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The Pool of Options and the Dropped Players per Team
With the data we now have from the first five rounds, it’s time to build a player pool from which we’ll draw our choices for the coming stretch.
Published: 20/10/2025 15:49
Five Euroleague rounds have already been played, giving us a first clear picture of the teams, each player’s minutes, and their role within the rotation. Based on that, we’ll go through every team to identify players who hold fantasy interest and can serve as reliable picks at least until Rounds 6 through 11 — the next point in the season with unlimited transfers. Therefore, we need to re-establish a solid core in our squads with mid- to long-term options. Of course, Fantasy is a dynamic process, so we’ll also keep an eye on situational cases (like injuries) and matchups that may offer opportunities, now that we have enough data to analyze opponents properly through the BasketStories stats.
Before diving into team-by-team analysis, a quick recap of the latest round: Round 5 wasn’t particularly good for our team either, as we scored 158.85 points, dropping further to 6,267th place overall, after having been 199th just two rounds earlier.
After the disastrous Round 4, I wrote that I felt like I was missing the train — that my team was full of dead weight that needed to go. Indeed, I unloaded a lot of it. Unfortunately, it turned out that the “weight” I dropped was coming from Milutinov (34.3), Oturu (31.9), and Dorsey (20.9) — a total of 87.1 points — and in their place came Moore (1), Booker (14.3), and Hifi (13) — a total of just 28.3. So, 58.8 points lighter, I caught the train, but apparently, it wasn’t the right one!
Anyway, that’s Fantasy — let’s skip the self-flagellation and focus on what we’ve actually done right so far. After Bonga’s huge performances, we warned that he’d started similarly last year before fading, so we kept our expectations measured. We never believed Clyburn, at his age, could sustain consistent scoring, and we never listed him as an option. We called out the early “hares” — players who started strong but were bound to regress — and that was proven correct. After two flashy opening rounds, we also noted that Mirotic wouldn’t maintain that pace in such a talent-packed team, and he indeed cooled off. Our recommendations of Fenerbahce’s guards from Round 1 were justified — they’ve performed decently for their price. Osmani has been the pleasant surprise of the season, while Jackson turned out to be the exact budget pick we needed. Overall, we rightly identified forwards (and secondarily centers) as the positions to invest most heavily in, since the high-end guard market lacked standout value, aside from Nunn.
Now, let’s go team by team to identify the players we’re keeping in our fantasy pool and those we’ll monitor without prioritizing — hoping this list can guide us until Round 11, when unlimited changes return.
Efes: Osmani will be out for the next three rounds, but we’ll be eagerly waiting for him. Larkin could become relevant if he finds consistency, but not yet. Weiler-Babb fluctuates too much, Loyd and Cordinier have explosive games but lack steadiness. None of them are first-tier options right now. Dozier is interesting long-term, not immediately. Among the bigs, Efes is now dealing with major injury issues, which is good news for the rest, but the coach still doesn’t seem to trust Jones or Smits. Someone has to play, though, and their prices are appealing...
Monaco: James, at this stage of his career, can’t maintain consistency. Mirotic remains a fantasy legend, but at that price range, competition is fierce. We’re waiting for Strazel to carve out a role — keep an eye on him.
Baskonia: Forrest was one of our team’s anchors before his injury and will continue to be once healthy. Luwawu-Cabarrot and Hamidou Diallo are both strong forward options.
Crvena Zvezda: Nwora has been the fantasy steal of the season, rising from 10.3 to 12.7 credits — still a great pick. Moneke is finding his rhythm but isn’t worth 15.8. Miller-McIntyre has potential but remains very inconsistent — only a situational gamble. Motiejunas disappointed, but not every matchup will be against Real Madrid’s giants.
Dubai: Petrusev and Kabengele have clear roles, big minutes, and solid output. They’re not cheap but deliver value. They’re not long-term staples but solid matchup-based picks.
Milano: Booker is a safe choice until the injured players return. Shields hasn’t capitalized on those absences and is too expensive, so we skip him. Ricci is a clear budget pick. At guard, Guduric and Brown had potential but remain erratic.
Barcelona: I haven’t touched Punter for two years, and that’s aged well. At their price and age, Clyburn and Shengelia aren’t worth it. Waiting for Parra to get more minutes — possible cheap gem.
Bayern: Rathan-Mayes was the trap of the season. Lucic occasionally flashes his old fantasy form but struggles now. Baldwin deserves attention — his minutes are climbing. Obst finally looks consistent, emerging as the team’s fantasy leader. Mike is a fair-value mid-tier option.
Fenerbahce: Hall delivered. Baldwin remains a good pick for his cost, though not the elite choice yet we hoped for early on. With Wilbekin back and Horton-Tucker and Boston returning soon, rotation depth makes things complicated.
Hapoel: Oturu is one of the top 2–3 center options in the game. I won’t touch anyone else from this team right now, though Micic and Bryant will always be worth monitoring.
ASVEL: Jackson, Lighty, and Ajinca — in that order — should always be considered for budget filler spots. De Colo still scores when he plays, but his frequent DNPs make him a one-off play at best.
Maccabi: Sorkin has disappointed. Blatt can score occasionally, but Maccabi looks too chaotic to hold fantasy value at the moment.
Olympiacos: Vezenkov remains the captain of our teams. Milutinov, as long as he can handle the workload alone, remains one of the top centers in the Euroleague. Dorsey has been a bargain — a solid pick, though his output may dip with fatigue and returning teammates.
Panathinaikos: Nunn has three great and two awful games. After the last one, his price is back near his starting value. If you want to invest that many credits at guard, now’s the time. Bonus: he often plays in a different turn than Vezenkov, giving flexibility for captaincy. There will be -4 nights, but also plenty of 30s. Holmes is also worth monitoring — he might become the next viable center option.
Paris: Hifi often has a lower PIR than points scored — a profile I typically avoid — but we can’t ignore a player with steady minutes and usage on a fast-paced, high-possession team. Ouattara and Herrera will swing between strong and negative outings; still, at 4 credits, that’s better than a zero-minute bench filler.
Partizan: Traditionally a fantasy headache. Sterling Brown is the definition of inconsistency — after two good games, at 11.3 and playing away, I wasn’t tempted, and rightly so. Now at 10.8 and home vs Paris, maybe. Carlik Jones just had his first good game but costs 14.4. Washington did what he always does in the Adriatic League. Bonga will post some big scores. Marinkovic reappears when almost forgotten. Tyrique will eventually go on a hot streak. Will you take a risk on one of them? I probably will next round…
Real Madrid: A new, fully loaded team — a recipe for avoiding them in Fantasy. Okeke and Lyles will produce at times, but there are better mid-priced forward options elsewhere. Maledon will find his role eventually — until then, hands off.
Valencia: With Montero back, the guard situation is a mess. I got carried away last round picking Moore — won’t do that again. De Larrea, in under 10 minutes per game, can give you 8–9 points, but that’s not enough. Thompson remains the best, most predictable fantasy option, though his minutes will drop. Reuvers has some strong games but in unbalanced ways — scoring without boards, or vice versa — a red flag. If you gamble at 8.7 and hit a 20, great, but is it worth gambling?
Virtus: Edwards reminded us of his old self for two games, but at 14.5 I’m not convinced yet. Pajola, whom I’ve backed since Round 1, keeps rewarding that faith with consistency. Niang is a solid pick at 8.3.
Zalgiris: Right isn’t a top-tier center but can deliver good scores in select matchups. Butkevicius had two brilliant games, and at 7.2 he’s a worthy risk. Francisco is always fantasy-relevant but dropped just 3 PIR last round at 14.9 — his price now down to 14.4. Tempting for some, but I’ll pass.
For comments or feedback: @NewEntryIlias
Before diving into team-by-team analysis, a quick recap of the latest round: Round 5 wasn’t particularly good for our team either, as we scored 158.85 points, dropping further to 6,267th place overall, after having been 199th just two rounds earlier.
After the disastrous Round 4, I wrote that I felt like I was missing the train — that my team was full of dead weight that needed to go. Indeed, I unloaded a lot of it. Unfortunately, it turned out that the “weight” I dropped was coming from Milutinov (34.3), Oturu (31.9), and Dorsey (20.9) — a total of 87.1 points — and in their place came Moore (1), Booker (14.3), and Hifi (13) — a total of just 28.3. So, 58.8 points lighter, I caught the train, but apparently, it wasn’t the right one!
Anyway, that’s Fantasy — let’s skip the self-flagellation and focus on what we’ve actually done right so far. After Bonga’s huge performances, we warned that he’d started similarly last year before fading, so we kept our expectations measured. We never believed Clyburn, at his age, could sustain consistent scoring, and we never listed him as an option. We called out the early “hares” — players who started strong but were bound to regress — and that was proven correct. After two flashy opening rounds, we also noted that Mirotic wouldn’t maintain that pace in such a talent-packed team, and he indeed cooled off. Our recommendations of Fenerbahce’s guards from Round 1 were justified — they’ve performed decently for their price. Osmani has been the pleasant surprise of the season, while Jackson turned out to be the exact budget pick we needed. Overall, we rightly identified forwards (and secondarily centers) as the positions to invest most heavily in, since the high-end guard market lacked standout value, aside from Nunn.
Now, let’s go team by team to identify the players we’re keeping in our fantasy pool and those we’ll monitor without prioritizing — hoping this list can guide us until Round 11, when unlimited changes return.
Efes: Osmani will be out for the next three rounds, but we’ll be eagerly waiting for him. Larkin could become relevant if he finds consistency, but not yet. Weiler-Babb fluctuates too much, Loyd and Cordinier have explosive games but lack steadiness. None of them are first-tier options right now. Dozier is interesting long-term, not immediately. Among the bigs, Efes is now dealing with major injury issues, which is good news for the rest, but the coach still doesn’t seem to trust Jones or Smits. Someone has to play, though, and their prices are appealing...
Monaco: James, at this stage of his career, can’t maintain consistency. Mirotic remains a fantasy legend, but at that price range, competition is fierce. We’re waiting for Strazel to carve out a role — keep an eye on him.
Baskonia: Forrest was one of our team’s anchors before his injury and will continue to be once healthy. Luwawu-Cabarrot and Hamidou Diallo are both strong forward options.
Crvena Zvezda: Nwora has been the fantasy steal of the season, rising from 10.3 to 12.7 credits — still a great pick. Moneke is finding his rhythm but isn’t worth 15.8. Miller-McIntyre has potential but remains very inconsistent — only a situational gamble. Motiejunas disappointed, but not every matchup will be against Real Madrid’s giants.
Dubai: Petrusev and Kabengele have clear roles, big minutes, and solid output. They’re not cheap but deliver value. They’re not long-term staples but solid matchup-based picks.
Milano: Booker is a safe choice until the injured players return. Shields hasn’t capitalized on those absences and is too expensive, so we skip him. Ricci is a clear budget pick. At guard, Guduric and Brown had potential but remain erratic.
Barcelona: I haven’t touched Punter for two years, and that’s aged well. At their price and age, Clyburn and Shengelia aren’t worth it. Waiting for Parra to get more minutes — possible cheap gem.
Bayern: Rathan-Mayes was the trap of the season. Lucic occasionally flashes his old fantasy form but struggles now. Baldwin deserves attention — his minutes are climbing. Obst finally looks consistent, emerging as the team’s fantasy leader. Mike is a fair-value mid-tier option.
Fenerbahce: Hall delivered. Baldwin remains a good pick for his cost, though not the elite choice yet we hoped for early on. With Wilbekin back and Horton-Tucker and Boston returning soon, rotation depth makes things complicated.
Hapoel: Oturu is one of the top 2–3 center options in the game. I won’t touch anyone else from this team right now, though Micic and Bryant will always be worth monitoring.
ASVEL: Jackson, Lighty, and Ajinca — in that order — should always be considered for budget filler spots. De Colo still scores when he plays, but his frequent DNPs make him a one-off play at best.
Maccabi: Sorkin has disappointed. Blatt can score occasionally, but Maccabi looks too chaotic to hold fantasy value at the moment.
Olympiacos: Vezenkov remains the captain of our teams. Milutinov, as long as he can handle the workload alone, remains one of the top centers in the Euroleague. Dorsey has been a bargain — a solid pick, though his output may dip with fatigue and returning teammates.
Panathinaikos: Nunn has three great and two awful games. After the last one, his price is back near his starting value. If you want to invest that many credits at guard, now’s the time. Bonus: he often plays in a different turn than Vezenkov, giving flexibility for captaincy. There will be -4 nights, but also plenty of 30s. Holmes is also worth monitoring — he might become the next viable center option.
Paris: Hifi often has a lower PIR than points scored — a profile I typically avoid — but we can’t ignore a player with steady minutes and usage on a fast-paced, high-possession team. Ouattara and Herrera will swing between strong and negative outings; still, at 4 credits, that’s better than a zero-minute bench filler.
Partizan: Traditionally a fantasy headache. Sterling Brown is the definition of inconsistency — after two good games, at 11.3 and playing away, I wasn’t tempted, and rightly so. Now at 10.8 and home vs Paris, maybe. Carlik Jones just had his first good game but costs 14.4. Washington did what he always does in the Adriatic League. Bonga will post some big scores. Marinkovic reappears when almost forgotten. Tyrique will eventually go on a hot streak. Will you take a risk on one of them? I probably will next round…
Real Madrid: A new, fully loaded team — a recipe for avoiding them in Fantasy. Okeke and Lyles will produce at times, but there are better mid-priced forward options elsewhere. Maledon will find his role eventually — until then, hands off.
Valencia: With Montero back, the guard situation is a mess. I got carried away last round picking Moore — won’t do that again. De Larrea, in under 10 minutes per game, can give you 8–9 points, but that’s not enough. Thompson remains the best, most predictable fantasy option, though his minutes will drop. Reuvers has some strong games but in unbalanced ways — scoring without boards, or vice versa — a red flag. If you gamble at 8.7 and hit a 20, great, but is it worth gambling?
Virtus: Edwards reminded us of his old self for two games, but at 14.5 I’m not convinced yet. Pajola, whom I’ve backed since Round 1, keeps rewarding that faith with consistency. Niang is a solid pick at 8.3.
Zalgiris: Right isn’t a top-tier center but can deliver good scores in select matchups. Butkevicius had two brilliant games, and at 7.2 he’s a worthy risk. Francisco is always fantasy-relevant but dropped just 3 PIR last round at 14.9 — his price now down to 14.4. Tempting for some, but I’ll pass.
For comments or feedback: @NewEntryIlias
