2024-25 BKT EuroCup Power Rankings
The 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season tips off on September 24. Four former champions are among the 20-team field as well as three other clubs who reached the finals. Here are the Power Rankings.
The 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season is about to tip off with Round 1 starting on Tuesday September 24. The field includes four former champions - record four-time winners Valencia Basket (2003, 2010, 2014, 2019), 2004 champs Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, 2008 champs Joventut Badalona and 2023 winners Dreamland Gran Canaria - as well as three teams who reached the finals: Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2006), Turk Telekom Ankara (2023) and Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse (2024).
What better way to prepare for the season than look at the 20 teams and break them down in a Power Rankings. The clubs have been ranked overall and then also included is their ranking among the teams in their respective groups.
Just because a team is ranked low doesn’t mean they are void of any talent and will not win any games. Each club does have interesting stories to follow and it would be a major shock if any team went through the season without a victory - if not even a couple.
So without further ado … let’s look at the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup Power Rankings.
20. Veolia Towers Hamburg
Group B ranking: 10
Veolia Towers Hamburg totally revamped their team from last season and head coach Benka Barloschky will need time to really form a unit with this group. Point guard Brae Ivey is one of the few players back as he joined the team in February after playing with Joventus in Lithuania and Girona in Spain. He will be making his EuroCup debut, something fitting for most of Hamburg’s players.
The 22-year-old Hungarian talent Zsombor Maronka - on loan from Joventut Badalona - is one of the few players with some experience, having played 13 games in the EuroCup with his parent side.
Playmaker Jaizec Lottie helped VEF Riga win the Latvian league and cup last season, shooting ace Keondre Kennedy debuted in Europe last season in Italy’s second division while scorer Jordan Barnett is back in Germany after three years in Hungary and South Sudanese big man Kur Kuath played the last 1.5 seasons in the second division LEB Gold in Spain and led the league in blocks last year with Lleida.
With German clubs required to have solid national players - there is a 6+6 regulation in terms of locals and foreigners - Hamburg have a decent group of Germans including former ALBA Berlin forward Kenneth Ogbe; Jan Wimberg, formerly of FC Bayern Munich; long-time Bamberg forward Patrick Heckmann and center Benedict Turudic.
19. Trefl Sopot
Group A ranking: 10
Trefl Sopot makes their return to the EuroCup, playing their first EuroCup game since 2012. The former NBA champ and long-time Croatian national team star Zan Tabak is in year three with the club as head coach, having led Sopot to the Polish Cup in 2023 and then the their first league title in 2024. Fans might dismiss this team, but Group A opposing teams are forewarned for sure against doing so.
Tabak has most of the core of his team back from last season, topped by Canadian international guard Aaron Best, four-time Polish champ Jaroslaw Zyskowski, 7-0 Belgian national team center Andy Van Vliet and 31-year-old American 7-footer Geoffrey Groselle, who in 2022 received a Polish passport and played in the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the summer of 2023. Polish internationals Mikolaj Witlinski and Jakub Schenk return as well.
New on the team is European veteran Tarik Phillip, who played the last two seasons with London Lions, playing alongside Best there in 2022-23; and EuroCup debutants Marcus Weathers and Trey McGowens.
18. Aris Midea Thessaloniki
Group B ranking: 9
Aris Midea Thessaloniki had a strong return to the EuroCup last season, reaching the Round of 16 in their first appearance since 2015-16. Head coach Ioannis Kastritis has a team loaded with players who have never played at this level.
There are two Greeks veterans in Vasileios Toliopoulos and Lefteris Bochoridis but then come a large group of guys who have potential but will have to get up to speed quickly.
D’Moi Hodge is playing for the first time in Europe after the guard became the first player from the Virgin Islands to play in the NBA. Also making their European debut this season are Mike Miles, who helped United States to gold at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021; the strong rim protector James Banks; wing Landers Nolley; and Josh Roberts, who played last season in Australia for Cairns Taipans
A trio of Aris players are in year two in Europe: David DeJulius having played last season in Germany and the FIBA Europe Cup with BG Göttginen; Nate Laszewski also playing in the FEC and ranking second in three-point percentage (46.4%) in Italy with Brindisi; and Trey Woodbury, who played with Bamberg Baskets last year.
17. 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys
Group B ranking: 8
7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys are playing in the EuroCup for a fifth straight season and for the third year in a row missed the knockout stages by just one win. The Lithuanian club over the years has proven to never underestimate a team coached by Nenad Canak.
This season’s team will be headed by the Lithuanian leadership trio of Dovis Bickauskis, Martynas Varnas and Gabrielius Maldunas. But there are others who will have major impact. Former Panathinaikos Athens talent Georgios Kalaitzakis comes back to Lithuania looking to re-establish his career after playing with Nevezis Kedainiai in 2019-20. And 22-year-old Ukrainian point guard Oleksandr Kovliar arrives after playing last season with Obradoiro in Spain. Fellow 22-year-old Mantas Rubstavicius returns to the club after spending last season in the Australian NBL with New Zealand Breakers.
Center Justin Briggs will be making his EuroCup debut and 24-year-old former star talent Marko Pecarski hopes he can become Coach Canak’s new Djordje Gagic - the Serbian big man Gagic having played three seasons under Canak at Lietkabelis.
16. ratiopharm Ulm
Group A ranking: 9
ratiopharm Ulm have been one of the most exciting clubs to watch for years now - finding hungry players and developing them into stars while also giving young superstar talents a chance to play a major role in a pro club for the first time. This season should be much of the same - though the club will also be dealing with a coaching change as Ty Harrelson takes over from Anton Gavel after serving two seasons as head coach at German club Rasta Vechta. This Ulm team will be very young and inexperienced.
Most of the talk will be about their two superstar teenagers - Ben Saraf and Noa Essengue. The 18-year-old Israeli Saraf arrives from Elitzur Kiryat Ata and will be given the keys to the car - ala Killian Hayes as an 18-year-old in 2019-2020. Saraf was spectacular in the summer, having won the MVP at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024, where Israel finished fourth and qualified for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup for the first time. Essengue, who won’t turn 18 until December, will be in year two in Ulm, and the next French superstar talent (following Hayes and Pacome Dadiet) did not disappoint - dominating in the third division ProB and winning the MVP of the ANGT Dubai while also playing in the German BBL - and is expected to do even bigger things this year.
There is another interesting youngster as 21-year-old Marcio Santos arrives as a 6-9 big man with a good track record of winning big games - helping the Brazilian club Franca to the 2023 Basketball Champions League Americas and FIBA Intercontinental Cup crowns. Santos is also the latest in an ever-growing list of Brazilians who have played in Ulm following Georginho de Paula, Yago dos Santos, Bruno Caboclo and Cristiano Felicio.
Looking elsewhere on the roster: Isaiah Roby makes his European debut after five seasons of bouncing between the NBA and G-League; Puerto Rico international shooting guard Alfonso Plummer makes his first real stint in European basketball; Justinian Jessup looks to take a step forward after joining Ulm in March 2024 having played with Spanish side Zaragoza in 2022-23; and 25-year-old German playmaker Nelson Weidemann arrives with major motivation after not playing much last season at FC Bayern Munich following two productive seasons on loan at NINERS Chemnitz.
Harrelson also has a strong core of Germans on whom he can rely with Karim Jallow, Tommy Klepeisz (an Austrian with papers to play as a domestic player), Philipp Herkenhoff and home grown big man Nico Bretzel.
15. Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius
Group A ranking: 8
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius are playing in the EuroCup for a second year - in year three of their existance - and the Lithuanian team has an interesting group this season. The new head coach is Italian Alessandro Magro, who served as a long-time assistant at former Italian giants Montepaschi Siena in the EuroLeague from 2006 to 2014 and was head coach the last three seasons at Brescia.
Don’t look now but 35-year-old Jeffrey Taylor is in his third year with Wolves after seven seasons with Real Madrid. The 31-year-old shooting guard Andrew Andrews starred last season with Joventut Badalona. And then there is 26-year-old former star Arnoldas Kulboka, who missed all last season with knee surgery after being one of the best players in the EuroCup two seasons ago with Promitheas Patras and had signed with Prometey Slobozhanske. Kulboka will be looking to bounce back in strong fashion.
Wolves also have a strong core of Lithuanians returning. Lithuanian international Vaidas Kariniauskas is in his second year with the team while point guard Kristupas Zemaitis and power forward Regimantas Miniotas are both back for a third year.
The 23-year-old talent Marek Blazevic will be back in Lithuania after two seasons with Obradoiro in Spain and Matas Jogela returns to his homeland after one season in Spain and the Basketball Champions League with Rio Breogan. And Lithuanian small forward Daniel Baslyk joins the club after four seasons with Siauliai.
Three non-domestic players of note are 6-10 center Garrison Brooks, who made his European debut last season with Wolves; point guard Anthony Cowan, who played in the EuroCup in 2022-23 and BCL last year with Promitheas; and Tre’Shawn Thurman, who averaged 14.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in his EuroCup debut last season with Wolves.
14. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Group A ranking: 7
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica will be playing in the EuroCup for the sixth consecutive season and has reached the playoffs in three of the last four campaigns. Coach Andrej Zakelj has a major core of the leaders back from last season and added a couple more interesting pieces.
Little needs to be said about Yogi Ferrell, who is back along with McKinley Wright, who excelled in his first season in Europe; and sharpshooter Fletcher Magee, who had more three-pointers in college than Steph Curry and JJ Reddick and is spending his fifth season in the Montenegro capital. Also back is Bosnia and Herzegovina international center Kenan Kamenjas and Serbian big man Nikola Tanaskovic.
Veteran Rasheed Sulaimon joins the team after finishing second in the EuroCup in scoring last season with 18.3 points per game with Wolves Vilnius. Buducnost also brought in 7-footer Udoka Azubuike, who will be making his European debut after four seasons in the NBA.
Also new with the team is 21-year-old Montenegrin shooting guard Djordije Jovanovic, who played in the NBA G-League last season, Croatian international Mateo Dreznjak, and Juwan Morgan, who debuted in European basketball last season in Russia with Runa Basket Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg.
13. Umana Reyer Venice
Group B ranking: 7
Umana Reyer Venice are regulars in the EuroCup but really haven’t been able to go far in the competition. Veteran head coach Neven Spahija is hoping a trio of Canadians can help change that.
Canadian international Tyler Ennis started last season with Napoli before going to Hapoel Tel Aviv. Fellow Canadian Mfiondu Kabengele is a 6-10 former NBA center who debuted in Europe last season, starting with AEK Athens and then moving to Reyer in December 2023. Also back for his second season with Reyer is 32-year-old big man Kyle Wiltjer.
Aamir Simms is playing his third season in the EuroCup, first with Paris Basketball and then last year with Reyer. Joining the team is Xavier Munford, who spent the last two seasons with Hapoel Tel Aviv while Great British international Carl Wheatle was with Pistoia the last five years, winning the Italian second division A2 title in 2022-23 and debuting in Serie A last season.
The Italian core is topped by Amedeo Tessitori with the Italian international big man spending his third season with the club after winning the EuroCup title in 2022 with Virtus Bologna. Sharpshooter Davide Moretti helped Varese reach the FIBA Europe Cup Semi-Finals last season and joins Reyer. The 21-year-old guard Davide Casarin meanwhile is in year two back with Reyer after playing with Treviso and Verona from 2021 to 2023. One more player of note is 6-10 Italian center Alessandro Lever, who will be making his pan-European competition debut in his third season back from college in the United States.
12. Turk Telekom Ankara
Group B ranking: 6
The 2023 EuroCup finalists Turk Telekom Ankara will be hungry to return to that success and have rehired their coach from that great run with Erdem Can coming back after he was fired in February 2024 in his first season with Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Turk Telekom have been completely revamped.
Kyle Alexander will be one of the leaders after he starred last season in the EuroCup with Hapoel Tel Aviv. The 6-10 Canadian center, who has EuroLeague experience with Valencia Basket, was fifth in the EuroCup in rebounds and third in blocks. Fellow Canadian Olivier Hanlan will be needed to stand out after the 33-year-old guard played with Varese and CSKA Moscow last season.
Anthony Brown starred with Bursaspor last season while the 6-8 power forward Javon Bess was the Defensive Player of the Year in Germany last season with Würzburg Baskets and Israeli international Max Heidegger started last season with Baskonia before going to the G-Leauge and then Umana Reyer Venice.
The 24-year-old big man Yoan Makoundo had a strong first season outside of his native France last year with Buducnost and Greece international Vasileios Charalampopulos spent the last three seasons in Italy - playing in the Basketball Champions League last year.
Also new on the team are Mahir Agva and Ismet Akinpinar, two Germans with Turkish heritage playing together for the first time; Turkish international power forward Berkan Durmaz, who arrives from Besiktas Istanbul; and two top talents from Efes: Melih Tunca and Kaan Tarla.
11. Dolomiti Energia Trento
Group A ranking: 5
Dolomiti Energia Trento appear in the EuroCup for the eighth season and Paolo Galbiati is in year two, hoping to lead the Italians to big things with a roster full of interesting players.
The face of the club is 38-year-old Andres Forray, who has been with Trento since 2011. Two other returning players are actually two of the most intriguing youngsters in the league - both solid contenders for the Rising Star Award. The 21-year-old Great British playmaker Quinn Ellis had a solid first EuroCup campaign with 8.9 points and 3.8 assists, and 20-year-old Senegalese wing Saliou Niang took a solid role last season.
Jordan Ford is a three-point marksman who will be making his European debut, just like Anthony Lamb, who played last season with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL. Myles Cale is a wing shooter who can playmake when needed while 6-8 big man Jordan Bayehe played for Cameroon at the 2023 FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament and this past summer’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament; and 6-10 center Selom Mawugbe led Germany in blocks in 2022-23 at Rostock Seawolves.
Other players of note are Andrea Pecchia, who helped Cremona become second division A2 Gold champions in 2023, Eigirdas Zukauskas, who played last two seasons with Wolves Vilnius, and 18-year-old Romanian talent Denis Badalau, who starred with Milano last in the youth ranks in Italy.
10. Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse
Group B ranking: 5
Cosea JL Bourge-en-Bresse come into the season as the Finalist from 2023-24 - not to mention the team with the most wins in the competition over the last three seasons: 61 victories. All of that however is in the past and will not help Coach Frederic Fauthoux’s team win a game this year - which sees a completely different group of players who also have a target on their backs.
Fauthoux has back with him two of the faces of the club: 23-year-old point guard Hugo Benitez, who is with Bourg for his fifth season and has played in all 61 of those EuroCup games; and Maxime Courby, who is entering his 10th season with Bourg. Also returning is Angola national team center Kevin Kokila and Belarus big man Maksim Salash.
That group will most be helped by the 33-year-old veteran Brandon Paul and 29-year-old point guard Mehdy Ngouama, who helped Paris Basketball win the EuroCup title last season.
A big name in French basketball, Joel Ayayi also joins the club after making his European debut last season with Nanterre. Other arrivals are Jordan Usher, who guided Perth Wildcats to the Australian NBL Semi-Finals last season as well as Xavier Castaneda and Adrian Nelson, who are in their second seasons in Europe after debuting in Greece and Germany respectively last year; and 6-10 center Jean-Marc Pensa, who has played the last four seasons in the ProB second division.
9. Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Group B ranking: 4
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana have struggled the last two seasons after reaching the EuroCup Quarter-Finals in 2021-22. To change that, club management brought in head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, who took AS Monaco to the EuroCup crown in 2021 and coached at Galatasaray last season. The team will once again have solid talent.
Cedevita feature some of the leaders of the Slovenian national team - both in the past and current as well in the future. Jaka Blazic just refuses to slow down as he has turned 34. There is also the 29-year-old playmaker Aleksej Nikolic as well as 23-year-olds Gregor Glas, Rok Radovic and Bine Prepelic, the latter who played the last two seasons with Charleroi in Belgium.
One of the key imports will be point guard DeVante Jones, who in his second season in France in 2023-24 ranked second in scoring (15.9 ppg) and fifth in assists (5.2 apg) and played together with Victor Wembanyama in 2022-23 at Metropolitans.
DJ Stewart is back for a second season with Cedevita, Brynton Lemar will be making his EuroCup debut after two seasons in the Basketball Champions League, Devin Robinson and Martinas Geben both spent the last 1.5 seasons with Manresa in Spain and Derek Ogbeide arrives from the Italian second divison A2.
8. U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Group B ranking: 3
U-BT Cluj Napoca reached the Quarter-Finals last season and the Romanian powerhouse just wants to keep going forward. Head coach Mihai Silvasan has been with the club since 2002 as a player and coach, the latter since 2016-17.
Silvasan can count on a number of leaders from last year’s team, topped by 34-year-old point guard Patrick Richard, who was named to the All-EuroCup team in his fifth season with the club, having also taking on the Romanian citizenship. Cuban Karol Guzman is in year five with the club while French shooting guard Adam Mokoka, Latvian international power forward Mareks Mejeris and Romanian international wing Mihai Maciuca are in their second seasons with the team.
New in Cluj is 6-11 center Zach Hankins, who played the last two seasons with Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and led the league in rebounds and blocks in 2022-23; the 2022 EuroCup winner Kevin Hervey, who played at Reggio Emilia and Hapoel Holon last season; 6-foot-0 point guard Zavier Simpson, who makes his European debut after four seasons between the NBA and G-League following four years at University of Michigan; and the 34-year-old center De’Shawn Stephens, who played the last four seasons in the Basketball Champions League.
Two other big names of note are 33-year-old Finnish international sharpshooter Sasu Salin, who played the last 9.5 seasons in Spain - the last five with Tenerife, with whom he won the BCL in 2022 and reached the Final last season; and 19-year-old star Romanian talent Tudor Somacescu, who carried the country to the title at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024, Division B and is in his second season back in Romania after playing with Overtime Elite in the United States.
7. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
Group B ranking: 2
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem are back in the EuroCup after playing in the Basketball Chamnpions League for the last six seasons. Yonatan Alon returns as head coach after he took over as playcaller in March 2024, having started the season as the club’s general manager. Jerusalem beat Maccabi Tel Aviv to win the Israeli Cup but lost to Maccabi in the playoff Semi-Finals. Jerusalem have put together a strong roster with the hope of winning their second EuroCup crown following 2004.
Jerusalem have four of their key leaders back from last season with 34-year-old small forward Chris Johnson; 31-year-old Kenneth “Speedy” Smith, who led the Israeli league in assists and was third in the BCL; 28-year-old shooting guard Khadeen Carrington; and Yovel Zoosman, who was back in Israel after playing the last two seasons in the EuroLeague with ALBA Berlin Germany.
Jeremy Morgan arrives in Jerusalem with winning pedigree, having helped Telekom Baskets Bonn win the BCL title in 2023 and then helped Bourg to the EuroCup Final last season. Austin Wiley gives Jerusalem an excellent big man, having led the Turkish league and BCL in rebounds and blocks last season with Tofas Bursa.
In addition, Justin Smith won the G-League in 2023 and played the BCL in 2023-24 with Hapoel UNET Holon; Jared Harper played in the EuroLeague the last two seasons with Valencia, and Nimrod Levi is a 6-10 Israeli national team power forward. The club also had 6-11 Georgian center Gabriel Chachashvili and 22-year-old point guard prospect Noam Dvorak.
6. Dreamland Gran Canaria
Group A ranking: 5
Dreamland Gran Canaria are one of the greatest clubs in EuroCup history with 165 victories - the second-most in the record books - as well as the 2023 title. Jaka Lakovic is back at the helm for a third season and he expects another strong season with another strong roster.
Consistency in the roster has been one of the club’s keys to success. Nicolas Brussino and Miquel Salvo are back for a fourth year; John Shurna is in year six; Andrew Albicy is now in his fifth season; three-point shooter Pierre Pelos is back for a second season; and 23-year-old Jovan Kljajic has been with Gran Canaria since 2016 save for a two-year hiatus from 2020 to 2022
Management gave Lakovic plenty of toys to play with, including signing former All-EuroCup wing Caleb Homesley, 6-10 Puerto Rico international center George Conditt, Slovenian national team center Mike Tobey as well as Georgia national team guard Joe Thomasson, who has played with five teams in the last two seasons including for Maccabi Tel Aviv starting in February 2024.
One other name of note is Carlos Alocen, who once was one of Spain’s biggest point guard talents, leaving his hometown club Zaragoza as team captain at age 19 to join Real Madrid. But he missed nearly two full seasons with injuries and only returned last November and is looking to re-establish his career - still at just 23 years of age.
5. Bahceshir College Istanbul
Group A ranking: 4
Bahcesehir College Istanbul marks their return to the EuroCup for their second season following 2020-21. The Turkish club played in the Basketball Champions League in 2023-24 and this season hopes to make a major mark on the EuroCup. They have in charge Dejan Radonjic, a playcaller with many years of EuroLeague experience who signed with the club in December 2023. Management also gave him players with a lot of EuroLeague experience.
Jaleen Smith and Mateusz Ponitka have played in the EuroLeague for the last three and five years, respectively with the Polish national team star Ponitka returning to Türkiye after playing with Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir back in 2016-17. Tyler Cavanaugh is one of the few players returning and the power forward played three years in the EuroLeague.
Marko Simonovic helped Besiktas reach the EuroCup Semi-Finals last season after having played in the EuroLeague with Crvena Zvezda Belgrade in the past. Sehmus Hazer played three years in the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and 33-year-old Can Mutaf has appeared in the EuroLeague in five seasons.
Also back on the team is 2023 EuroCup finalist and three-point ace Axel Bouteille while the club added Tai Odiase and CJ Massinburg, who played together in 2022-23 with Brescia in Italy.
4. Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul
Group A ranking: 3
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul enter the season as one of the top contenders after having reached the Semi-Finals last season in their return to the competition for the first time since 2015-16. Besiktas brought back some of the key components of the team including 2021-22 EuroCup Coach of the Year Dusan Alimpijevic.
The Serbian coach and 33-year-old veteran point guard Derek Needham have a special bond, working together now for a fourth season. And that connection carries over onto the rest of the team.
Also back for a second season are electric 27-year-old point guard Kyle Allman, Jonah Matthews, who played in the EuroLeague in 2022-23 with LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Turkish veterans Berk Ugurlu and Yigit Arslan. The talented big man Kerem Konan, who turns 20 on October 9, has already made an impact on the team last season and has been with the club since 2020.
Management brought in some strong parts to go with the returnees. Dustin Sleva brought Paris Basketball from the second division to the ProA and played in Spain last season with Murcia besides having played with Allman in Paris. Emanuel Terry meanwnhile is a 28-year-old athletic center; Kelan Martin is a wing with good size and three-point range; and Conor Morgan helped London Lions reach the EuroCup Semi-Finals last season and has four seasons of experience in Spain.
3. Joventut Badalona
Group A ranking: 2
Joventut Badalona are one of the mainstays of the competition, having won the title in 2008. The Spanish club made a coaching change and 54-year-old Daniel Miret takes over from Carles Duran after serving three years as assistant coach to Duran, who was at the helm since February 2018. The club still remains committed to their mix of veterans and high level talents.
Ante Tomic and Pau Ribas are both 37 years old and still going strong while Guillem Vives is 31 as the old core of returners. That trio aren’t the only players with a 3 in front of their age as new arrival Adam Hanga is 35 with a decade of EuroLeague experience and back in Spain after playing last season at Crvena Zvezda Belgrade. Artem Pustovyi is a 32-year-old Ukrainian center who has been in Spain since 2015 and 30-year-old scorer Kassius Robertson played at Valencia last year in his EuroLeague debut.
Joventut have other non-30 year olds coming back as well, including highly regarded talents 18-year-old star Croatian prospect Michael Ruzic and 22-year-old Netherlands wing Yannick Kraag as well as 25-year-old Josep Busquets, who will have his fourth season as a major contributor.
The other new arrivals are Kaiser Gates, who spent the last two seasons in the G-League but played with Hapoel Jerusalem in 2021-22; point guard Devon Dotson, who debuted in Europe starting in March 24 with Obradoiro in Spain; as well as Netherlands national team point guard Keye Van Der Vuurst, who turns 23 in December and was in Spain for the first time last season with Palencia and averaged 5.6 assists after six seasons with Belgian powerhouse Filou Oostende and three seasons in the Basketball Champions League.
One big question mark is if Ricky Rubio will continue to play basketball. The 34-year-old long time NBA superstar and FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 MVP has hinted he will play for the club of his youth and rise. But the move is still not certain.
2. Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Group A ranking: 1
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv reached the Quarter-Finals in their first two EuroCup campaigns and the club enters this season looking to finally win the crown. They have handed the reins to Stefanos Dedas, who was assistant coach at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul last season, and gave him a loaded roster.
The biggest addition is 12-year NBA veteran Patrick Beverley while Ish Wainwright returns to Europe after three seasons in the NBA. Hapoel also brought in star center Johnathan Motley, who played EuroLeague for two years with Fenerbahce, including last season with Dedas. Another signing was Ben Bentil, who spent last year in Japan after four seasons in the EuroLeague.
Dedas has a veteran point guard to lead the team with Joe Ragland, who turns 35 in November and has a long international career, including playing for Vassilis Spanoulis at Peristeri last season and leading the Greek league and Basketball Champions League in assists. Hapoel also added more depth in the post with Brazilian international center Bruno Caboclo, who played with Partizan Belgrade last season after winning the German championship in 2023 with ratiopharm Ulm.
A trio of players are back with Hapoel as Bar Timor returns for a fifth year, Colombian Brian Angola-Rodas is playing a second season with the team and Israeli international power forward Tomer Ginat is in his third season with Hapoel after two years with Metropolitans in France.
Hapoel management wasn’t done though as they also brought in Marcus Foster, who played the last 1.5 years at Rytas Vilnius; the 31-year-old Israeli international small forward Oz Blayzer, who joins the team after two seasons with Hapoel Jerusalem and before that two years with Maccabi Tel Aviv; 19-year-old star guard talent Noam Yaacov from LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne; and 23-year-old Guy Palatin, who led the Israeli league in steals in three of the last four seasons.
1. Valencia Basket
Group B ranking: 1
Valencia Basket are record EuroCup champions with four crowns - 2003, 2010, 2014 and 2019 - to go along with two more appearances in the Finals - in 2012 and 2017. The Spanish side is back in the EuroCup after two years in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. And new head coach Pedro Martinez, who spent the last five seasons at Manresa, doesn’t want them to stick around very long in the EuroCup. Club management equipped the team with a roster that could compete this season in the EuroLeague with a number of players with EuroLeague experience while also keeping some consistency from last season.
Chris Jones, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui, Jaime Pradilla, Nathan Reuvers, Semi Ojeleye, Stefan Jovic and Josep Puerto are all back from last year’s Valencia team as well as 18-year-old star 6-foot-6 point guard talent Sergio De Larrea, who made his EuroLeague debut last season. In addition to the EuroLeague experience, Lopez-Arostegui and Pradilla also helped Spain win the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 title and played in the 2024 Olympics.
Valencia have remade their frontline with the trio of Matt Costello, Ethan Happ and Nathan Sestina - the latter playing with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul last season after helping Turk Telekom Ankara reach the 2023 EuroCup Final. And they added Chris Chiozza, who played in the EuroLeague last season with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.
As if all that weren’t enough, Valencia snatched up the leading contender for the EuroCup Rising Star Award, 21-year-old point guard Jean Montero. The Dominican Republic national team leader will be playing his third season in Spain after one campaign with each Real Betis Sevilla and Andorra, finishing third and second in scoring in the Spanish league in the last two seasons respectively.
Also new to the team is Brancou Badio, a 25-year-old guard who plays with the Senegal national team and played two full seasons under new Valencia head coach Martinez while at Manresa.
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