The EuroLeague season draws near, and Hedgeout.net looks into the teams that have the potential to be EuroLeague defensive juggernauts ahead of the 2024–25 campaign. EuroLeague is known for its stingy defenses and the physicality that coaches allow to their strategy each game.
Last season, all four teams that made the 2024 EuroLeague Final Four were at least top-10 in defense, while two of them were the top-2 defensive teams in the league. Olympiacos led the way in that category, taking advantage of its size by allowing just 75 points per contest. Greek League rival Panathinaikos followed with 77.1 points per game as the second-best EuroLeague defensive team in the regular season.
Panathinaikos was eventually the team to win the competition as they shut down Real Madrid in the second half of the final to add their 7th title in the history of the club. In any case, defense will be the name of the game again this season, and whichever team is able to physically impose itself will likely be the most successful in the upcoming season.
Here are three teams that could make a run to become the top defensive squads of the season.
Real Madrid might be a EuroLeague defensive juggernaut this season.
Real Madrid might lose some two-way firepower after missing Guerschon Yabusele. However, the team remains poised to be successful, and its defensive tools might be enough to cover for the fact that they missed some key offensive initiators in Rudy Fernandez and Yabusele.
We can witness one of the most dominant front lines in the history of the league this season, with the “Whites” retaining Edy Tavares and making the additions of Usman Garuba and Serge Ibaka.
Ibaka remains an elite shot-blocker despite his age, and Edy Tavares has been towering over the rest of the EuroLeague defensive centers with his amazing size and skill. Finally, Garuba can be a dynamo on the defensive end, and his ability to add more muscle to the Real Madrid frontline could prove valuable.
Partizan’s roster overturn could prove beneficial in setting up a EuroLeague defensive powerhouse.
Partizan Belgrade appeared to overturn most of its previous roster in the hope of improving its defensive standing in the league. Last season, the Serbian powerhouse was barely off the top-5 worst defenses in the league, allowing almost 85 points per game. This season, Zeljko Obradovic decided to move the needle and add more defensive versatility to his team.
Frank Ntilikina is an elite point-of-attack defender, while Isaac Bonga has the size and versatility to play on both ends of the floor. Aleksej Pokusevski was a defensive specialist in the NBA. He will be able to do the same as an elite wing defender in the EuroLeague while expanding his offensive repertoire under Zeljko Obradovic.
With those players and some newly acquired elite size, Partizan might be in place to become a EuroLeague defensive powerhouse. Some might say that Partizan’s might excel again on the offensive side of the ball, but, in our opinion, the Serbians will need to be better on the defensive end in order to make it back to the EuroLeague playoffs.