BallinEurope is previewing all 18 Euroleague Basketball teams ahead of the start of the season. Today it’s the turn of a Fenerbahce side that Sarunas Jasivkevicius wants to bring to another level. With the late summer signing of Boban Marjanovic, expectations are high.
Fenerbahce made it to the Final Four of Euroleague Basketball last season. The Yellow Legacy wants to make it back to back trips. Sarunas Jasikevicius has some new faces to work with that should make them really interesting to watch.
Last season
Euroleague record: 20-14
Regular season position: 6th
Playoffs: Lost Final Four (Panathinaikos)
BSL record: 25-5
Regular season position: 2nd
Playoffs: Won finals vs Efes (3-1)
Other: Won Turkish Cup (vs Anadolu Efes)
Who’s gone?
Amine Noua (Granada), Nick Calathes (AS Monaco), Georgios Papagiannis (AS Monaco), Sehmus Hazar (Bahcesehir Koleji), Yam Madar (FC Bayern), Jonathan Motley (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Nate Sestina (Valencia), Tyler Dorsey (Olympiacos), Raul Neto (free agent).
Who is new?
Boban Marjanovic (Houston Rockets), Wade Baldwin IV (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Bonzie Colson (Maccabi Tel Aviv) Khem Birch (Girona), Erten Gazi (Anadolu Efes), Nicolo Melli (Olimpia Milano), Devon Hall (Olimpia Milano), Arturs Zagars (BC Wolves).
Who stayed?
Mehli Mahmutoglu, Scottie Wilbekin, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Marko Guduric, Sertac Sanli, Tarik Biberovic, Metecan Birsen, Yigit Hamza Mestoglu, Dyshawn Pierre.
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Need to know
Fenerbahce did most of its business reasonably earlier. After starring for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Euroleague Basketball last season, Baldwin wasn’t short of suitors and will quickly become a key man for Sarunas Jasikevicius. While Boban Marjanovic is the headline grabber, due to him being Boban, Colson and Zagars promise to be more interesting additions. The former worked well with Baldwin last season. The latter has proven to be an immense distributor already. He could work wonders in the backcourt.
What the bookies think
It’s a nice and tight range on the sportsbooks for Fenerbahce. They are no shorter than 13/2 anywhere while their longest price in Euroleague Basketball betting is 8/1. Most of the books price Sarunas Jasikevicius’ men at either 8/1 or 7/1.
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What we think
This is a very good basketball team. I’ve been preaching about my three tiers in Euroleague Basketball this season. There are the elites, the haves, and the have nots. Fenerbahce fit the best of those descriptions before the Boban Marjanovic signing. While I don’t expect Sarunas Jasikevicius to unleash the Bobinator too much, it only cements my earlier perspective.
Fearless prediction
Fenerbahce have got quite the roster here. The late signing of Boban Marjanovic raised eyebrows for sure. They were already contenders before this. My third to fifth place rankings pre-season are pretty interchangeable. Fenerbahce are the lowest of the elite for now but it’s wafer thin at the top. Make no mistake, this is a quality outfit.
Pick: 5th in the regular season
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