Now that the schedule for the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season has been unveiled, EuroLeague.net's staff is eyeing all the mouth-watering action.
Games I am looking forward to in December
Article
5 Mins read
Here are the games staff members are most excited about in December. They already selected their must-see games for Round 1, October and November.
Round 15: Ataman returns to Efes as a champion
Javier Ganceco
Round 15 brings an extraordinarily attractive game, as Anadolu Efes Istanbul hosts Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. The Greens’ head coach, Ergin Ataman, faces the club he led to consecutive EuroLeague championships in 2021 and 2022 as well as his former assistant coach, Tomislav Mijatovic, for the first time in his career. Mijatovic served as Ataman's assistant coach throughout the latter’s last stint with Efes, from December 2017 until the end of the 2022-23 season. Ataman should be ready for a battle on the sidelines against the man that may know him better than any other coach.
When you scan the matchups, it even gets better. Vincent Poirier of Efes and Mathias Lessort of Panathinaikos are set to play against each other for the first time since last season's championship game. I expect Poirier to have an extended role with Efes and Lessort has earned consecutive All-EuroLeague First Team honors with different teams, a first in EuroLeague history. Not spicy enough? Panathinaikos has not beaten Efes in Istanbul since November 2017, a month before Coach Ataman joined the team. Don't miss it!
Round 16: Saras returns with a vengeance to Palau Blaugrana
Igor Petrinovic
Call me curious, but I cannot wait to see what Sarunas Jasikevicius's return to Barcelona will look like. During his three-year head coaching tenure at Barcelona, Coach Jasikevicius guided the team to three Final Fours, which included a championship game appearance in 2021 and the best regular season record in 2022. He also led the team to two Spanish League championships and a pair of Spanish Cups. But, the club and the coach could not find common ground once Jasikevicius's contract expired last summer and they parted ways.
Jasikevicius accepted the Fenerbahce coaching gig last December. He already coached against Barca in a 14-point home win late last regular season, but this Round 16 clash marks his return to Palau Blaugrana, a very special place for him. In addition to coaching Barcelona, Saras had two stints with the club during his playing career and helped it win the 2003 EuroLeague, the first ever for the club and the first of his four titles. It will be a bag of mixed feelings for both Saras and the fans, but I expect him to make this game extra special. I also expect the fans to give him a much-deserved standing ovation and then cheer extra hard for their team and do everything in their power to see Saras lose. This game is certainly circled in my EuroLeague calendar.
Round 17: The MVP arrives in Madrid
Geoff Gillingham
In both teams’ final game before Christmas, Mike James and his AS Monaco squad travel to take on a Real Madrid side that has reached back-to-back championship games. It is the standout game of Round 17 and recent history suggests that another excellent game is in store between these two. Los Blancos came out on top 94-86 the first time they faced Monaco at WiZink Center, but 2023-24 EuroLeague MVP Mike James put on a show with a 24-point, 10-assist double-double.
The following year, James erupted for 28 points in the Spanish capital and converted a four-point play in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime, before Monaco won 94-95 in the extra period to end Real’s six-game winning streak. Last season, Real exacted revenge by knocking off Monaco 91-73 at home, then James had a 15-point, 12-assist effort – which also featured 5 steals – as the Monegasques trounced the Madrileños 98-74 in the principality. James has a habit of appearing whenever he comes up against Real Madrid, and that alone is a reason to tune in for this Round 17 clash.
Round 18: Splitter coaches for the first time in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Frankie Sachs
Tiago Splitter is one of the players who helped turn Baskonia into a EuroLeague contender during his nearly a decade there and now he hopes to do the same with Paris Basketball as a head coach. While intently focused on that task, he will surely look forward to visiting his former home when he leads Paris into Buesa Arena in one of the final games of 2024.
Splitter, who led Baskonia to four consecutive Final Fours and had his No. 21 retired last season, recently returned to Europe and the EuroLeague to begin his head coaching career and the visit to Vitoria-Gasteiz will be his first against his former club. While the outpouring of love from the stands may not be quite what is was when he was a guest of honor last season, it will still be special to see Splitter walk onto the court at Buesa Arena again.