FIBA Champions League Prospect Preview
The FIBA Champions League is a new European basketball tournament this year. Formed by FIBA, the primarily international basketball governing body, the Champions League was created to compete directly with Euroleague and Eurocup. The long-term effects of a competing tournament are yet to be seen, but so far, the tournament has done a great job of mucking things up for Eurocup.
Several former Eurocup teams will be participating in this competition, due primarily to FIBA’s ability to sanction countries for choosing to send teams to Eurocup. You won’t be seeing teams from Spain or Russia here, much like the Eurocup is devoid of Greek and Italian teams. There’s a political reason behind that.
The tournament will have a similar feel to the Champions League for soccer. The initial qualifying round was played on September 26th and 27th, with four teams earning bids into the second qualifying round. That round concluded on October 6th, with eight teams earning regular season spots. The official regular season starts October 18th, with five groups of eight teams playing a round robin. The top 24 teams will advance to a two-leg playoff round.
If the Euroleague competition is the NBA of Europe, this competition looks set to be Europe’s D-League. Former D-League and Summer League prospects litter the rosters, and there’s plenty of young European talent, too. The competition also offers teams from non-traditional basketball countries a chance on the big stage. The competition will be headlined by teams like Dinamo Sassari of Italy and America’s European Team, pink-jerseyed Mega Leks , but there are teams from Belgium, Denmark, and Hungary as well. The FIBA competition has focused on making this competition more diverse, and we will see how that affects quality of play.
We’ve already previewed the Euroleague and Eurocup competitions. Instead of the full preview of this competition, which features double the number of teams, we will instead focus on the six teams NBA fans will most want to keep an eye on in this tournament.
Fraport Skyliners
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
2015-16 Finish: Won FIBA Europe Cup, 3rd in Bundesliga
Notable Prospects: (Draft Express prospect ranking/team holding draft rights) C Niklas Kiel (’97 No. 23 overall prospect), C Mahir Agva (’96 No. 13 overall prospect), C Daniel Mayr (’95 No. 24 overall prospect), SF Isaac Bonga (’99 top prospect)
Other Notable Names: G Shavon Shields (Magic SL)
We should be calling Fraport Mega Leks East. The Skyliners are absolutely loaded with young talent as they have 12 players under 23 on their roster. The headliner is Isaac Bonga, a 6-9 16-year-old who looked like a skinny Andre Iguodala at Basketball Without Borders. He probably won’t play much this year, but he’s right up there with Luka Doncic and Dzanan Musa in terms of upside in the ’99 class. Agva and Kiel are also solid prospects at the center position, with Agva being the more important player this year. You can keep an eye on Shavon Shields as well, as the rookie from Nebraska has shot 70.6 percent from the field in the first three games of the season.
Avtodor Saratov
Location: Saratov, Russia
2015-16 Finish: Eurocup Last 32, 6th in VTB league
Other Notable Names: SF Nick Minnerath (Pelicans SL), PG Michael Stockton (Cavs SL), SF Michael Carrera (Heat SL), SG Josh Adams (Nuggets SL), C Tomislav Zubcic (Thunder SL)
Avtodor raided the D-League and Summer League rosters to field what should be an interesting, competitive team. Led by long-range assassin Nick Minnerath, the Avtodor roster features plenty of shooting from Minnerath, athleticism for Carrera, and intimidating size between Zubcic and Russian giant Artem Klimenko. This should be a balanced team that is a tough out in this competition.
Le Mans
Location: Le Mans, France
2015-16 Finish: Eurocup Group stage, 3rd in LNB Pro A
Notable Prospects: SG Olivier Hanlan (Spurs), PF Petr Cornelie (Nuggets), PF Jonathan Jeanne (No. 19 overall prospect), C Youssoufa Fall (’95 No. 6 overall prospect)
Other Notable Names: SF Mickael Gelabale (Timberwolves)
Le Mans is home to France’s three giants: Cornelie, Fall, and Jeanne. Cornelie, the 53rd pick of the 2016 draft, will stay at Le Mans for at least a year to develop, as he tries to refine his stretch-4 potential and build strength. Jeanne, however, is the showstopper. A 7-2 power forward with a 7-7 wingspan, Jeanne has shooting range and some ball-handling potential to go with his outstanding physical profile. He hasn’t earned a permanent spot on the varsity squad, but expect that to come at some point this season. Hanlan, who played at Zalgiris last year, is also coming aboard to add a backcourt scoring presence, and Gelabale will play defense and mentor the young talent.
Mega Leks
Location: Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia
2015-16 Finish: 4th in Adriatic League
Notable Prospects: C Alpha Kaba (55th overall prospect), PG Ognjen Jaramaz (94th overall prospect), SG Kostja Mushidi (25th overall prospect), SF Rade Zagorac (Grizzlies), PG Ognjen Carapic (’98 No. 22 overall prospect), C Marko Tejic (’95 No. 22 overall prospect)
Mega Leks was the team of the 2016 NBA Draft. With the high-flying Timothe Luwawu and the ground-and-pound Ivica Zubac in their wonderful jerseys, Mega Leks was an easy team to root for. Mega Leks has built their brand on using exclusively young Balkan talent, and there’s plenty of it this year. Zagorac, a 2nd round pick by the Grizzlies, is one of the elder statesmen at 21-years-old, and he’ll be their primary scorer. Kaba will try to shake off injury from last year to deliver on the promise his physical tools project, and Jaramaz is a very underrated scoring point guard. Mushidi is this year’s Luwawu, though. The 6-5 German is 2017 draft-eligible, but he already looks like an NBA ready wing scorer. Don’t sleep on Mega Leks’ depth, either, as guys like Carapic, Tejic, and Djordje Simeunovic could all blossom into quality European starters. It will be interesting to see how this team performs on this level; they are loaded with talent, but will have to face plenty of veteran squads.
Strasbourg
Location: Strasbourg, France
2015-16 Finish: Euroleague Regular Season, Eurocup runner up, 2nd in LNB Pro A
Notable Prospects: PG Frank Ntilikina (No. 6 overall prospect)
Other Notable Names: SF Pape Sy (Hawks), PF Erik Murphy (Bulls)
The headliner of the FIBA Champions League is Ntilikina. The French point guard is going to be a bench contributor behind former Florida point guard Erving Walker, but he’s a potential top-10 pick in this draft due to his physical tools and his court vision. He might be the best pure passer in the draft pool right now, and if he can improve his three-point shooting, there’s not reason he couldn’t break into the top three picks. He’s reason enough to watch Strasbourg by himself, but there are other quality players here. Hawks fans will be happy to know Pape Sy is still around, and mammoth Frenchman Mouhammadou Jaiteh mans the middle and will be catching plenty of lobs from Ntilikina.
KK Cibona
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
2015-16 Finish: FIBA Europe Cup Quarterfinals, 8th in Adriatic League
Notable Prospects: C Ante Zizic (Celtics), SF Nik Slavica (No. 62 overall prospect), G Paolo Marinelli (’95 No. 30 overall prospect), PF Emir Sulejmanovic (’95 No. 17 overall prospect)
Cibona will showcase Zizic once again, as the lumbering 7-footer is a dominant force in the pick-and-roll and in rebounding. Slavica is the biggest draft prospect on the roster, meanwhile, as he’s an athletic two-way wing who will try to break into draft conversation this season. Combine those two with guys like former Kansas forward Elijah Johnson and a group of interesting young bench players, and Cibona will be a tough matchup due to their high energy play.