The 2015-2016 Turkish Airlines Euroleague basketball season starts in a week and it is time to get ready for another edition of Euroleague Fantasy Challenge. We will be offering you fantasy Eurloeague basketball tips on players to watch out for and which players to consider for adding to your fantasy team. In this article, we have offered 3 players from each team in group A. These tips are based on the playing time players should get, their role on the team, current form and their current value in credits. Euroleague Fantasy Challenge gives out prizes to overall winners (and those who were placed form 2 to 10) with the most cumulative fantasy points. Teams with the most rebounds, three pointers scored, points scored, credits and assists get rewards as well. On top of that weekly winners, winners of regular season and top 16 winners get the prizes too. There are plenty awards to go around, so run along and start making your teams. We will be there for you every week to help you make the right roster moves.
Euroleague Fantasy Challenge 2015 – Player tips from group A
Real Madrid
Gustavo Ayon: We start this Euroleague Fantasy Challenge 2015 – Group A tips with Real Madrid and their centre Gustavo Ayon. Although Real has roster full of quality players and each and every one of them could be putting up big numbers I see Gustavo Ayon as a player who should be getting a lot of playing time and who should be regular in his good performances. He should be the starting centre for real Madrid and get a lot more minutes then young Hernangomez. Ayon already showed last year that he fits in this team perfectly. I expect him to continue with his good performances. Ayon is now the only experienced centre in he team since Bourousis, Slaughter and Mejri have left.
Jaycee Carroll: One of the best shooters in Europe. Looks to be in great shape at the start of the season. His game consists mostly of “catch and shoot” plays after running through screens or faking shoots and penetrating for a floater. He is a kind of a guy who is capable of scoring in series and getting to large numbers on a good day. He could get an extended playing time at the beginning of the season because Rudy Fernandez and the newcomer Jeffrey Taylor have some injury problems.
Sergio Lull: He is a bit expensive for 77 credits, but worth having in your fantasy team from the first round as Real plays at home against Khimki – team that does not play good defence. Llull has a very good season behind him and I expect him to one of the main contributors for Real this season too.
Fenerbahce
Jan Vesely: He is a bit pricey standing at 77 credits but he is a must have player if you ask me, because he looks to be in great shape. His “push shot” looks indefensible at the moment. He is coming into his second season with the team and in these kind of situation’s where more then half of the team is new, I like to have a player that is familiar with the coach’s system especially at the very start of the season. Vesely was one of Fenerbahce’s best players last season and I think he will be taking on the role of one of the team’s leaders at the start of the season. Especially now when Nemanja Bjelica is no longer around, Vesely is one of our best Euroleague Fantasy Challenge 2015 – Group A tips.
Bogdan Bogdanović: A sharp shooter from Serbia should be getting a lot of minutes this year and promote himself into one of the best SG’s in Europe. He should be one of the leading scorers of this team and he is definitely worth considering if you have some extra credits laying around.
Luigi Datome: One of my favourite European players is coming back to Europe after two seasons in the NBA. Luigi Datome is great shooter and a great rebounder that also plays very good defence. Those characteristic will certainly bring him an important role and a lot of playing time with coach Obradović. Datome is great player that always gives his 100% and he should be a valuable Euroleague fantasy player.
Khimki
Paul Davis: A center with one of the best shooting skills in Europe at the moment. He was one of the top performing fantasy centres in 2012-2013 season, the last season Khimki participated in the Euroleague. Khimki has got a lot of great scorers in their roster, but Davis is the first option when it comes to big men. Davis costs 66 credits at the moment and he could increase his value after the game in Madrid, because Real has been known to have troubles containing dominant big men and protecting the paint. I expect an experienced player like Davis to excel in such a big game. If you are thinking of getting him into your Euroleague Challenge Fantasy team, now is the right time.
Alexey Shved: Unofficially the player with the biggest salary in Europe who came back from the NBA this year to help the Russian team in their attempt of making to the F4. He stands at “only” 70 credits, but if you decide to purchase him, you will certainly get one of the most talented players of the entire Euroleague who also has enough experience already to become one of the best players in Europe. Khimki’s fast and offensive style should also suit him like a glove as he is a great scorer. Shved should definitely be one of the best players of this team and provide you with big numbers.
Zoran Dragić: Another player that is coming back from the NBA to strengthen Khimki’s back-court. Dragić is also a player that should fit in perfectly in Khimki’s up tempo game with a lot of running, shooting and fast attacks, as he is a physical player that can shoot and drive and does not hesitate to shoot when he has the ball. Dragić was looking really good on Eurobasket this summer, where he was arguably Slovenia’s best player. He is yet to take a big role in an Euroleague team and I think he could do just that in Khimki. He has now got NBA experience and training, which often has a really good impact on European players. He has been having some injury problems lately, so make sure that he is not on the injury list before you put him on your team.
Bayern
K.C. Rivers: A sharp shooting guard that became the Euroleague champion last year with Real Madrid should have a lot of playing time and a lot of authorities when it comes to offence in this Bayern team. He is an amazing shooter and when he gets hot he is able to score over 20 points on almost any defence, but like all shooters his numbers depend on his shooting percentages a lot, so his problem could be consistency. He is certainly one of the best player on this team and if you trade him wisely, he could bring you a lot of points from time to time.
John Bryant: Bryant should be one of the leaders of the team this season, getting a lot of minutes as he is the only “true heavy” centre on the team. A player that has the experience and a few seasons with the team along with the trust of coach Pešić. “The fat Mamba” as they call him, is a good shooter, a good rebounder (although he’s got probably one of the smallest jumps amongst centres). Bryant is a reliable player and should be one of the most consistent contributors on the team.
Paul Zipser: Zipser will cost you only 24 credits, but his price will only be going up, if you ask me. He is one of the “club projects” and I expect him to get a lot more minutes then he did last year. His position (SF-PF) is not overcrowded and I expect coach Pešić to give him a lot of playing time. He is now 21 years old. After his performances on the Eurobasket with the German national team he looks mature and ready for a bigger role in the Euroleague. Zipser is an excellent choice if you are looking for a player that doesn’t cost much, but should get decent playing time.
Crvena Zvezda
Gal Mekel: Israeli national team PG Gal Mekel is Zvezda’s replacement for Marcus Williams this season. He is a great scorer and a play maker that should get a lot of playing time in this team. His replacement Stefan Jović should be in charge of defensive tasks while Mekel should be running Zvezda’s offence. Mekel has been performing at a high level on the Eurobasket and continued to show his class in the ABA league. I don’t see a reason why he shouldn’t continue with his good performances in the Eurolegue too. After all, he played in the Euroleague for Novgorod last season and his number were pretty high as well as his price, which now stands at 56. Mekel is a former NBA player and he certainly should be one of Zvezda’s top performers this year. Zvezda is opening their Euroleague season against Strasbourg at home, so Mekel should have a chance to raise his price.
Mike Zirbes: Although Zvezda brought a centre like Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Mike Zirbes’ performances so far in the ABA league promoted him to be the primary option under the rim for Crvena Zvezda. Big Sofo is a great player but his problem is the fact that he gets tired very fast and often gets into foul trouble, so his playing time rarely exceeds 20 minutes. On the other hand Mike Zirbes seams to be in great shape event hough he suffered an ankle injury this summer while preparing for the Eurobasket. Before the injury, he was arguably the best player of the preparation period in German national team. It seems that the injury that kept him away form the Eurobasket did not keep him away from preparing for the club season. Zirbes looks great and for only 46 credits he is a bargain.
Marko Simonović: Marko Simonović is back to Zvezda after a good season with Pau Orthez and he won’t be needing a lot of time to fit in, because he is familiar with coach Radonjić’s ideas as well as most of the players. He is a member of the Serbian national team and a reliable SF with a lot of experience. He looks to be in good shape at the moment and I expect him to be one of Zvezda’s best players, especially at the start of the season while the team is still not in sync.
Strasbourg
Kyle Weems: Finally we round up this Euroleague Fantasy Challenge 2015 – Group A tips article with Strasbourg. Kyle Weems is our first tip. He is a very good shooter that seems to be in great shape at the moment. Strasbourg’s first game will be a tough trip to Belgrade, but I expect Weems to be ready.
Rodrigue Beaubois: A former NBA player who played 4 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks and who’s promising career was destroyed by injuries. He is now playing for Strasbourg after having a good season with Nanterre. Although his development as player was slowed down by injuries he still has the skills and quality to be the leader of this team and should be a steal for only 46 credits.
Vladimir Golubović: An experienced big man who will be going on a familiar trip to Belgrade in the first leg of the Euroleague. I don’t expect spectacular numbers from him but if you are looking for a mid price centre who should be consistent in his performances and should not be dropping his price, that currently stands at 50, Golubović might be the way to go.
Conclusion
There you have it guys. We presented three players from each of the Euroleague group A teams for you to consider in your Euroleague Fantasy challenge 2015 teams. Players from other groups will be presented during the following days, so make sure you check back before the Euroleague season 2015/2016 starts.
*Update: Euroleague 2015 group B fantasy tips and Euroleague Fantasy Challenge – Group C picks articles are released!