Euroleague Power Rankings - January

We are well into January and 2026, and the second round has already started. Perfect timing for the second Power Ranking of the season, taking ionce again nto account the following: A) Current form B) Performance thus far C) Projection and Potential. 

1. Monaco (13-7) | 4th Place | Previous Projection: 2nd | +1 Change

While Monaco is sitting 4th in the standings, the team from the Principality is just 1 win away from 1st place. With Spanoulis at the helm, Monaco hast the best NET Rating of all Euroleague Teams, with a +10.3 Rating when comparing Offense and Defense. They have a very active defense, being among the best in the league, very good shooting percentages, and the star power of James, Mirotic, Theis, Diallo or Okobo, with role players such as Strazel, Hayes and Blossomgame adding extra grit. Trying to unlock a bit more from Nedovic and Mirotic (who is having a good season, but can definetely score more without monopolizing the offense) can make them the clear cut favourite.

2. Fenerbahce (13-6) | 3rd Place | Previous Projection: 8th | +6 Change

What a turnaround it has been for Fenerbahce. The defending champions started the season very poorly, but now they are a win away, with a difficult game in hand (Olympiacos away), from a tied 1st place. Their defensive prowess has carried them so far, being by far the best defensive side in the Euroleague. New signings Nando De Colo and Chris Silva (akin to the mid season signings of McCollum and Bango last season) can put an even higher ceiling to a team which is a favourite for the title. If these teo gel, Fenerbahce will be the number 1 team in the next Power Ranking.

3. Hapoel Tel-Aviv (14-7) | 1st Place | Previous Projection: 3rd | +0 Change

Hapoel Tel Aviv are still 1st in the standings and 3rd in my Power Ranking. The second best team in the league NET Rating wise, with a +8, however I think they have kind of reached their ceiling as a team. A negative for them is that teams already have read many aspects that were a surprise factor, however they will play the 2nd round in Tel Aviv, which is a huge plus for the Worker's team. Micic and Bryant are steering the backcourt well, with Jones and Blakeney providing good offense from the bench, Malcom, Wainright are valuable glue guys and Oturu continues his fine form. I expect Madar to get a bigger role in the 2nd round, to be able to rest Bryant, who starts at the 2 and plays a lot of the SF minutes of Hapoel. 

4. Olympiacos (11-8) | 8th Place | Previous Projection: 4th | +0 Change

It is bold to have a team that's 8th at 5th, I know. Even bolder when considering that Barcelona, Real Madrid and Panathinaikos are baove them in the actual standings. However, they do have a difficult game in hand against Fener at home, which could potentially move them to 6th place, and they have completed two amazing signings, which solved the 2 main issues that Olympiacos had; A lack of a top tier backup to an amazing Milutinov, and a PG who can playmake but also be a good enough scorer. Tyrique Jones is a very good Center, as he has proven in Turk Telekom, Efes and Partizan and I have written an article in this blog about Morris, detailing why I rate him highly (https://dylanplb.blogspot.com/2025/12/so-who-is-monte-morris-and-why-is-he.html). They will be added to the Vezenkov-Milutinov-Dorsey big 3, with the 3 of them being absolutely on fire thus far. Their signings will need to find rhythm, while the Reds should get an improved Fournier fir the second stage. If everyone clicks together, Bartzokas will be delighted to have such a complete roster. 

5. Panathinaikos (12-8) | 7th Place | Previous Projection: 1st | -4 Change

Panathinaikos was 9-4 by the time the last Power Ranking got released. Since then, 4 Losses vs Valencia, Milan (twice) and Olympiacos against 3 Wins, have derailed PAO's record. Ataman seems to not have found a functional rotation. TJ Shorts is lost in this chaos (the doubts over his fit have been confirmed), the Center Rotation is not providing what Lessort once did, Rogavopoulos is not getting the minutes he should and the Turkish coach is clearly not happy with his PFs. Their biggest problem for me, other than the chaotic rotation, is the fact that they seem to be able to win only due to their offense, and not from their defense. Now, Panathinaikos still has a lot of talent in the roster, and they have a kind fixture ahead, so things can be turned around, as Ataman was always a latter half of the season coach. He has a lot of work to do however.

6. Barcelona (13-7) | 5h Place | Previous Projection: 7th | +1 Change 

As I said in the December Power Ranking, Xavi returned, optimism returned. The +1 in the projection does not truly reflect the change that the Blaugranas have undegone with their new coach, having a 6-3 record in the Euroleague and a 7-0 record domestically. Barcelona has shown a completely different face defensively, being able to win games from that side of the floor, while their offense is now more structured, slower in pace and more eficcient. Satoransky went from one of the weaker starting PGs in the competition to a very good one, Willy Hernangomez has been finding his feet after 2 bad seasons and Miles Norris is providing valuable minutes, a contrast to his DNP role earlier in the season. Punter managed to get the December MVP trophy, while Clyburn and Shengelia have found very good form with Pascual. Laprovittola has also been instrumental in recent wins. I would not be surprised if Barcelona is present in the F4 in Athens, something that was unthinkable not so long ago. However, to reach that goal, a signing or two (A defensive minded Center to replace Fall and perhaps a Guard) are more than needed.

 

7. Real Madrid (12-8) | 6th Place | Previous Projection: 5th | -2 Change 

Real Madrid being 7th in a January Power Ranking and 6th in the Competition is a testament to how competitive the Euroleague is. The Merengues are a team which can easily make the F4, however they have some issues which prevent them from having that consistency which is required to get homecourt advantage. Campazzo is once again leading Real's effort (a dark horse for MVP in my opinion), along with Tavares being Tavares. Trey Lyles gives a very needed offensive spark, being the leading scorer. Maledon has been good, but can be better and Hezonja is suffering from a shooting slump from long range (less than 30% on threes). Okeke and Deck provide physicality in the forwards, but there is a notable gap in the rotation behind Tavares, something that Real Madrid has suffered since Poirier's departure. Neither Ibaka nor Fernando nor Len have been able to fill that hole, which has been a huge issue. Scariolo also has not managed to give a proper defensive identity to Real, nor has he been able to integrate Kramer or Procida in the rotation, trusting Abalde or Llull there. The former does not have offensive creativity, meaning that the offense stalls at times, while the latter suffers defensively and is very inefficient. Thus, the SG position has proved to be a problem. The Italian coach is asking for a signing there, but the truth is he already has talent in that position, he just has not used it. 

 

8. Valencia (14-6) | 2nd Place | Previous Projection: 9th | +1 Change

I admit I do not feel well about having the joint best record of the competition so low in my Power Ranking, but in my defense, the top 10 teams are so close record wise, that 1-2 games can change everything. The 8th place in this Ranking should also not hide the fact that, as the true standings suggest, the Taronjas are one of the best teams so far in Europe, its just that I expect them to deflate a bit as the year goes by. Valencia is the 2nd fastest team in the League, with 76.3 possessions per game while also having a top 5 defense, Defensive Rating wise. This has taken them to a 8-2 record in the last 10 games, which led them to a top 2 spot as of now. Other than the fast pace, we are seeing another staple of the Pedro Martinez style, which is having a "democratic" rotation, with the most used player, Kameron Taylor, only playing 22' per game and with 5 players averaging more than 10 points, but noody scoring more than 12 per game. Excited to see what they can do in the Playoffs, which I think they wil make, but without Homecourt advantage. 

9. Crvena Zvezda (11-9) | 10th Place | Previous Projection: 6th | -3 Change

The rise of Valencia, Fenerbahce and Barcelona, along with some losses which should not have happened against Partizan or Paris, makes the Serbs lose 3 spots in my rankings and quite a few in the standings. Thankfully for them, Bolomboy is to return soon, which will bolster their froncourt. Nwora, Moneke, Miller-McIntyre and Jared Butler (the latter has impressed me so much recently) have sustained the Red Star's effort with some amazing performance, while homegrown players such as Kalinic, Dobric or Davodivac bring the usual Serbian passion. Ojeleye also brings a lot of physicality in the Forwards and Motiejunas-Izundu have held the fort at Center, but admittedly that is a weak rotation. They have had bad luck with injuries as Isaiah Canaan, Tyson Carter, Jasiel Rivero, 3 very good offensive players who have suffered long term injuries. Sadly for them, they have problems with their backup guards, as Graham (NBA dissapoinment of the year award along with Cancar), Dos Santos and Milivojevic have been sub standard this year. If Carter returns in form however... 

10. Zalgiris (11-9) | 9th Place | Previous Projection: 10th | +0 Change

Zalgiris has the 3rd best NET Rating in the Euroleague, however they have not been able to translate that into that many wins. Their record is good, but in such a competitive scene, I cannot place them higher, as they have a glaring weakness in frontcourt depth. Had they signed Chris Silva, my outlook on the Lithuanians would be way different, that is for sure. The combination of talent in the backourt with Francisco as the first sword, Goss as a two way guard and Lo as 6th man, the Tubelis-Wright frontcourt and the army of Lithuanian Wing-Forwards role players coming from the bench (Ulanovas, Butkevicius, Sirvydis, Brazdeikis) makes a very good rotation, however, while Sleva and Birutis are decent, the combination of those two makes for a weak alternative in the 4-5. With the expanded 20 team Euroleague and the extra games, that is a big issue to have.  

11. Armani Milan (10-10) | 12th Place | Previous Projection: 11th | +0 Change

Milan is lurking those spots right below the Play-in, which is a realistic goal for the Red Shoes. Pepe Poetta has modernized Milan, which finds itself in the middle range of almost all metrics. Armoni Brooks has been one of the revelations of the year, Nebo is finding form, Leday or Shields are as consistent as always, proving to be underrated top tier SFs and PFs respectively. I expect a bit more from Guduric, who has not made a step up, and the PG situation is curious to say the least. Bolmaro, Ellis, Mannion and Brown have all faced health issues in the season, alternating the keys of the offense between them. I think by now, Milan should have commited into one of them as the clear cut 1 options. The truth is all of them are decent, but there is not an elite one. 

12.  Virtus Bologna (10-10) | 10th Place | Previous Projection: 13th | +1 Change

A very gritty team, which defends well, shares the ball well but does not have enough star power to push them higher. Edwards is an elite scorer, and they have other players like Smailagic, Vildoza, Morgan or Alston JR who can also have their good night on offense, but are inconsistent. As a result, their offense suffers and is able to raise their ceiling. They can fight for the Play-in that is for sure, and you never know with a Dusko Ivanovic team, but I think a 10th spot is their ceiling. 

13. Dubai (9-11) | 13th Place | Previous Projection: 14th | +1 Change

Awful, awful defense (Bottom 2 in Defensive Rating) and good offense overall. It's true that had Musa not missed all the year bar 2 games, and their PGs Nate Mason and most importantly Avramovic had not suffered the injuries they did. Replacement signing Boogie Ellis also has been injured for a long time now, and of course Jaiteh will not play at all in 2025-26. Without all these injuries, perhaps they'd overlead the Italians teams and be closer to the Play-in, however I cannot see that happening as of now. The good news for them is that their frontcourt, Kabengele and Petrusev is absolutely fantastic, and is a very good building block for the future, while McKinley Wright has proven to be one of the best rookies of the competition. 

14. Maccabi Tel Aviv (8-12) | 14th Place | Previous Projection: 17th | +3 Change

That 5-0 December run changed the outlook of the historic club, as they rose in the standings. 2 defeats in a row have stabilized them, but the truth is that Maccabi has seen a major improvement since signing Lundberg and returning to the Menora Mivtachim. although Lonnie Walker's injury is a problem. Similarly to Dubai, Maccabi has a decent offense, but that is combined with an awful defense which does not allow them to win games. 

15. Bayern Munich (7-13) | 16th Place | Previous Projection: 16th | +1 Change

I did not agree at all with the dismissal of Gordon Herbert (and the parting of ways of Dinwiddie as a consequence), but the truth is that the return of Svetislav Pesic can bring some positive change to Bayern, who will become less of a free flowing team and more of a defensive minded, controlled paced team. After a loss to Hapoel in the debut of the Serbian coach, Bayern won 2 games against teams in the same range (Maccabi and Baskonia). The only way this kind of squads get wins is by grinding out games however, as there is a very big lack of offensive talent in this squad.

16. Paris (7-13) | 15th Place | Previous Projection: 15th | -1 Change

Paris is once again the team with the most possessions per game, playing at a frenetic pace which is easier to contain than last year. They do score a lot, but they also concede more points per game than any other team in the Euroleague, a product of the pace at which they play as, yes, but also due to their poor defense overall. Losing defensive stoppers such as Ward and Malcom at SF and Kevarrius Hayes at C has hurt them a lot, and of course, while Robinson is a good player he is no TJ Shorts. Hifi is taking too many shot attempts (leading the league in that regard) and, unlike last season, they do not have a backup PG like Maodo Lo, experimenting with Ajayi, Herrera, Hifi or in-season signing Rhoden there, which I do not like at all. 

17. Anadolu Efes (6-14) | 18th Place | Previous Projection: 12th | -5 Change

The dissapoinment of the season, by far. Roster wise, Efes is a F4 contender, but in practise they need more than a miracle to even fight to enter the play-in. They may have the excuse of injuries, as Poirier, Papagiannis and Larkin have suffered long term ones, however they still have enough quality players in their roster to at least win home games against teams with a much lesser budget, something they have not done at all. Laso has not been able to change their fortunes around and time for their General Manager seems to be running out. 

18. Baskonia (6-14) | 17th Place | Previous Projection: 18th | +1 Change

To be fair to them, they do not have worst defence in Europe anymore, and their offense is not bad, despite the departures of Samanic or Diallo. Omoruyi has caught my eye, he has been very good offensively so far. Likewise Kobi Simmons has also been a good signings and along with Forrest Baskonia has created a good PG rotation. Luwawu-Cabarrot is one of the best scorers this season, massively increasing his offensive productions, something that Howard has not done, and they need him to do so. He was one of my favourite players in the Euroleague not long ago, but it seems he needs a change of scenery. They still need much more from their rotation (I expected much more from Diakite, Villar, Diop and Frisch) and they will be waiting for the return of their captain, Sedekerskis. 

19. Partizan (6-14) | 19th Place | Previous Projection: 18th | -1 Change

Awful in all regards, a team which has completely imploded. Signings Fernando, Payne or Calathes feels nothing more than desperate flailing from a project which united some interesting players in the past 2 summers, but has never found chemistry or an identity as a team. Osetkowski, Fernando, Milton, Jabari Parker, Muurinen, Pokusevski to name a few have been very dissapointing, either due to their own fault or due to the context surrounding them. I think it will be the last we will see of some of them in this competition, which is a shame, because individually they are quality players. Overall, the season has been a total disaster.

20. ASVEL (6-14) | 20th Place | Previous Projection: 20th | +0 Change

The Nando De Colo departure says it all really. A project which has 0 ambition in regards to the Euroleague. Luckily for them, Poupet is a very good coach which keeps them competitive and with a record that quite frankly is respectable, especially when examining their roster. Watson, Harrison and especially Ndiaye and Traore have future in the competition, as does their coach. Perhaps Heurtel can get one more Euroleague contract, but the rest of the roster just not has what it takes to even play in such a demanding competition.