Features 672
Why European basketball’s money race is accelerating
A fool and their money is easily parted. European basketball has never lacked rich owners willing to splash out for no return. What’s different about now is that more and more owners see basketball as an investment with real revenue potential. The first edition of the Sunday column after our summer break sees Emmet Ryan […]
Making sense of Euroleague expansion to 24 teams
Euroleague expansion is imminent but that also means major changes are coming. A conference split and a season overhaul is only the beginning. Emmet Ryan on how, as ever, it’s about growing revenue and not making a mess of it. Christos Stavropoulos seems to have confirmed what everyone is thinking. The Olimpia Milano GM told […]
NBA Finals: Victor Wembanyama has no more time for calm
Once more, the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama were too calm. Once more, they fell to a vibrant New York Knicks. Emmet Ryan on a need for raw aggression from the Western Conference champions in the NBA Finals. Here’s the thing about being a Zen master. It’s not about running from emotion, it’s about […]
NBA Finals: Victor Wembanyama must turn calm into chaos
It’s possible to be too calm. That’s something Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs need to realise before Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Having lost the opener to the New York Knicks, the Spurs look like they need to change the tempo up a bit, writes Emmet Ryan After winning the Western Conference […]
The Alien is human: Victor Wembanyama, joy, and the NBA Finals
Victor Wembanyama has become the most compelling basketball player alive. There’s stiff competition for that title, yet the San Antonio Spurs star has claimed it as his own. Now, in just his third NBA season, he’s in the NBA Finals for the first time and leading the Spurs against the New York Knicks. Emmet Ryan […]
Olympiacos finally conquer Real Madrid for Euroleague title
There was drama, despair, and determination throughout these furious forty minutes in the Oaka. The culmination of the Euroleague Final Four saw Olympiacos put to an enormous test by Real Madrid but finally emerged triumphant. Emmet Ryan reports on the night the Reds finally got over the line. The Olympiacos chants began over three hours […]
Real Madrid are still the final boss
In a season filled with variety and surprises, somehow the most normal thing happened. Real Madrid beat Valencia at the Euroleague Final Four. They are inevitable. Emmet Ryan on how even a wounded version of Los Blancos just made it look like normal business. We really should have seen this coming. I’m sure that many […]
Sasha Vezenkov leaves no doubt for Olympiacos
In the first half, Olympiacos wowed us with modular basketball. In the second, Sasha Vezenkov decided to leave no doubt. A convincing win over Fenerbahce saw them advance to Sunday’s title game at the Euroleague Final Four. Emmet Ryan shares his thoughts from Athens. Sasha Vezenkov has won all the individual accolades as well as […]
Sasha Vezenkov has one last step to take
He has the individual accolades to go with the domestic titles and adoration from Olympiacos fans. The one thing Sasha Vezenkov is missing is a Euroleague title. In Athens, he gets a chance to change that. Sasha Vezenkov has done everything he could in Euroleague basketball and more, bar that one thing. He has Euroleague […]
Nando de Colo came back for one last job
This looks like a romantic finale, Nando de Colo having one last Euroleague Final Four with Fenerbahce. The reality is far more pragmatic. He wasn’t signed for a sentimental farewell but to fulfil a vital function. Emmet Ryan on how the veteran is filling a crucial role for Sarunas Jasikevicius. Nando de Colo doesn’t need […]
Usman Garuba found the right way back
He wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last. Usman Garuba impressed as a young gun in Europe, made the leap to the NBA, and came back having struggled to find a place. Now, as he enters a Euroleague Final Four with Real Madrid, Garuba has a stage to prove his relevance more than […]
Jean Montero shows the madness of modern basketball
Jean Montero is the star for Valencia ahead of the club’s first ever appearance in the Euroleague Final Four. Yet the discussions of his future, be they a big money move in Europe, a jump to the NCAA, or finding an NBA opportunity, dominate the conversation around him. Emmet Ryan on how Montero just being […]