Poll: Which is the best European team going into 2013?

December 17, 2012

Right. So. Especially after this –

– and with the calendar page about to be flipped into 2013, BallinEurope’s question is: Which is the best basketball team in Europe right now?

Straight by the qualification system, the top four teams in Euroleague round one were Real Madrid, Maccabi Tel Aviv, FC Barcelona and Žalgiris Kaunas – not a bad start there, but Eurobasket.com’s mathematically-derived rankings on Monday morning includes CSKA Moscow at no. 1 and Olympiacos at no. 3. Maccabi, likely saddled by the competitive imbalance they enjoy back home in the Ligat Ha’Al, places a lowly eighth…

Here on the virtual homefront, the BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings had CSKA at no. 2 going into this –

– and would certainly move ‘em up to no. 1 based on a season highlight-film win in which everything went right; for good measure, the Red Army upped its VTB United League record to 8-1 with a triumph over Triumph.

BiE had Olympiacos at no. 3, but win over Milano showed the businesslike efficiency in the second half that trademarked last season’s miracle run(s).

Could the defending Euroleague/Greek League champion Reds be The Continent’s tops going into 2013?

Real Madrid got past something of a recent speed bump by returning to their open-floor game against Union Olimpija and remained undefeated in Liga Endesa by topping Blusens Monbus this weekend:

Also getting past recent difficulties – specifically, three weeks in November which saw a 1-2 mark in Euroleague and the team’s only loss in the VTB – Žalgiris has shown the talent and depth to go deep in both leagues’ playoffs.

Finally, how about Maccabi? Sure, there’s was this –

– but, hey, anomalies happen, right? The truth is one Ricky Hickman miss and an inexplicably hot Tomas Ress were the barriers to a 10-0 Euroleague run from the Israeli side.

The point? In pointed contrast to seasons past (and 2011-12 in particular), no one or two dominant-looking teams are roaming the courts of Europe this team around in a nice show of parity at the top. So in lieu of power rankings (and BiE hedging with anybody, for that matter), we’ll do it the democratic way. Weigh in below and feel free to defend your choice in the comments section. Remember: Vote early, vote often and your vote counts!

[poll id=”5″]

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This post was published on December 17, 2012
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Comments: 41
  1. Vince
    12 years ago

    I voted for Olympiacos. Something just clicking right now for them.

    I see Spanoulis said today he is open to NBA return.

    Go to the Celtics!

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    • Michael
      12 years ago

      Yeah, I saw that too. Spanoulis would not give a definitive answer when they asked him if he was definitely playing next season in the NBA then, but he gave a big smile and said, “we will see”.

      He sure seemed to imply that he is.

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  2. Gabe
    12 years ago

    I voted for CSKA. That win over Barca sealed it. Olympiacos is looking good too but they lost by 18 to Zalgiris and got blown out of the building in 26 point romp by 5-5 Anadolu. CSKA only lost to Barca once

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    • Michael
      12 years ago

      Hey you fucking IDIOT, the name of the team is NOT Anadolu.

      At least get the fucking names of the teams right, you fucking piece of shit.

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      • Gabe
        12 years ago

        Whoa! What’s up with the hostility, name calling and vulgar language??!! I know posting anonymously on the internet does not lead to civil discourse but this post takes it to comical levels of animosity!

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        • Michael
          12 years ago

          You are the biggest scumbag I have ever encountered on the internet. I bet you are posting from some state prison or mental institution somewhere.

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  3. Vaidas
    12 years ago

    Žalgiris, just because I’m a fan.

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  4. Michael
    12 years ago

    1. Olympiacos

    big gap

    Then probably Zalgiris, Real Madrid, Barca, CSKA, PAO – I don’t see much difference between those next teams to be honest. Olympiacos is far and away the best team, but the best team only wins about 1/2 of the time in Euroleague in recent years.

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  5. mike
    12 years ago

    I hope Spanoulis finally plays in the NBA next season just so we can finally put an end to this silly debate. The truth is there is really one moron on this site who has delusions that are laughably so far out of reality that it’s outright ridiculous. He is so delusional that he is constantly asking to ban so called racists just because they have the temerity to say , “Span or Borous is mediocre, at best”.

    Really, how is criticizing certain Greek players failures as racist? Hey moron, know that the site owner Os Davis seems reasonable with everything he has said so far, and will not ban certain people who are the voice of reason on this site like Gabe. Also notice their clear outright hostility. Usually the morons are the ones with the gall to be intolerant. Amazing.

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    • Michael
      12 years ago

      The site owner should be ashamed of what he has allowed you and Gabe to post here for years now. I am done with this site, and so is pretty much everyone else that used to visit it, except you and Gabe, the two deranged psychopaths.

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  6. mike
    12 years ago

    BTW, Bourousis is a career 7.8ppg and 5.5 rpg in his Euroleague career. How in hell is this a premiere center? Amazing anyone with half a brain would argue the contrary.

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  7. Gabe
    12 years ago

    Good point mike. Tiago Splitter, who is still a back-up in the NBA averaged 10.5 ppg in Euroleague. Even Nenad Krstic, that NBA back-up role player, averaged 11.5 ppg in Euroleague. Both better than Bourousis.

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  8. Michael
    12 years ago

    So Os Davis won’t intervene here? He will keep letting this trolling by Gabe and mike go on? Fine. The site can just be mike and Gabe and no one else.

    I am DONE here.

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  9. mike
    12 years ago

    What do you mean just me and Gabe? There’s a lot of other crazy Euro names popping up on this site like Erik K, Coach John, Apollo,etc.. Are you finally admitting all those people were one and the same? Hmmm. .. It seemed like one person, come to think of it. They pretty much mouthed the same thing.

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    • Stavros
      12 years ago

      I think it’s pretty obvious that it’s the same person.

      ReplyCancel
  10. Greg
    12 years ago

    Gabe’s “favorite team” Montepaschi in trouble over €15 million euros in unpaid taxes, and the team’s owners are said to be a staggering €3 billion euros in debt. Gabe sure knows how to pick his teams.

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    • Gabe
      12 years ago

      Yes they only have advanced to the top 16 and have the leading Euroleague MVP candidate in Bobby Brown.

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      • Greg
        12 years ago

        Sheridan Hoops has Spanoulis as a current run away MVP.

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        • Gabe
          12 years ago

          Runaway MVP before the top 16 has even started?

          Can’t wait to for Spanoulis to match up against Bobby Brown in the top 16. Bobby Brown will make it “his prerogative” to show Spanoulis the “New Edition” of Euroleague.

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  11. Stavros
    12 years ago

    Thought you were “done” here.

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    • Greg
      12 years ago

      Two different people buddy. Don’t even dare start your crap on me.

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  12. mike
    12 years ago

    Psychos are never “done”. They will keep coming back in different incarnations, or in this case, just another name like maybe, “coach Erik”, or something. Maybe I should come up with a new name like “MVP mike”, or something.

    In other news, I’m waiting with baited breath for the news of Andrew Bynum’s knee report due out today . Huge implications for my Sixers.

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  13. Bourousis Was First
    12 years ago

    Where is Jordan Farmar? The guy you GUARANTEED would win Euroleague MVP? Where is he?

    Bourousis had the highest PIR in Euroleague, and none of your trolling can change that.

    http://www.euroleague.net/main/statistics?mode=Leaders&entity=Players&seasonmode=Single&seasoncode=E2012&cat=Valuation&agg=PerGame

    Oh yeah, Jordan Farmar, who you said, “will for sure be the Euroleague MVP”, and is “the Michael Jordan of Europe” according to you, was 24th. Bourousis was 1st.

    You also guaranteed that, “Rudy Fernandez will completely destroy, and totally dominate and annihilate the entire Euroleague like never before seen”.

    He was 19th. Bourousis was 1st.

    You also predicted that, “Shelden Williams will instantly be the best center in Euroleague.” He was 21st. Bourousis was 1st.

    You also predicted that, “Hilton Armstrong would definitely be voted as the best center in the Euroleague, and will clearly totally dominate the entire Euroleague”. He was cut due to poor play by his team.

    Bourousis was 1st.

    You also predicted that, “Sonny Weems will dominate the whole Euroleague like no other before him”. He was 13th. Bourousis was 1st.

    You claimed that, “Bobby Brown is the single greatest player player in all of Europe today, and totally dominates all stats like no other player.” He was 4th. Bourousis was 1st.

    Some of Gabe’s aliases at this and other sites =

    KWSN-Men
    Arkadios
    Grinder
    mike
    Da Dakota
    SamFisher

    In life, “Gabe” has always been last, while Bourousis has always been 1st.

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    • Gabe
      12 years ago

      Bourousis did not make his past the Euroleague regular season! None of his stats will count. What a loser. Farmar, Weems, Brown and Fernandez will all have a chance to shine in the Top 16 while Bourousis will be watching at home. What a loser!!!

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      • Siska
        12 years ago

        You are a loser that you are too stupid to even comprehend that you keep bragging about Bobby Brown and keep dissing Bourousis, even though Bobby Brown has to face Bourousis’ team in Italian Cup and Italian League.

        If you had any brains at all (which you do NOT) you would have figured out to have kept your mouth shut about that.

        Because Bobby Brown is going to get his ass handed to him in Italian competition, by the very same player that you are personally attacking and abusing here on a daily basis, as if he fucked your wife and daughter, considering the amount of hatred you have poured out towards Bourousis here, which is pretty damn disturbing, and proves what a psychopath you truly are.

        Good luck getting out of your trolling here, after Milano wins the Italian double and you look like the biggest fucking clown of all time. Of course you are so incredibly retarded that you probably didn’t even grasp that Milano would be in the way of Siena in Italian competitions.

        You are such a fucking stupid piece of shit, such a fucking huge racist, such an enormous psychopath, and such a gigantic scumbag.

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        • Gabe
          12 years ago

          Well as it stands now Siena is 9-2 in the Italian league while Milano is 6-5. Even in the Italian league Bourousis is a loser! I really think he should go to the CBA where he might be able to win, as long as he avoids Diogu!

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  14. Siska
    12 years ago

    Aron Baynes did not make it past the Euroleague regular season. He’s on this list. Why are you not calling him out, calling out the site owner for putting him on the list?

    Why are you not making fun of Baynes, and mocking him?

    Why is that only Bourousis gets your criticism?

    Why is that you ignore that Milano cut Richard Hendrix, Omar Cook, and Rok Stipkovic and said they were the cause of the team’s failures, with Sariolo, the team’s coach singling out Hendrix and especially Cook as the culprits?

    Why is that you ignore the biggest European basketball news website saying the reason they did not advance was caused by the ball hogging of Keith Langford?

    Why is it that you ignore this and continue to bash on one player endlessly here?

    You are a pure hater, and it’s really bizarre that this site allows you to ruin it on a daily basis. Because basically, this site is a total piece of shit because of you. People don’t come here to read the rants of a raving mad lunatic hater every day, but that is all they ever get when they come here, thanks to you.

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  15. Siska
    12 years ago

    I’m going to email Bourousis and give him the links of all of these comments on all of these blogs. The site owner can deal with it.

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  16. Locke
    12 years ago

    Nando de Colo not impressed by the NBA.

    http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/sports/nando-de-colo-l-interview-integrale-la-nba-c-est-ia213b0n920419

    Is the NBA still a magical level?

    You know, I’m not really impressed by it. It’s not magical, but now that I’m in it, I realize that it’s exceptional that the media is talking about it in the whole country. The littlest thing, on or off the court, immediately ends up on TV. The team does everything for you, so that you only have to worry about basketball. I’ve already said it, but it’s the first time that I go to practice without having to carry a bag or sneakers. I’m surprised each day about some of the customs.

    The funny thing is how the American fans express themselves. If you do a simple no look pass, then they think it’s the assist of the century! They have a different approach to sports than we do in Europe. If your shot rolls around the rim three times before it goes in, then they claim that you have a good, soft “shooter’s touch”. In France, we would just admit that we got lucky. They do these little things in practice to try to help the players.

    They’re all about the show. Every day, after the games, there are Top 5 and Top 10 play lists all over everywhere. They also do the same for all the other sports, which they also follow inside and out. What made me laugh recently during a timeout, in a game in Oklahoma, was that the fans were wearing costumes in the crowd. They don’t care about looking ridiculous, they just come to root for their team. That’s nice.

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    • Gabe
      12 years ago

      Funny how you left out two very important parts of this interview that we can see by translating the link ourselves.

      First off, right after he says that the NBA “is not magical” he adds “but it’s still outstanding”

      Then later in the interview he is asked if he has any regrets not signing with a top Euroleague team instead of an NBA team and he replies that although he could have made more money and got more playing time with a top Euroleague he still is very happy that he choose to play in the NBA and how he would have regrets about his career if he never tried the NBA.

      Hmmm…..I wonder how many players in the NBA say they will regret their careers if they never try Euroleague?? LMAO

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  17. Michael
    12 years ago

    De Colo didn’t even play for a Euroleague team. So asking him about playing in Euroleague wasn’t even pertinent. He actually was in a EUROCUP team.

    He’s never played in a “big Euroleague team” – NO ONE in Europe would ever in a million years call Valencia a “big Euroleague team”, so he actually knows nothing about that, or what it is like. Funny, how you conveniently left that out.

    De Colo never played in a big Euroleague team, so he isn’t qualified to make statements about how that compares to playing in the NBA, and for you to imply that, is once again PROOF of you being a TROLL.

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    • Gabe
      12 years ago

      EEEEEEEEEEE! Buzzzzzzzzzzz!!! Wrong again (not surprising for a pathological liar). In the 2010-2011 season Valencia was in Euroleague, in fact they even made the quarter-finals.

      But that’s not the point. if you translate the interview correctly by using something simple like google translate, unlike our friend Locke, you will see that De Colo never claims to have played on a big European team or to be comparing Euroleague to the NBA.

      The interviewer asks him “You could play the Euroleague season with a real big club, Real, Barca, you have no regrets?”

      And he replies ” No. My first choice was the NBA. Even if I could earn more money in a big European club or get more playing time early on”

      So the interviewer claims that this year De Colo could have been on a top Euroleague team if he didn’t go to the NBA and De Colo replies that even if he is making and playing less than he would “in a big European club” the NBA it is still his 1st choice.

      Don’t believe me? Use google translate (instead of believing on of the alias of this crazed troll) lol

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      • Rick
        12 years ago

        If you think Valencia is a big Euroleague club, then you are even dumber than people here think you are, which pretty damn freaking stupid.

        Nando de Colo has most definitely never played in a big European club. That is an absolute truth, and the mere fact that you are trying to dispute that, and are trying to claim that Valencia is a big Euroleague team, truly shows how incredibly pathetic and insane you really are.

        I hope ESPN fires you soon, because you are NOT doing a good job of spreading their propaganda. You are just being a damn joke to every single person that ever visits this site. Don’t even try to bring up your alter ego mike.

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        • Gabe
          12 years ago

          If you read through my post you will see that not once did I claim that Valencia was a big Euroleague club.

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  18. Rick
    12 years ago

    And it is true that Valencia is a Eurocup team and that de Colo came from Eurocup. The 2010-11 season does not have anything to do with that discussion or issue. Are you retarded? Even an eight year old has better reasoning and logic abilities than you do.

    Valencia 2011-12 season = Eurocup team

    Valencia 2012-13 season = Eurocup team

    Nando de Colo came from a Eurocup team, NOT a Euroleague team. I say a huge FUCK YOU for all your lies and bullshit here.

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    • Gabe
      12 years ago

      Michael (who btw I thought was done with this site) claimed that “De Colo didn’t even play for a Euroleague team. ”

      De Colo was on that Valencia team that in the 2010-11 season made the Euroleague quarter-finals so Michael was either wrong or lying. That was the point of mentioning that season.

      On a different note how does a team that makes the Euroleague quarter-finals get regulated to Eurocup the next year? I guess regulation is not solely based on team’s performances.

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      • Zoran
        12 years ago

        There is no regulation in Euroleague you fucking moron. Why did we get cursed with this fucking idiot?

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        • Gabe
          12 years ago

          Really? Than what is it called when some teams are not in Euroleague anymore?

          And I really don’t see the need for continuous insults and vulgar language. I mean are we in a South Park episode or something? Shut up Kyle!!!

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  19. Zoran
    12 years ago

    Valencia did not play Euroleague last year or this year. So De Colo came from a Eurocup team and not a Euroleague team. You are an incredibly stupid asshole.

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    • Gabe
      12 years ago

      Last year he was in Eurocup but two years ago he was in Euroleague, so he has played in Euroleague, that was my only point.

      Oh wait, I forgot we’re pretending we’re in South Park by making sure every post has to include an insult and a curse. How about if instead I just make South Park references?

      I want my cheessy puffs!!!!!

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  20. Doctor mike
    12 years ago

    Wow, this weirdo is out of control. Probably manic depressant . Vulgar language is usually a sign of that. Since all the facts and the whole world are conspiring against his own self created basketball reality, vulgar language is just par for the course . Believe me, since I am a psychiatrist. LOL.

    Where’s “Coach John”?

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