Top 10 all-time best Euroleague teams

In the 2025-2026 season, the EuroLeague enters its 25th year of its modern era. From Siena’s defensive toughness to Paris Basketball’s offensive flair, the Old Continent continues to evolve.

After a quarter of a century of existence, it is time to take stock. Who is the best team of the millennium? Our ranking is based on the following criteria, listed in order of importance: dominance, consistency, honours, legacy and epic moments.

10) Montepaschi Siena : Although Siena’s glory days are long gone, the legacy left by this club during its first decade is unique. According to our ranking, it is the greatest Italian team ever to have played in the EuroLeague. Despite not having won a European title, Siena has reached no fewer than four Final Fours. Under Simone Pianigian, the team played a suffocating, collective style of basketball. McCalebb, Lavrinovič and Rakočević dominated Italy while also striking fear into the hearts of teams across Europe. Siena made upsets commonplace, constantly finding themselves in contention for the holy grail despite a low budget. These financial difficulties would ultimately lead to the club’s demise in the 2010s, which is why it is impossible to rank them any higher.

9) Baskonia : The new generation knows Baskonia as a champagne team fighting every season to keep its place in the EuroLeague. However, at the beginning of the millennium, the Basques were full of surprises and epic performances that came out of nowhere. It didn’t matter that they had a smaller budget. In the wake of Scola, Splitter and Rakočević, the club consistently reached the Final Four from 2001 to 2008. With two fourth-place finishes, one third-place finish and two finals, including one after eliminating the mighty CSKA Moscow in Russia, their avant-garde style combining intensity, speed and technique marked an entire era. Baskonia’s last major success dates back to 2016. Since then, however, there has been little to report.

8) Fenerbahçe : Until last season, Fenerbahçe barely made it into this ranking. With a second title won in 2025, the Istanbul team joined the club of EuroLeague double title winners. Present in FIBA’s premier competition since 2001, Fener took a while to become a serious contender for the title. It wasn’t until 2015 and the arrival of Zeljko Obradović on the bench that the club finally began to play a leading role. The result: three consecutive finals, including one victory in 2017. During this period, Sloukas’s team reigned supreme in Europe. A combination of solidity and intelligence was replicated in 2025 under Ergin Ataman after another slump. However, this lack of consistency has cost Fenerbahçe dearly in this ranking.

7) FC Barcelona : The club with the most appearances in the modern era of the EuroLeague, it’s hard to be more consistent than FC Barcelona. With 20 Top 8 finishes in 25 editions, the Blaugranas show no sign of slowing down as the seasons go by. They are always in contention for the title. This well-structured and physical team, organised by the magician Juan Carlos Navarro, won two titles in the first decade. More recently, Šarūnas Jasikevičius’s stints as coach and then player helped the Catalans reach the final again in 2021. Their impressive consistency, but lack of spectacular performances, weighs heavily in the final decision.

6) Anadolu Efes : There is an Anadolu Efes before and after Ergin Ataman. Before 2017, the Istanbul club struggled to reach the final four of the competition. In 16 seasons, they only reached the quarter-finals twice. Then the Turkish coach took over the team, followed the next year by the future regular season MVP: Vasilije Micić. For four seasons, Shane Larkin’s teammates reigned supreme on the Old Continent. Only CSKA Moscow managed to defeat this Anadolu team in its first year. Otherwise, it was a back-to-back, and perhaps even a three-peat if COVID hadn’t intervened. This success is the result of a quasi-NBA system, built around a ‘franchise player’ in the form of the number 5 in our all-time ranking of the best EuroLeague players. Pioneers of this spacing-based style, the Turks nevertheless lack the longevity at the highest level to secure better positions.

5) Olympiacos : With 19 appearances in 23 playoff campaigns, Olympiacos has the most quarter-final appearances during this period. All this while accumulating the most games behind FC Barcelona. These figures reflect the Greeks’ consistency in Europe. Led for years by Vassilis Spanoulis – considered by many experts to be the GOAT of the EuroLeague – the Erythrólefki had to wait until the 2010s to finally reach the top. And how! Back-to-back titles in 2012-2013 followed by three more finals. Winners of the last regular season, the Vezenkov-Fournier duo are looking to turn these four consecutive Final Fours into a fourth title. Ahead of them are teams with three or more EuroLeague titles.

4) Real Madrid Baloncesto : The most successful club in the competition is… at the foot of our podium! In fact, before the debut of a 17-year-old Slovenian, Real Madrid Baloncesto wasn’t even in the conversation for the Top 5. Ghostly until 2010, the Casa Blanca of the tireless Sergio Lull had to try three times before lifting its first EuroLeague trophy of the millennium. In search of their tenth title, the Madrid team relied on the phenomenon Luka Doncic to clinch the Décima. Their latest triumph dates back to 2023 in a Hollywood-esque scenario. Trailing with three seconds left, the eternal Sergio Lull sank a clutch shot over Youssoupha Fall to give his team the victory. Despite its recent strong performances, with three more finals in four years, this ten-year gap prevents Real Madrid Baloncesto from climbing onto the podium.

3) Maccabi Tel Aviv : The modern era of the EuroLeague began with Maccabi Tel Aviv dominating the competition. Led by Anthony Parker – the only two-time regular season MVP in history – the Israelis got off to a flying start in the new millennium with back-to-back titles, the first such feat in 14 years. With the arrival of Šarūnas Jasikevičius in 2004, the Yellow and Blue had one of the best teams in EuroLeague history. Always among the favourites in the following years, it was ultimately when no one expected it that Maccabi struck. Still led by the phenomenal Tyrese Rice, the Israelis snatched their sixth title in 2014 from under Real Madrid’s nose. Their unique momentum has propelled them to the podium. However, Tel Aviv is looking more behind than ahead…

2) CSKA Moscow : Suspended since 2022 for reasons that are well known, CSKA Moscow remains a legendary EuroLeague club. It would be impossible to leave this club off our podium, given its 14 Final Four appearances in its first 17 seasons. The Russians seemed flawless thanks to their ultra-professional organisation, their expertise and, above all, their increasingly impressive rosters. From Papaloukas to Nando De Colo to Milos Teodosic, there wasn’t a single season in which CSKA wasn’t among the favourites. The only downside was their inability to convert their epic performances into trophies. CSKA Moscow is probably the only team that can be said to have ‘only’ won four EuroLeague titles. Given their level of play, this team could easily have won more than five titles. This, coupled with their recent absence, costs them first place in this ranking.

1) Panathinaikos : One-fifth of the EuroLeague titles this millennium have been won by… Panathinaikos. This mathematical argument alone is enough to justify PAO’s place on the throne. But beyond the statistics, the impression made by this club was and still is unrivalled. Zeljko Obradović’s Pana is probably the most memorable dynasty of the early modern era. On the one hand, there was a star-studded roster, including Diamantidis, Jasikevicius, Batiste and Spanoulis. On the other, a cool, disciplined, defensive style that was always on point in attack. A winning combination that resulted in four titles in nine years. Even today, the Greens are still playing at the forefront of the game. This new trophy, lifted in 2024, is the icing on an already huge cake. Considered THE big favourite this season, Panathinaikos has everything it needs to continue dominating this ranking.