This is an update of a list I originally made on October 6th.
As I explained in a previous post, only those teams who did well domestically last season are allowed into Europe's top league, the Euroleague. Other teams are playing in the second or third tier league, and some teams are only playing domestically and possibly regionally.
So, who is playing where?
To find out, I'm taking the list of players signed overseas via HoopsHype (as of Nov. 18th) and cross-referencing it with the list of teams currently in the Euroleague. I'll separate them into their respective groups as well, so you'll know who is likely to play who. I have added the team's country after their name for reference, but it is not part of their official name.
I have also included where the non-Euroleague bound players have gone. Scroll down to see who is playing in the second tier EuroCup, the third tier Eurochallenge, only domestically, and in countries outside of Europe. Keep in mind that regardless of whether a team is in the Euroleague, EuroCup, or EuroChallenge, they all play domestically.
I'll be updating the list in another post as things progress.
Players added since the last list (Oct. 6th) are in Bold Italics.
Below: The List!
Euroleague (1st Tier)
Group A
Olympiacos Greece
No NBA players signed
Caja Laboral Spain
Joey Dorsey (Raptors)
Kevin Seraphin (Wizards)
Tiago Splitter (Spurs)
Reggie Williams (Warriors)
Fenerbehce Ulker Turkey
Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets)
Thabo Sefolosha (Thunder)
Bizkaia Bilbao Basket Spain
No NBA players signed
NGC Cantu Italy
No NBA players signed
SLUC Nancy France
Nicholas Batum (Trailblazers)
Group B
Panathinaikos Greece
No NBA players signed
CSKA Moscow Russia
Andrei Kirilenko (Jazz)
Nenad Krstic (Celtics)
Unicaja Spain
No NBA players signed
Zalgiris Kaunas Lithuania
Sonny Weems (Raptors)
Ty Lawson (Nuggets)
Brose Baskets Germany
No NBA players signed
KK Zagreb Croatia
No NBA players signed
Group C
Real Madrid Spain
Rudy Fernandez (Mavericks)
Serge Ibaka (Thunder)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv Israel
Omri Cassipi (Kings)
Jordan Farmar (Nets)
KK Partizan Serbia
Acie Law IV (Warriors)
Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves)
Anadolu Efes (Formerly Efes Pilsen) Turkey
Ersan Ilyasova (Bucks)
Sasha Vujacic (Nets)
Olimpia Milano (Emporio Armani) Italy
Danilo Gallinari (Nuggets)
Spirou Basket France
No NBA players signed
Group D
Regal FC Barcelona Spain
No NBA players signed
Montepaschi Siena Italy
David Andersen (Hornets)
DaJuan Summers (Pistons)
UNICS Kazan Russia
No NBA players signed
Asseco Prokom Gdynia Poland
Alonzo Gee (Cavaliers)
Union Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia
Danny Green (Spurs)
Galatasaray Turkey
Zaza Pachulia (Hawks)
Darius Songaila (76ers)
Eurocup (2nd Tier)
Cholet Basket France
Chandler Parsons (Rockets)
BCM Gravelines France
Pape Sy (Hawks)
ASVEL Basket France
Hilton Armstrong (Hawks)
Tony Parker (Spurs)
Ronny Turiaf (Knicks)
ALBA Berlin Germany
No NBA players signed, though they did sign former Thunder player Kyle Weaver.
Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt Germany
Jon Leuer (Bucks)
BC Khimki Russia
Austin Daye (Pistons)
Chris Quinn (Spurs)
Timofey Mozgov (Nuggets)
Lokomotiv Kuban Russia
Ben Uzoh (Nets)
BC Donetsk Ukraine
Darnell Jackson (Kings)
Hapoel Jerusalem Israel
Avery Bradley (Celtics)
Benetton Basket Bwin Italy
Brian Scalabrine (Bulls)
E'Twaun Moore (Celtics)
Jeff Adrien (Warriors)
KK Buducnost Montenegro
Nikola Vucevic (76ers)
EuroChallenge (3rd Tier)
Besiktas Milangaz Turkey
Semih Erden (Cavaliers)
Deron Williams (Nets)
Turk Telekom BK Turkey
Mehmet Okur (Jazz)
Mustafa Shakur (Wizards)
BC Armia Georgia
Sundiata Gaines (Nets)
BK Bemaco Spu Nitra Slovakia
Robert Vaden (Thunder)
Domestic/Regional Only
France
Hyeres-Toulon
Alexis Ajinca (Raptors)
Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre
Ian Mahimni (Mavericks)
Strasbourg IG
LaVoy Allen (76ers)
Justin Harper (Magic)
Greece
Panionios
B.J. Mullens (Thunder)
Jon Diebler (Trailblazers)
Israel
Maccabi Ashdod
Craig Brackins (76ers)
Italy
Dinamo Sassari
Keith Benson (Atlanta)
Gruppo Triboldi Basket Cromona
Von Wafer (Celtics)
Virtus Bologna
Chris Douglas-Roberts (Bucks)
Poland
Zastal Zielona Gora
Gani Lawal (Suns)
Russia
BC Krasnye Krylya Samara
DeJuan Blair (Spurs)
Spain
Lucentum Alicante
Kyle Singler (Pistons)
Joventut Badalona
Christian Eyenga (Cavaliers)
Pooh Jeter (Kings)
Domestic Second Tier
France
JSA Bordeaux
Boris Diaw (Bobcats, He is the President of JSA Bordeaux.)
Italy
Casale
Garrett Temple (Bobcats)
Scaligera Basket Verona
Mario West (Nets)
Outside of Europe
Argentina
Penarol
Andres Nocioni (76ers)
Australia
Melbourne Tigers
Patrick Mills (Trailblazers)
Brazil
Flamengo
Leandro Barbosa (Raptors)
China
Guangdong Southern Tigers
Aaron Brooks (Suns)
Yi Jianlian (Wizards)
Liauning Panpan
Josh Powell (Hawks)
Jiangsu
Dan Gadzuric (Nets)
Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Kenyon Martin (Nuggets)
Zhejiang Lions
J.R. Smith (Nuggets)
Wilson Chandler (Nuggets)
Iran
Melli Haffari
Hamed Haddadi (Grizzlies)
A Few Facts About the Updated List:
- The Guangdong Southern Tigers, historically the strongest team in China, have made a late power play in signing Yi and Brooks. This will undoubtedly help them continue their run at the top, especially considering their strong stock of domestic players. And considering that Yi is technically a Chinese player, they still have room to sign another NBA player should they choose. (CBA teams are capped at two.)
- Australia's NBL has really had a fall from grace. Due to some recent instability and previous failed experiments with old NBA players, the only player so far to sign in Australia is favourite son Patty Mills.
- The Euroleague teams that have recently signed players haven't necessarily been in trouble. Rather, they're mostly middling teams needing to put themselves over the top.
- With recent signings, French teams have signed 11 former NBA players, the most in the world. Closely behind are Turkey with 10, Italy with 9, China and Russia with 7, and Spain with 5.
- Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, two of the strongest teams in the Euroleague, have still not signed any players.
- This list shouldn't be taken as a end all be all to whether a team will be good or not. Several teams include former NBA players who still have good skill, and players who are good enough for the NBA but decided to make the transition. Rather, it should be used as a reference for those who wish to keep track of their favourite players.
- The only teams with no overseas signings are the Miami Heat, the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Detroit Pistons only have a rookie, Kyle Singler, playing overseas.
- Check the previous list for more observations.
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