The Euroleague.net experts provide their updated power rankings for the midway point of the 2024-25 regular season
Power Rankings at the midway point of the regular season
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Welcome to the December edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Power Rankings. The following list is the brainchild of EuroLeague.net's team of experts, which is made up of Geoff Gillingham, Javier Gancedo, Frankie Sachs and Igor Petrinovic.
The power rankings represent where the experts rank if compared to all teams right now and not necessarily where they feel they will be at the end of the season.
Next to each team, there are several numbers. First is the team's record. It is followed by the highest rank on any individual ballot and the next number represents the lowest.
1. Olympiacos Piraeus (11-6); 1, 2
Previous rankings: Preseason - 2. November - 1.
Best case scenario: Sasha Vezenkov cannot be stopped and Olympiacos takes the crown for the first time in more than a decade.
Worst case scenario: The Reds drop a few unexpected games, don’t have home-court advantage for the playoffs and miss out on the Final Four.
2. AS Monaco (11-6) 1, 3
Previous rankings: Preseason - 6. November - 8.
Best case scenario: Coach Vassilis Spanoulis has the magic touch he possessed as a player and Monaco makes history with its first EuroLeague championship.
Worst case scenario: A bevvy of road games and some injuries stop Monaco from reaching its peak and the team falls out of the top four and loses in the playoffs.
3. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (10-7) 2, 4
Previous rankings: Preseason - 1. November - 2.
Best case scenario: The EuroLeague Trophy returns to Athens for the second straight season.
Worst case scenario: The Greens never fully recover from the injury to Mathias Lessort and are not up to the task when the playoffs roll around.
4. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (10-6) 4, 8
Previous rankings: Preseason - 3. November -3.
Best case scenario: Nigel Hayes-Davis and Wade Baldwin become the league’s most dangerous scoring tandem and lead Fenerbahce to an assault on the title.
Worst case scenario: Inconsistency plagues the team and drives Coach Jasikevicius mad as Fenerbahce drops into the Play-In Showdown range.
5. Paris Basketball (11-5) 3, 8
Previous rankings: Preseason - 17. November - 4.
Best case scenario: TJ Shorts keeps Paris on its miracle run all the way to the Final Four.
Worst case scenario: The marathon of the EuroLeague schedule catches up with the debutant, which slips out of the playoff picture.
6. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (10-7) 5, 9
Previous rankings: Preseason - 7. November - 7.
Best case scenario: A healthy Shane Larkin rekindles the Efes magic and - after a two-year hiatus – leads the team back to the Final Four.
Worst case scenario: Larkin cannot capture his peak form, the chemistry never fully develops and Efes loses in the Play-In Showdown.
7. FC Bayern Munich (11-6) 5, 9
Previous rankings: Preseason - 15. November - 6.
Best case scenario: Bayern never loses at home, Carsen Edwards leads the league in scoring and Coach Herbert guides the team to the Final Four.
Worst case scenario: A grueling stretch of games to start the second-half of the regular season deflates Bayern, which never recovers and finishes the regular season outside the top 10.
8. Real Madrid (8-9) 6, 9
Previous rankings: Preseason - 4. November - 9.
Best case scenario: All the players get healthy, management adds a key reinforcement and Los Blancos play in the championship game for the fourth year running.
Worst case scenario: Age and injuries take their toll and Real Madrid has to fight just to make the Play-In Showdown.
9. Zalgiris Kaunas (10-7) 7, 12
Previous rankings: Preseason - 13. November - 10.
Best case scenario: Lonnie Walker and co. continue to thrill fans across Europe all season long, Coach Trinchieri’s defense wreaks havoc and Zalgiris parties its way to Game 5 of the playoffs.
Worst case scenario: Walker leaves during the season, the Zalgiris attack sputters and the team cannot qualify for the Play-In showdown.
10. FC Barcelona (9-8) 7, 13
Previous rankings: Preseason - 5. November - 5.
Best case scenario: The balance between Kevin Punter on the perimeter and a deep frontline wears down opponents and Barcelona marches to the Final Four.
Worst case scenario: Barcelona can’t find a remedy for its inconsistency and its defensive flaws keep the team from reaching the playoffs.
11. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (9-8) 6, 14
Previous rankings: Preseason - 8. November - 13.
Best case scenario: Milan finds a solution at center, the duo of Nikola Mirotic and Zach LeDay do the heavy lifting as Milan works itself back into the playoff picture.
Worst case scenario: Milan’s six-game winning streak proves to have been an aberration, and the team struggles to stay pace with the top 10 in the standings.
12. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (8-9) 10, 12
Previous rankings: Preseason - 16. November - 15.
Best case scenario: Theo Maledon enters the MVP discussion as ASVEL stuns fans across the continent and reaches the playoffs for the first time under the modern format.
Worst case scenario: Teams find a way to stop Maledon and ASVEL cannot respond. The team falls back to the far end of the standings.
13. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (9-8) 12, 14
Previous rankings: Preseason - 12. November - 11.
Best case scenario: Zvezda gets even tougher with the addition of John Brown and the magic of Milos Teodosic shines in key moments as Zvezda plays its way into the Play-In Showdown.
Worst case scenario: It turns out that Zvezda has peaked too early, the team cannot win close games and it does not threaten for a spot in the next stage by the end of the season.
14. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (7-10) 11, 14
Previous rankings: Preseason - 9. November - 17.
Best case scenario: Coach Obradovic is able to maximize the talent on the roster and Carlik and Tyrique Jones lead Partizan on an impressive winning streak and into the top half of the standings.
Worst case scenario: The talent is not enough; Partizan pays dearly for some narrow losses and the dream of reaching the postseason goes up in flames.
15. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (7-10) 15, 16
Previous rankings: Preseason - 11. November - 14.
Best case scenario: Thanks to Coach Laso’s championship pedigree, Chima Moneke’s superstar skills and Markus Howard’s otherworldly shooting, Baskonia gets hot and plays its way into the postseason.
Worst case scenario: The Round 15 loss to Virtus haunts the team, which heads into a tailspin and finishes near the bottom of the standings.
15. Virtus Segafredo Bologna (4-13) 15, 16
Previous rankings: Preseason - 16. November - 16.
Best case scenario: Coach Ivanovic’s fire turns this team around and Virtus makes a run at the Play-In Showdown.
Worst case scenario: Even the coaching change is just a short-term boost and an aging roster dooms Virtus to a spot near the bottom of the standings.
17. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (4-13), 17, 17
Previous rankings: Preseason - 14. November - 12.
Best case scenario: Everyone gets healthy, the rookies take a step forward and a feisty squad gives fans reasons to dream for next season.
Worst case scenario: The bottom drops out and Maccabi falls to its worst regular season finish under the current EuroLeague format.
18. ALBA Berlin (3-14) 18, 18
Previous rankings: Preseason - 18. November - 18.
Best case scenario: Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida and David McCormack emerge as a dangerous core that can compete with any team.
Worst case scenario: The losing takes the sting out of ALBA’s top talents and the team finishes the season with a whimper.