Zalgiris is the most local team in the 2023-24 EuroLeague. Meanwhile, Baskonia stand out with the fewest local players and the lowest percentage of minutes played by locals.
Ever wondered who is making the magic happen on the EuroLeague courts? Well, BasketNews is about to spill the beans.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade / Schedule
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade
Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizIn this article, we are diving into the 2023-24 rosters of 18 EuroLeague teams, uncovering the players' origins and shedding light on those dominating playtime.
EuroLeague is a global playground where teams pick players from all over. Some teams love having local stars, while others go for an international (dream) team.
Some key points to keep in mind:
- The player analysis is based on current roster data before Round 22, with some young talents yet to hit the court this season.
- The term "local" refers to players with blood ties to a specific country, excluding naturalized athletes.
- French players are considered local for AS Monaco.
Breaking it down, every EuroLeague team boasts at least five non-local players, and only a third of the squads have a single-digit count of foreigners.
Zalgiris (9), ALBA (9), Crvena Zvezda (8), Panathinaikos (8), and Anadolu Efes (8) lead the pack with the highest number of local players. However, the quantity does not necessarily translate to significant playing time.
For example, despite having eight locals, Anadolu Efes allocated only 7.9% of the total minutes played in 21 rounds to them.
According to basketball data analytic Darius Garuolis, out of Efes' 4,325 minutes on the EuroLeague court, homegrown players contributed just 340.
Burakcan Yildizli played for 1 minute and 33 seconds, Melih Tunca -- 4:53, Ridvan Oncel -- 9:37, Erten Gazi -- 73:14, Erkan Yilmaz -- 114:45, Ercan Osmani -- 135:56, while Efe Demirel and Salih Altuntas did not make their debut despite being registered.
In stark contrast, American-born Shane Larkin alone has logged an impressive 711 minutes and 59 seconds for Efes, including a EuroLeague all-time high of 53:11 in a quadruple-overtime thriller against Real.
Teams like Zalgiris, ALBA, Zvezda, and ASVEL prioritize the development and inclusion of local players, as evidenced by a higher percentage of minutes played by locals.
However, all those teams find themselves in the lower part of the EuroLeague standings: Red Star 13th, Zalgiris 16th, ASVEL 17th, and ALBA 18th.
Baskonia stand out with the lowest number of local players and the lowest percentage of minutes played by locals, indicating a strong international identity. Daniel Diez is the sole local contributor who has clocked 161 minutes and 36 seconds this season.
This number accounts for just 3.9% of local players' minutes after EuroLeague Round 21. Another Spaniard on the team, 21-year-old Joseba Querejeta, has yet to debut on the EuroLeague court.
For perspective, American guard Codi Miller-McIntyre leads the team with 584 minutes and 34 seconds of playing time, closely followed by Lithuanian forward and team captain Tadas Sedekerskis with 577 minutes and 30 seconds.
Both Turkish clubs -- Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce -- are close to Baskonia. They see local players competing for less than 10% of total playing time.
Is this trend concerning? Not really, especially if it leads to a EuroLeague victory.
In 2017, Fenerbahce clinched the championship, with local players contributing only 4.4% of all possible minutes, per Darius Garuolis.
That winning team featured foreign stars like Kostas Sloukas, Bogdan Bogdanovic, James Nunnally, Nikola Kalinic, Luigi Datome, Pero Antic, Jan Vesely, Ekpe Udoh, and coach Zeljko Obradovic at the helm.
Speaking of 2023-24 EuroLeague head coaches, the situation is quite different. Following seven firings this season, 10 of 18 EuroLeague teams now have local head coaches guiding their teams: Chus Mateo (Real), Roger Grimau (Barcelona), Luca Banchi (Virtus), Oded Kattash (Maccabi), Georgios Bartzokas (Olympiacos), Zeljko Obradovic (Partizan), Alex Mumbru (Valencia), Ettore Messina (Milan), Erdem Can (Efes), and Pierric Poupet (ASVEL).
In essence, EuroLeague teams adopt diverse player and coach strategies, with success not solely tied to extensive contributions from locals.
Locals/non-locals in EuroLeague teams
| EuroLeague team | Local players | Non-local players | Local players' minutes (%) |
| Zalgiris Kaunas | 9 | 5 | 49.9% |
| ALBA Berlin | 9 | 11 | 40.3% |
| Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | 8 | 7 | 48.3% |
| Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | 8 | 7 | 31.3% |
| Anadolu Efes Istanbul | 8 | 11 | 7.9% |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | 7 | 9 | 29.8% |
| EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | 7 | 10 | 32.9% |
| LDCL ASVEL Villeurbanne | 6 | 7 | 46.3% |
| AS Monaco | 6 | 8 | 26.3% |
| Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | 6 | 10 | 9.6% |
| FC Bayern Munich | 6 | 10 | 25.5% |
| Olympiacos Piraeus | 6 | 11 | 21.8% |
| FC Barcelona | 6 | 11 | 30.0% |
| Valencia Basket | 6 | 11 | 22.6% |
| Real Madrid | 6 | 12 | 24.4% |
| Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | 5 | 9 | 21.1% |
| Virtus Segafredo Bologna | 5 | 11 | 32.0% |
| Vitoria Baskonia-Gasteiz | 2 | 15 | 3.9% |
EuroLeague standings after Round 21
| Pos | Team | GM | W | L | HW | HL | PPG | PPG A | Diff | STR | L5 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 21 | 19 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 89.7 | 77.9 | 11.8 | +3 | + + + - + | 90.5 |
| 2 | | 21 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 83.4 | 79.0 | 4.4 | +4 | + + + + - | 71.4 |
| 3 | | 21 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 82.0 | 81.5 | 0.5 | -2 | - - + + + | 66.7 |
| 4 | | 21 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 82.0 | 78.4 | 3.6 | +3 | + + + - + | 61.9 |
| 5 | | 21 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 84.3 | 81.3 | 3 | +3 | + + + - + | 61.9 |
| 6 | | 21 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 86.2 | 87.2 | -1 | -1 | - + - + + | 57.1 |
| 7 | | 21 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 77.0 | 74.8 | 2.2 | -2 | - - + + + | 52.4 |
| 8 | | 21 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 80.8 | 80.3 | 0.5 | -1 | - + - - + | 52.4 |
| 9 | | 21 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 84.5 | 84.1 | 0.4 | +1 | + - - + - | 52.4 |
| 10 | | 21 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 81.9 | 82.3 | -0.5 | +1 | + - - + - | 52.4 |
| 11 | | 21 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 76.6 | 77.0 | -0.4 | -3 | - - - + - | 47.6 |
| 12 | | 21 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 78.0 | 76.4 | 1.6 | -1 | - + + - + | 42.9 |
| 13 | | 21 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 81.6 | 79.9 | 1.8 | +1 | + - + + - | 42.9 |
| 14 | | 21 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 79.1 | 82.7 | -3.6 | -4 | - - - - + | 38.1 |
| 15 | | 21 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 84.1 | 88.6 | -4.5 | +1 | + - - - - | 38.1 |
| 16 | | 21 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 78.5 | 81.6 | -3.1 | -1 | - + - + - | 33.3 |
| 17 | | 21 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 79.3 | 87.6 | -8.3 | -1 | - + + - - | 19.1 |
| 18 | | 21 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 75.9 | 84.3 | -8.4 | +1 | + - - - - | 19.1 |
