We might have enough time to pick up our trade options for EuroLeague Fantasy Round 20, but Hedgeout.net is trying to think ahead of the curve with four risky but valid picks for the upcoming round.
The selections for your fantasy squad should be carefully planned considering that you only have four potential trades available this round. The main objective is to find the best budget pick in every position in order to create room for more movement in the top-talent tier.
These four picks will likely help you do that while providing an extra push to your team’s fantasy points total.
Omer Yurtseven (10.3 CR) – Panathinaikos Athens
Omer Yurtseven has not made any real impact before Mathias Lessort gruesome injury that will keep him sidelined for at least four months. Even after the Frenchman’s injury, Yurtseven needed some time to get used to his new role having to play increased minutes. Finally, the Turkish giant’s talent blossomed in the latest round with his 27-point game against Virtus Bologna.
Yurtseven dominated the game with his size, adding 7 rebounds and 2 assists along with his efficient shooting that resulted in 13 makes on 16 attempts from the field. The Turkish international market continued to grow during the weekend with 19 points on 9-of-9 shooting with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in the GBL game against PAOK.
Panathinaikos is set to face Partizan this week, a team that lacks “long” bigs inside the paint, so Yurtseven will have the chance to do some damage under the rim. At 10.3 credits, Panathinaikos big man might be a valid option for your EuroLeague Fantasy team in Round 20.
Kostas Papanikolaou (7.7 CR) – Olympiacos Piraeus
At Hedgeout.net, Olympiacos is the toughest team to assess fantasy-wise. With the exception of Sasha Vezenkov, there is no steady contributor, with Giorgos Bartzokas’ team finding a new face to perform well alongside his prized forward every week. Last week, against Zalgiris, it was Thomas Walkup, Shaquille McKissic and Kostas Papanikolaou.
For Walkup, his performance was an outlier this season, despite the fact that he showed signs of picking up his game in the last five contests. Shaquille McKissic went silent after a hot start to the 2024-25 season, and his performance against Zalgiris might be a signal of what he can offer going deeper into the season.
However, captain Kostas Papanikolaou is doing a nasty job in the last two games for the “Reds,” helping the team on both ends of the floor. With the new talent injection during the summer, the Greek international has played fewer minutes, while his EuroLeague Fantasy impact has been reduced dramatically this season.
That said, in his last two EuroLeague games, the Olympiacos captain is averaging 5.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 27.5 minutes per game, while shooting a hyperefficient 72% from the field. He established his placement as a valid two-way small-ball forward/center and his value at 7.7 credits remains a solid bargain deal for any EuroLeague Fantasy manager, at least for the upcoming round.
Matthew Strazel (6.6 CR) – AS Monaco Basket
Vassilis Spanoulis is known for his ability to elevate the game of his guard rotation in each team he has coached so far and Matthew Strazel is a stellar example of that. The Frenchman has been scoring at will during the last few weeks, adding more firepower to AS Monaco’s nuclear offense. He’s coming off an 18-point performance on 5 made threes in just 21 minutes of play in the win against ALBA Berlin.
He also lit up the board in the LNB Elite matchup against Chalon this past weekend with a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists, while he continued his hot shooting streak with 3 makes in 6 three-point attempts.
Fantasy-wise, Strazel saw his production going up the last four weeks, as he’s averaging 12.34 EuroLeague Fantasy points in the previous five games. At 6.6 credits, the young Frenchman might have some value as a bench option in your EuroLeague Fantasy squad.
Elias Rapieque (4.5 CR) – ALBA Berlin
Our weekly EuroLeague Fantasy selection from the ALBA Berlin team as the EuroLeague bottom feeders is one of our favorite destinations to find extra value and boost our EuroLeague Fantasy team. This week, we pick up youngster Elias Rapieque, who is coming off a promising performance against AS Monaco.
The 20-year-old forward is not going to impress you with his shooting ability or his offensive talent at this point, but he still receives minutes every week due to his ability to make hustle plays. Last week, he went for a career-best 9 points and 7 rebounds, adding also 3 assists in the mix in the Berliners’ defeat.
The youngster can serve your EuroLeague Fantasy team as a deep-end bench option and produce a good amount of hustle plays for your team. At 4.5 credits, he might be the best combination of value for credits in week 20.
