17 seasons have gone by since the first jump ball of the EuroLeague in its modern era, and Eurohoops highlights the best teams in the competition based on a special ranking, at the same time presenting their most important achievements in the institution through charts, numbers and stats.
In the summer of 2000, Europe’s leading club competition turned the page and entered a new era. Since then, 17 years have gone by, during which the basketball fans of the Old Continent and beyond have enjoyed a rich spectacle from amazing teams and excellent basketball players who star on the courts of the best basketball league, after the NBA.
Starting from the very first clash in the EuroLeague that took place in Madrid between Real and Olympiacos on 16 October 2000, up to last season’s final in Istanbul (21 May 2017) between Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, a total of 3.814 games have been played!
During this period, the organizing authority has tried seven different formats of conducting the league, always aiming for the best possible result and the pleasure of millions of fans of the competition.
The number of teams that have taken part in the modern era of the EuroLeague comes to 83, originating from 19 different countries, while 2.700 players have honored the competition with their presence!
Only four organizations have competed in all 17 seasons of the competition. Those are Barcelona, Olympiacos, Baskonia and Zalgiris Kaunas, who are the competition’s most… faithful companions. With two more appearances, the Blaugrana will become the first team to reach 400 games (!), followed with consistency by Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow and another seven teams that count more than 300 appearances in Europe’s top basketball fiesta.
The teams that count more than 300 games in the modern history of the EuroLeague:
The Army Team is the team that is at the top of the table with the most wins and the highest percentage of successful games in the competition, Barcelona is in second place, while a total of seven organizations count over 200 (!) wins and a win rate that is over 55% in the competition.
The teams that have over 200 wins and a win rate of over 55%:
Panathinaikos have the most titles in the modern era of the EuroLeague, as they count four wins of the coveted trophy, followed by CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Tel Aviv with three each, while Olympiacos and Barcelona have two titles each. Real Madrid, Fenerbahce, and Virtus Bologna round off the top eight teams that have at least one trophy in Europe’s top club competition.
EuroLeague Champions:
Pos
Team
Euroleague Titles
Season
1
Panathinaikos
4
2001-02, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2010-11
2
CSKA Moscow
3
2005-06, 2007-08, 2015-16
3
Maccabi Tel Aviv
3
2003-04, 2004-05, 2013-14
4
Olympiacos
2
2011-12, 2012-13
5
Barcelona
2
2002-03, 2009-10
6
Real Madrid
1
2014-15
7
Fenerbahce
1
2016-17
8
Virtus Bologna
1
2000-01
Total
8 Teams
17 Titles
17 Seasons
With regard to the total number of appearances in the Final Four of the competition, CSKA Moscow is by far the most successful team, as they have twice (14) the ones Maccabi Tel Aviv and Barcelona have, who follow behind in the ranking with seven each. Overall, 15 organizations have taken part in the biggest annual fiesta of the EuroLeague at least once, while eight of them (a rate of 47.1%) left with the trophy!
The best teams in the modern era of the EuroLeague based on a special ranking by Eurohoops
After presenting some important facts from the first 17 years of the EuroLeague, let’s take a look at which of the 83 teams in total stood out with their performances, their appearances in final phases and trophy wins, that resulted in them being a part of this special ranking by Eurohoops.
Before we present the 28 organizations that managed to enter the ranking (33.7% of all the participants), here is how we ranked the teams and highlighted the best. In fact, you have the chance to view the Top 10 in the form of a countdown (from the one that is in 10th place to the one at the top).
Method of ranking: – For every trophy win, the team gets 10 points.
– Every finalist in the competition (2nd place) gets 7 points.
– For every 3rd place, the team gets 5 points.
– For every 4th place, the team gets 4 points.
– Every team that reached the quarterfinals gets 2 points.
Notes:
– For the first seasons of the competition in which there was no third place playoff, the teams that reached the semi finals got 5 points each.
– The teams that, in the first season (2000-01), chose to play in FIBA’s SuproLeague, were not included in the ranking. For the record, the champions of that competition were Maccabi Tel Aviv, Panathinaikos were the finalists, Efes and CSKA finished in 3rd and 4th place respectively, while Alba Berlin, Villeurbanne, Split and Scavolini Pesaro rounded off the rest of the top eight.
Benetton Treviso had a starring role in Italy and Europe in the 90s and 00s, before plummeting to the country’s lower divisions due to financial problems. They played in the first seven seasons of the EuroLeague in the modern era, reaching two Final Fours, while they lost the trophy to Barcelona in 2003.
Great players like Garbajosa, Langdon, Nachbar, Marconato, Edney, Bell, Zisis, Siskauskas and Bargnani have passed through the organization and kept it among the best for several seasons. Treviso’s team also has two Saporta Cups in their collection.
The best plays from Benetton Treviso’s only and lost final in 2003:
No 9. Siena (23 points)
Seasons in the EuroLeague: 11 (2002-2006, 2007-2014)
Games: 214
Record (W-D): 120-94 (56.1%)
EuroLeague Trophy: –
EuroLeague Finalists: –
Third Place: 3 times (2003, 2008, 2011)
Fourth Place: 1 time (2004)
Perhaps the best Italian team that has ever played in the EuroLeague (2000-today), despite the fact they haven’t won the trophy. In the 2003-2012 period (except for the 2006-07 season), they were a force to be reckoned with, with appearances in the Final Four and the Top Eight.
Using their very strong home court (even though small in terms of capacity) as their base, they created big problems for the stronger teams of the competition, but financial difficulties forced them to leave both the EuroLeague as well as Italy’s top division.
The best plays from Siena’s victorious third place playoff in 2011:
Since 2001 they’ve been playing in the EuroLeague continuously. Despite this, a long time went by before they could be included among the “great powers,” where they belong right now after three Final Fours in a row and being the active European champions.
For many years, the Turkish team was trying to get a leading role with huge budgets, but the addition that changed history was placing Zeljko Obradovic on the edge of the bench. In fact, the moves the management made and the agreement with the behemoth Turkish company, Dogus, show that Fener will remain among the elite for many more years to come.
The best plays from Fenerbahce’s championship game in 2017:
Seasons in the EuroLeague: 15 (2000-2003, 2004-2006, 2007-ongoing)
Games: 344
Record (W-D): 221-123 (64.2%)
EuroLeague Trophy: 1 time (2015)
EuroLeague Finalists: 2 times (2013, 2014)
Third Place: –
Fourth Place: 2 times (2011, 2017)
They are the team with the most trophies since the establishment of Europe’s top club competition (9), but in the last 17 years they have won only one (2015). Until the late 00s they were mediocre, something that has changed radically in recent seasons, as they count five appearances in the Final Four of the EuroLeague, being one of the most spectacular teams in the competition.
Led by Llull, they want to return to the “throne” of the competition, which, however, is not easy because of the strong competition there is at the top.
The best plays from Real Madrid’s championship game in 2015:
They’ve been playing in the EuroLeague uninterruptedly since the beginning of its new era and, at times, they present amazing squads that are capable of going the extra mile. In the four years between 2005-2008, with players like Prigioni, Macijauskas, Scola, Calderon and Splitter, they had consecutive appearances in the Final Four. In fact, on one of those occasions, they went all the way to the final (2005) by knocking out the hosts and favorites, CSKA Moscow, but lost the trophy to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The Basques have the scouting and the expertise that allow them to create good teams and they are always a force to be reckoned with. They’re missing a title in the competition, as they are the only organization that has five or more appearances in the Final Four without winning the EuroLeague.
The best plays from Baskonia’s victorious semifinal in 2005:
No 5. Barcelona (55 points)
Seasons in the EuroLeague: 17 (2000-ongoing)
Games: 398
Record (W-D): 274-124 (68.8%)
EuroLeague Trophy: 2 times (2003, 2010)
EuroLeague Finalists: –
Third Place: 3 times (2009, 2012, 2014)
Fourth Place: 2 times (2006, 2013)
Barcelona reach at least the top eight of the EuroLeague at a rate of 76.5% (13/17 times), a stat that shows in the best possible way their starring role in the competition. They have the most appearances (398) in the competition, as well as two trophies and seven appearances in the Final Four.
They are coming from a bad season, but their past, in conjunction with their transfer moves, anticipate their return to the top of the rankings.
The best plays from Barcelona’s championship game in 2010:
They have the most appearances, at least up to the quarterfinals, as they count 14 of them in a total of 17 seasons (82.4%) in the EuroLeague, while they are the second team in terms of overall games (393), behind Barcelona. The back-to-back wins in 2012 and 2013 are the crowning moment for the Red-and-Whites in the competition.
Even though they hadn’t reached the Final Four of Europe’s top club competition in ten whole years, in the last eight years they’ve been perhaps the most consistent team in the league. The Angelopoulos brothers becoming presidents (2006) as well as the arrival of Vassilis Spanoulis on the team (2010) have played the most crucial role in Olympiacos’s return to the elite.
The best plays from Olympiacos’s championship game in 2012:
EuroLeague Trophy: 4 times (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011)
EuroLeague Finalists: –
Third Place: 1 time (2005)
Fourth Place: 1 time (2012)
They are the most successful team in the Final Four in the modern era of the EuroLeague. The Greens have won the title four times in just six appearances in the Final Four (66.7%) and they also have a perfect record in finals (4/4). They’ve presented amazing teams in the past, while they count seven consecutive campaigns to the top eight, a fact that betrays their continued stay at the top, even though they’ve been absent from the competition’s biggest annual appointment since 2012.
Panathinaikos have the same tally of points as Olympiacos in Eurohoops’ ranking (61), but they are higher in the ranking because they’ve won the competition more times.
In second place, it’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, who, together with Olympiacos, are the only teams in the EuroLeague era (2000-today) to have won two titles in a row. In the last two seasons they haven’t been showing their best side, but their achievements and the great runs of the past, the most recent being the trophy from 2014, rank them one step below the very top of our list.
Besides, the three EuroLeague titles and seven Final Fours say everything that can be said about the dynamics of this particular team.
The best plays from Maccabi Tel Aviv’s championship game in 2014:
Third Place: 5 times (2004, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Fourth Place: 3 times (2003, 2005, 2014)
No other team could have been at the very top of our list. CSKA Moscow have the excellent harvest of 14 Final Fours in 16 appearances in the EuroLeague (87.5% success rate). They are by far the most consistent team in the competition, even though they don’t have a very good percentage once they get in the Final Four (they win the trophy 17.6% of times they reach the Final Four).
CSKA’s budget is always at a very high level, while their expertise, their history and their impressive rosters, have been keeping them at the top for many years.
The best plays from CSKA’s championship game in 2016:
