Euroleague is under new management, Efes are aiming for a threepeat, and there’s a rather different look to the line-up. It’s definitely going to be a unique season in Euroleague if nothing else, writes Emmet Ryan
As ever with the Euroleague off-season there was plenty of drama off the court but we’ve had months to chew over that and we’re all eager for the actual games. We’ll get to the politics, don’t worry, but let’s deal with some actual basketball narratives first.
Chasing history
Threepeats are extraordinarily rare in the top tier of European basketball. There have only been two, ever, and none in the current Euroleague era. ASK Riga from 1958 to 1960 and KK Split (best known as Jugoplastika but they were POP 84 for the last one) from 1989 to 1991.
There have been many close calls as well as eras so dominant it’s just plain surprising that nobody else managed it. Real Madrid won 4 in 5 years from 1964-68 but, sure enough, it was the middle one they didn’t win so that denied them. Varese won 5 in 7 years from 1970 to 1976 but never managed to nab three in a row.
Since Jugoplastika’s threepeat there have been back to back titles for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Olympiacos while Panathinaikos had their extraordinary run in odd numbered years which included 3 in five years where a single even numbered year win would have locked in a threepeat.
That’s what Ergin Ataman is chasing. His Anadolu Efes side has won the last two championships, both in dramatic title games, and may have already done a threepeat had it not been for the prior year being cancelled due to the pandemic. Maybe never won anything though and that will drive Ataman to be able to do what he does best, win something and then say it’s an even better win than we think. Being a maybe threepeat is one thing, being able to claim he was denied a four in a row by the pandemic…oh, give me that version of Ataman.
As a side, Efes remains largely intact. Kruno Simon is the most significant departure but there is talent everywhere. Keeping most of the band together, especially Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic, is the great achievement of Ataman and the front office. Can they do it? Sure. Will they? Well that’s a much tougher question.
The top of the pile
There’s been somewhat of a post-pandemic arms race in Euroleague and it has clearly been led by Barcelona and Real Madrid. Even with Nikola Mirotic on the sidelines with an achilles injury for the time being,…
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