EuroLeague 2026-26 Power Rankings: Panathinaikos on top, Olympiacos worry about home court, and the underrated names

Three in the morning Chicago time, I reopened a tape of a Panathinaikos preseason friendly. No commentary, no crowd, just the squeak of rubber soles on hardwood and an assistant coach shouting every time the defense left a gap on the left wing. One detail made me rewind four times: in the third quarter, when the second unit came on, five Panathinaikos players spread wide like a fence and nobody cut inside. They were hiding something. In a league where every coaching staff has film on everyone else, hiding something is an asset.

People read preseason power rankings to learn which team is strongest. I read them to learn which team is asleep.

Eurohoops published its EuroLeague 2026-26 power rankings in late September 2026, and they made one thing clear from the start: this is the only edition of the season. That makes sense. Friendlies offer only a blurry signal, and the season is a marathon. Once official games begin, the standings replace the rankings, because standings are the more objective measure and nobody can argue with them.

That may change in 2027, when the EuroLeague is expected to split into two geographic conferences. At that point, comparing strength across teams becomes far more complicated, because each conference will have its own schedule and travel conditions. But for 2026-26, the picture fits into a single ranking, and that picture has a few cracks worth dissecting.

Panathinaikos sit on top, and that is the most predictable conclusion in the entire list. They are the most expensive team of the season, they employ a coach who has become a living legend of European basketball, and they make no secret of targeting the title. Their preseason was riddled with injuries, which anyone who has followed a big club understands: injuries in September do not decide May, but they do decide November.

I once staked my reputation on a number that the entire room laughed at. In 2026, when Mohamed Salah had 11 goals in 18 Premier League games, I said on a brand-new podcast in Chicago that he would break the league's scoring record. He finished with 32. The lesson was not that I am a prophet. The lesson was that money and reputation do not score points. Panathinaikos can spend the most, but money does not shoot a three. The richest roster in the league can still lose to a team built on scouting.

Every fallen giant is a slap in the face for those who collect names instead of collecting people. Panathinaikos, with their enormous budget, sit exactly where that slap could land at any moment.

Olympiacos are second. In theory, the reigning champions should start from the top, especially when they keep their core and add a quality guard like Jean Montero. But their problem sits off the court, quite literally.

Olympiacos' home arena will only be ready, possibly, just before the playoffs. For most of the season the team will train at their SEF facility but play home games at AEK's arena. That is a detail data-driven rankings usually ignore, because it does not appear in any statistical column.

Home court is a habit, not a location. It is the bus route the team takes every game night, the smell of the locker room, the corner of the stand where the supporters always sing, the distance from the hotel to the arena. When a team moves house mid-season, they do not lose home advantage overnight. They lose it week by week, and usually in ways nobody notices until the home streak breaks.

In third place, following the logic of these rankings, is the Spanish side under coach Pedro Martinez. They won the Super Cup before the season started, turned a page, and carry extra motivation after losing a final in Athens. But remember that the two biggest Greek clubs are at least a step ahead of them right now.

Fenerbahce belong in the title-contender group, and it is hard to imagine a season without them there. But it is equally hard to rank them above Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and Real Madrid. That does not mean they cannot finish above all of them. European basketball has proven the opposite too many times for me to claim certainty.

Dubai are the most interesting name in the upper group. After a somewhat shy first season, they did not hesitate to display their financial muscle, building a top-tier roster aimed at least at the Final Four. Their problem is geography: flying all over Europe and spending most of your time on a plane is not easy for any professional. On top of that, if the Iran-Israel conflict escalates, they could end up playing in Sarajevo again. No data model can price that in.

Zalgiris Kaunas are the name that catches my eye. In a league with relatively few games, having a center of Jonas Valanciunas' caliber can make a massive difference. Even with less overall firepower than the giants, Zalgiris are usually in the playoff race. This season they are more than outsiders. They are a rising name with a launchpad already built.

Hapoel have real depth, and despite the off-court noise surrounding them, they reached the playoffs last year and are expected to be there again. The fact that they play home games in Bulgaria must be factored in, and it was more than decisive in last season's playoff series against Real Madrid. A deep team without a true home is a team with half its advantage buried.

The Serbian club in these rankings has a real shot at the playoffs after reaching the play-in last season. They dominated the Basketball Champions League, and their coach has a great opportunity to make a mark in the EuroLeague with the right tools in the roster. The home-court advantage in Belgrade needs no explanation: it is one of the harshest atmospheres a visiting team can face.

Anadolu Efes enter the season with an intriguing mix. This is essentially Pablo Laso's first season in Istanbul, and Mike James is the centerpiece. A control-oriented coach paired with a scoring guard who creates his own rhythm: that is a formula for either a playoff team or a beautiful mess.

We learned our lesson last year about underestimating a Spanish side with heavy roster turnover. So no matter how much their roster changes, I will never rank a Spanish team at the bottom again. In an increasingly brutal transfer market, that kind of club can still produce a Paris-style season: a team written off as leftovers that suddenly features a small, quick, observant guard playing at MVP level.

Barcelona took a step back this summer. They will fight for a playoff spot, but there is no guarantee they will get one. Maccabi Tel Aviv are in a similar position. They are expected to chase the playoffs, but will they surely make it? With Tel Aviv as their home, the answer would probably be yes. With Belgrade as their home, the answer is far less clear.

There is a group of teams that have theoretically improved, own playoff-caliber rosters on paper, and yet carry an ominous history. That has been their story for the last few seasons, as injuries keep turning a good team into a spectator. With those squads, caution is warranted even when they have the quality for more.

After a drama-filled season, they have a chance to be steadier and fight for more. Are they a playoff team? No, given the level of competition.

ASVEL will be watched by all of Europe, because this is Tony Parker's first season as head coach. What is certain is that this roster is not the one Parker had in mind in early summer, and even a playoff berth looks distant.

Bayern Munich are trying to build something sustainable without spending heavily. Even so, Anton Gavel is a first-class coach, and he may still build something with limited resources. That is a model many big clubs are being forced to learn.

Paris Basketball are following the same path as Bayern. That plan worked with Tiago Splitter on the bench and a player like TJ Shorts delivering an MVP-level season. This roster was raided two summers ago, and Paris are trying again to create something that defies expectations, hoping everyone overdelivers.

On paper, Besiktas could be higher and are expected to be a competitive side. But the EuroLeague is a completely different proposition from the EuroCup, and if you do not spend heavily in your first season at the top level, things can get extremely difficult.

Baskonia will have a few flashes, but their main goal remains avoiding last place, while the competition at every level keeps moving forward.

On paper, Virtus Bologna probably have the weakest roster in the EuroLeague, and despite their history, the main objective is to avoid becoming a punching bag.

Now for where I could be wrong.

First, rankings like this usually undervalue the power of injuries. The deepest roster in the league can collapse because two lead guards get hurt in November. Panathinaikos top this list, but their preseason was not calm, and that is a signal to track rather than a detail to ignore.

Second, data models are pushing deeper into locker rooms, and their conclusions often detach from a team's real rhythm. A shooting-efficiency number says nothing about whether a player still believes in his role after being pushed to the bench. That question will decide more games than any advanced metric.

Third, I may have underrated Dubai. The travel issue is real, but a rich team with enough time will find ways to soften it: scheduling, nutrition staff, or simply buying enough depth to rotate on long road trips. If they do, they are a giant that never slept, only stayed quiet.

Fourth, I am not certain Olympiacos will pay for their temporary home. There is another possibility: playing in a cold, half-empty arena could sharpen their focus and reduce outside pressure. Elite basketball is sometimes decided by things the eye cannot measure.

One more transfer-market point that few notice. Signing bonuses for free agents rarely appear in full on the balance sheet, and that invisibility makes them a more effective workaround than transfer fees. A club signing three free agents at once may be creating a heavier real burden than paying one transparent fee. That is the grey zone financial controls have not reached.

So what happens once the ball goes up?

If my models hold, Panathinaikos finish the regular season in the top two, but they will lose at least one home game to a team ranked in the bottom half of this list. Olympiacos will win most of their temporary home games, but their November road stretch will be their clearest weakness. Dubai will suffer a run of at least three straight losses during the dense travel period between December and January, and that is when questions about their model will start.

Zalgiris will make the playoffs. That is a prediction I am willing to stake. And Virtus Bologna will finish near the bottom, not for lack of tradition, but because tradition does not run on hardwood.

For three years we chased a ball that seemed to belong to no one, only to discover what we were really chasing was the silence inside people. Power rankings are the same: they claim to be about the strongest teams, but what they really measure is an editorial staff's fear of ranking a giant too low.

What matters this season is not who tops the first ranking. It is who ends up proving that ranking wrong.