By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Which team has the best winning percentage at home in the history of the Euroleague? Eurohoops.net counted all the home games and reveals the ten “hottest” home courts!
How hard is it for a team to win on CSKA Moscow’s home court, or FC Barcelona Lassa’s? Vary hard! As is evidenced by the data of 16 seasons in the history of the competition, some home courts a very difficult to conquer.
Eurohoops.net, then, counted all the home games played by the teams with the longest and most consistent presence in all phases of the competition without, of course, counting the Final Four games.
The survey has to do with any teams that have taken part in the Euroleague for at least eight seasons, which means half of the seasons during the period from 2000-01 onwards. For example, Benetton Treviso definitely deserve an honorable mention, but they took part in the Euroleague in only seven years and have been consistently absent from 2007-08 until today. The Italian team, however, has an 83,8% win rate with 57 wins and only 11 defeats at home. If we didn’t take into account this component, Benetton would be in second place on this particular list. However, every team has to have a proportional duration in order for its home court to be registered as one of the best.
Immediately after the top ten teams, six more teams follow that have more than eight seasons of participation and at least a 50% win rate at home!
Here is the list of the teams that follow after the top ten:
| Ranking | Team | Win rate | Wins-Defeats | Seasons |
| 11 | KK Cibona | 61,4% | 54-34 | 11 |
| 12 | Fenerbahce Istanbul | 59,7% | 86-58 | 15 |
| 13 | KK Partizan | 55,2% | 58-47 | 13 |
| 14 | Union Olimpija Ljubljana | 54,8% | 51-42 | 13 |
| 15 | Zalgiris Kaunas | 52,5% | 73-66 | 16 |
| 16 | EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | 50% | 38-38 | 10 |
10. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Win rate: 62,8%
Wins-Defeats: 93-55
Best season: 100% (11-0 wins, 2004-05)
Worst season: 33,3% (4-8 wins, 2013-14)
Efes had one of the strongest home courts in the Euroleague in the first years of their presence in the competition. In the two years from 2003 to 2005, the Turkish team had a 95% success rate in their home games with 20 wins in a total of 21 games, with their perfect record coming in the 2004-05 season! By contrast, their worst season was in 2013-14 when they had only 4 wins in 12 games.
9. Unicaja Malaga
Win rate: 63%
Wins-Defeats: 87-51
Best season: 100% (10-0 wins, 2007-08)
Worst season: 25% (2-6 wins, 2011-12)
Unicaja is the team with the highest win rate at home in their 15 participations in the Euroleague among the teams that have qualified to the top eight of the tournament only once, in their only presence in a Final Four. The Spanish team, however, has the worst defeat rate away from home (only 36,5%) among those that have the ten top home courts. Nevertheless, Unicaja managed to complete the 2007-08 season undefeated with a 10-0 win record.
8. Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
Win rate: 73,3%
Wins-Defeats: 121-44
Best season: 100% (11-0 wins 2005-06, 11-0 wins 2006-07)
Worst season: 41,7% (5-7 wins 2013-14)
Laboral is one of only four teams in the history of the Euroleague (together with Barcelona, Olympiacos and Zalgiris) that have taken part in all 16 seasons of the tournament. The Basques are one of the most traditional powers, in fact, the only team to complete two consecutive seasons undefeated at home in 22-0, in the years 2005-06 and 2006-07. By contrast, the two years between 2012 and 2014 were Laboral’s worst with 12 wins and 14 defeats in total.
7. Montepaschi Siena
Win rate: 73,8%
Wins-Defeats: 76-27
Best season: 90,9% (10-1 wins, 2007-08)
Worst season: 40% (2-3 wins, 2013-14)
A team that made history in the Euroleague for 11 seasons was Siena, a team that for several years was one of the most powerful forces. And, in addition to that, their home court was one of the most difficult and toughest in Europe. In fact, in the four years between 2008 and 2011, under the instructions of Simone Pianigiani, Siena had an 87,1% win rate at home with 34 wins in a total of 39 games, and took part in two Final Fours.
6. Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
Win rate: 77,4%
Wins-Defeats: 123-36
Best season: 91,7% (11-1 wins, 2005-06)
Worst season: 40% (2-3 wins, 2015-16)
Traditionally, Maccabi have one of the strongest and “noisiest” home courts in the Euroleague. In fact, the Israelis are the only team whose games in recent years are consistently sold out! The atmosphere that is created in the Menora Mivtachim Arena is unique, but the impressive fact is that Maccabi have never been able to complete a season without a home defeat. Their worst year was this year, with three defeats in a total of five games.
5. Olympiacos Piraeus
Win rate: 77,8%
Wins-Defeats: 130-37
Best season: 100% (10-0 wins, 2009-10)
Worst season: 40% (4-6 wins, 2003-04)
In recent years Olympiacos have significantly strengthened their effectiveness in front of their fans. The “red-and-whites” tally 72 wins in 82 games in the seven years between 2008-09 and last year, a win rate that amounts to 87%! In the middle of the last decade Olympiacos experienced a significant decline in their performance and, as a result, in defending their home court.
4. Panathinaikos Athens
Win rate: 77,9%
Wins-Defeats: 127-36
Best season: 100% (10-0 wins, 2007-08)
Worst season: 60% (6-4 wins, 2003-04)
Panathinaikos traditionally have one of the strongest and “hottest” home courts in the Euroleague. They consistently sell a high number of tickets every year and, except for the two years they didn’t play in the Olympic Sports Center, the “greens” have the highest average over a period of 15 years. In the three years from 2007 to 2009, the Olympic Sports Center was almost “impenetrable,” since in a total of 31 games they were defeated only three times. However, from the 2011-12 season onwards Panathinaikos have been consistently losing four times at home.
3. Real Madrid
Win rate: 78%
Wins-Defeats: 114-32
Best season: 100% (15-0 wins, 2013-14)
Worst season: 40% (4-6 wins, 2001-02)
Madrid have exactly the same win rate as Panathinaikos but in a smaller number of games. The European champions have mightily improved their performances at home in the four years between 2011 and 2015, since in a total of 51 games they had only 4 defeats! It’s no coincidence that in this period they found themselves in three Final Fours and won the title last year.
2. FC Barcelona Lassa
Win rate: 82,9%
Wins-Defeats: 141-29
Best season: 100% (10-0 wins, 2002-03, 2011-12)
Worst season: 60% (6-4 wins, 2004-05)
Barcelona have an 82,9% win rate, showing a remarkable consistency in their performances at home. The Catalans have been very effective at home all these years and, in fact, for two seasons they have only celebrated wins in front of their fans. In 2002-03 they won the title in Barcelona with an ideal finish to their season, while in the 2011-12 season they lost in the semifinal of the Final Four to Olympiacos Piraeus.