The 2019-20 Euroleague will be the 20th season of the tournament and is called as the 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for sponsorship reasons. There will be a total of 18 teams that will participate in basketball action from October 3, 2019, to May 24, 2020.
The Euroleague is the too-tier professional basketball league in Europe which was organized by Euroleague Basketball in 2000. The competition replaced the former FIBA Euroleague which was also known as the European Cup or FIBA European Champions Cup which had been run by FIBA since 1958.
A total of 21 different clubs have won the Euroleague, including 13 who have won the title more than once. Real Madrid is the most successful club with a total of 10 wins at the Euroleague. The current champions are CSKA Moscow who won their 8th title by defeating Anadolu Efes in the finals of the 2018-19 Euroleague season.
Interestingly, offseason moves have made CSKA only third in the early odds board to win the 2019-20 Euroleague title. Last season’s favorites and third placer Real Madrid are on top of the list right now.
Here are the odds to win the 2019-20 Euroleague season. These odds were taken from TitanBet as of 7/22/19:
Team | Odds |
---|---|
Real Madrid | +300 |
Barcelona | +400 |
CSKA Moscow | +450 |
Fenerbahce | +450 |
Anadolu Efes | +1000 |
Panathinaikos | +1600 |
Olympiacos | +1600 |
Baskonia | +2000 |
Olimpia Milano | +2500 |
Maccabi Tel Aviv | +4000 |
Khimki | +4000 |
Zalgiris | +40000 |
Real Madrid is the defending Spanish league champions. The 35-time Spanish champions have won the Euroleague a record 10 times, the last of which was in 2018. Real Madrid has made the Euroleague Final Four in seven out of the last nine seasons.
Real Madrid salvaged their 2018-19 season by defeating Fenerbahce in the battle for third place. Real Madrid were the favorites to win this year after defeating Fenerbahce 85-80 in the finals of the 2017-18 season. Real Madrid made it to the Final Four again this year, achieving the feat for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. However, after playing excellent basketball for the first 30 minutes of the game, Real Madrid collapsed in the final 10 minutes to give CSKA Moscow the victory. Despite the loss, Real Madrid still has one of the best teams in the Euroleague. With the likes of Sergio Lull, Facundo Campazzo, Rudy Fernandez and Anthony Randolph. Campazzo set a Euroleague Final Four record with 15 assists.
Barcelona finished last season at 5th place and faced Anadolu Efes in the playoffs. The two-time Euroleague champions forced a winner-take-all fifth game against Anadolu Efes but fell short in making their first Final Four appearance since 2014. Barcelona recently extended the tenure of head coach Svestislav Pesic until the 2021 season, thereby giving this team continuity for at least the next couple of seasons. With the recent signings of former NBA player Nikola Mirotic and CSKA Moscow standout Cory Higgins plus the return of Alex Abrines who spent the last three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, Barcelona is making big moves in the offseason which should make them as strong Euroleague betting favorites to win in 2019-20.
CSKA Moscow is the defending Euroleague 2019 champions. CSKA Moscow defeated Anadolu Efes in the finals for their 8th Euroleague title and their first since 2016. The Russian League and VTB champions will be led by 2019 Euroleague MVP Will Clayburn and will be bolstered by former NBA big man Kostas Koufos plus the addition of Darrun Hillard and Johannes Voigtmann from Kirolbet Baskonia and Jan Strelneiks from Olympiacos. However, CSKA will have to defend their titles without Nando de Colo who has transferred to Fenerbahce and Cory Higgins who has joined Barcelona.
Fenerbahce was the best team during the Euroleague 2018-19 regular season with a record of 25-5. However, they lost to eventual champions CSKA Moscow in the semifinals. Fenerbahce were finalists in 2018 where they lost to Real Madrid and they were Euroleague champions in 2017. The Turkish Cup 2019 winners have made the Euroleague Final Four in each of the last five seasons. They have added the services of Nando de Colo and former NBA player Derrick Williams but have lost Nicolo Melli and Marko Guduric to the NBA.
Anadolu Efes were the runners-up in 2019 after defeating Barcelona in the Final Four. Their title appearance against CSKA Moscow last May represented their best finish ever in the Euroleague and it also came on the same season where they reached their first Final Four. The Turkish Super League champions will be led by former NBA veteran Shane Larkin and 2019 All-Euroleague second-team selection Vasilije Micic.
It’s still a long offseason and we may still see old faces to go new faces in the next couple of month before the season begins. But when you look at what has happened so far, it looks like Barcelona has made the most strides in the summer with the additions of Higgins and Mirotic.
The champions CSKA Moscow will be without Nando de Colo and Cory Higgins who have moved on to other teams. Real Madrid hasn’t tinkered their roster year while last season’s runner-up Anadolu Efes hasn’t made big moves either. Fenerbahce has upgraded with Nando de Colo and Derrick Williams as well.
Barcelona has not made the Final Four since 2014 but the arrival of Mirotic and Higgins should turn the tide next season. Whether they go all the way remain to be seen but for now, I like how Barca has shaped up its roster this summer. I expect Barcelona to be a strong contender next season. Prediction: Barcelona +400
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