeague. Four of them were the driving force behind their back-to-back title wins, while the fifth helped the Reds return to Europe’s elite.

Acie Law: The American guard who matched Vassilis Spanoulis like no other, the two of them leading Olympiacos to the very top of the competition, twice. A favorite of the Reds’ fans and one of the few players who were acquired midway through the season (2011-2012) and had such an impact on the Piraeus team, with who he played 51 times in the EuroLeague. His tally was 6.7 points, 2 assists and 1.8 rebounds.

Vassilis Spanoulis: The player that changed the modern era of Olympiacos and the team’s leader in their amazing runs in the last eight years with four finals and two EuroLeague titles. He will continue playing in red for the 2018-2019 season, while in 201 games so far in the competition he counts 14.1 points, 5.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds.

Josh Childress: Even though he didn’t win a EuroLeague title with Olympiacos and his signing was characterized by many as too expensive without the corresponding result, Josh Childress helped the Reds get to a Final Four (2009, 2010) after ten years, while his move to Piraeus was heard all the way to the other side of the Atlantic, making the Greek team known in the USA. In 36 games in the competition he had 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

Georgios Printezis: The Reds’ second in command and second most important link in the successes of recent years. He becomes better and more mature as he gets older, contributing a great deal to his team. Besides, his stats speak for themselves, with the Greek power forward counting 228 games with 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1 assist on average.

Kyle Hines: Just two seasons in Olympiacos, but they pretty good seasons! Back-to-back EuroLeague titles, bonding with teammates and fans, and the explosion of his monetary value in European basketball. And not without reason, as he was one of Olympiacos’s best players, while he is the best center in the team’s modern history based on what he did and what he achieved in the years he played for them. In 53 games he had 9.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists on average.

Panathinaikos

Seasons in the modern era of the EuroLeague: 17

Games: 417

Trophies: 4 (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011)

Appearances in the Final Four: 6 (2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012)

Record (W-L): 263-154 (63.1%)

Best lineup in the modern era of the EuroLeague:

There has been a multitude of super stars of European basketball who have played for the most successful team based on titles – 4 – in the modern era of the EuroLeague (2000-today), and it was certainly tough coming up with the best lineup.

Dimitris Diamantidis: His nickname is 3D and he was truly three-dimensional on the court, doing almost everything for his team. Zeljko Obradovic’s No.1 asset in Panathinaikos’s Golden Age in the competition has been named a EuroLeague Legend. He counted 278 games with the Greens and averaged 9 points, 4.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds.

Dejan Bodiroga: He won two European titles with the Greens, one of those in the modern era of the EuroLeague. A maestro on the court, high basketball IQ and a multiple-carat game were only a few of his assets. He was one of the best players of his generation, while with Panathinaikos he played in 22 games in the competition and scored 16.1 points, with 2 assists and 4.5 rebounds on average.

Drew Nicholas: For three years (2008-2011) he was the “Green killer” from the backcourt and also one of the best in Panathinaikos’s two EuroLeague-winning runs (2009, 2011). A favorite of the fans, he counted 58 games in which he averaged 9.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

Antonis Fotsis: Kostas Tsartsaris could easily have been in his place, but in the end Antonis Fotsis was the one who was selected by Panathinaikos’s fans as the member of the best lineup in the club’s modern history. Overall, he played in four different periods with the Greens, with 164 games in the modern era of the EuroLeague. In those games he averaged 7.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists.

Mike Batiste: No one else could have been occupied this place. He came to Panathinaikos as a forward, he was turned into a center by Zeljko Obradovic and made history with the Greens. One of the most successful Americans in the history of the EuroLeague. He counted 204 games with the Greens, averaging 10.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists.