MIES (Switzerland) - It's becoming a tradition in the Basketball Champions League. During the February break, we talked to the general managers of the BCL clubs, searching for answers to crucial questions ahead of the closing months of the season, and the decision-making time called the off-season.
The votes are in, and the GMs seem to trust Unicaja to go all the way once again, after lifting the spiky trophy for the first time in Belgrade in 2024.
Manisa Basket's Saben Lee received a whopping 50 percent of votes to the question about the MVP of the Season, while ERA Nymburk stunned everybody, getting 64 percent of votes as the most surprising team this season.
David Kramer, Jaromir Bohacik and Loic Schwartz received votes as the best shooters, while the question about the best player in five years' time showed just how loaded with talent this BCL season is.
Johann Grunloh received the most votes, but Neoklis Avdalas, Mario Saint-Supery, Mouhamed Faye, Hannes Steinbach, Lucas Fischer, Nolan Traore, Eduardo Francisco and Yaman Alisan also got a mention.
Without further ado, here are all the questions and the answers of the general managers of the BCL Season 9 clubs.
Who will win the BCL Final Four 2025? Unicaja 79% Also received votes: Galatasaray, La Laguna Tenerife, Falco-Vulcano Szombathely
Which team surprised you the most this season? ERA Nymburk 64% Also received votes: Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola, FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets, UCAM Murcia, Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, Aliaga Petkimspor
Which team is the most fun to watch? La Laguna Tenerife 29% Manisa Basket 29% Unicaja 14% Also received votes: Rytas Vilnius, BAXI Manresa, ERA Nymburk
What is the toughest arena to play in? Galatasaray 21% La Laguna Tenerife 21% BAXI Manresa 21% Also received votes: Rytas Vilnius, Falco-Vulcano Szombathely, Karsiyaka
Who is the best head coach of the competition? Ibon Navarro 29% Francesco Tabellini 21% Txus Vidorreta 15% Also received votes: Giedrius Zibenas, Kazys Maksvytis, Sasa Filipovski, Sito Alonso, Milos Konakov
Who has been the MVP of the season so far? Saben Lee 50% Zac Seljaas 14% Also received votes: Tyson Carter, Dylan Ennis, Kendrick Perry, Marcelinho Huertas, Errick McCollum
Which player has the best scoring abilities? Saben Lee 71% Also received votes: Derrick Alston Jr, Breein Tyree, Errick McCollum
Which player has the best passing abilities? Marcelinho Huertas 57% Also received votes: Cassius Winston, Kendale McCullum, Errick McCollum, Tyson Carter, Saben Lee, Amin Stevens
Who is the best shooter? David Kramer 36% Loic Schwartz 15% Jaromir Bohacik 15% Also received votes: Prentiss Hubb, Breein Tyree, Derrick Alston Jr, Hugo Besson, Tyler Kalinoski
Who's the best defender? Howard Sant-Roos 16% Ismael Kamagate 16% Retin Obasohan 16% Also received votes: Plandrous Fleming Jr, Jonah Radebaugh, Wes Iwundu, Christian Bishop, Aher Uguak, Dylan Ennis, Jaromir Bohacik, Alberto Ortiz
Who's the best big man? Ismael Kamagate 15% Jaime Echenique 15% Also received votes: Zac Seljaas, Angel Delgado, Amin Stevens, Azoulas Tubelis, Dylan Osetkowski, Matt Tiby, Jerry Boutsiele, Steven Enoch, Emanuel Cate, Terrell Carter
Who's had the best leadership abilities? Marcelinho Huertas 22% Dylan Ennis 14% Also received votes: Kendrick Perry, Jamar Smith, Tommy Kuhse, Saben Lee, Breein Tyree, Kendale McCullum, Errick McCollum, Gytis Radzevicius
Who is the most respected player in the league? Marcelinho Huertas 79% also received votes: Giorgi Shermadini, Vojtech Hruban, Saben Lee
Who is the most athletic player in the league? DJ Stephens 15% Saben Lee 15% Brandon Randolph 15% Also received votes: Olivier Nkamhoua, Nighael Ceaser, Mouhamed Faye, Derrick Alston Jr, Ebuka Izundu, Retin Obasohan, Will Cummings
Which player (U22) will be the best in 5 years? Johann Grunloh 22% Neoklis Avdalas 15% Mario Saint-Supery 15% Also received votes: Mouhamed Faye, Hannes Steinbach, Lucas Fischer, Nolan Traore, Eduardo Francisco, Yaman Alisan
Which player would you want to steal from another team? Saben Lee 21% Kendrick Perry 15% Errick McCollum 15% Also received votes: Angel Delgado, Johann Grunloh, Dylan Osetkowski, Tyler Kalinoski, Jaromir Bohacik
Which player could benefit the most from a different role or team? Hugo Besson 15% Also received votes: Thomas Kennedy, Kameron Taylor, Wesley Van Beck, Otis Livingston, Howard Sant-Roos, Hunter Hale, Christian Bishop, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Olivier Nkamhoua
Which coach is the most demanding of their players? Ibon Navarro 14% Saso Filipovski 14% Yakup Sekizkok 14% Also received votes: Milos Konakov, Shmuel Brenner, Diego Ocampo, Txus Vidorreta, Ufuk Sarica
Which team's roster looks stronger on paper than on the court? Galatasaray 21% Karsiyaka 14% Unicaja 14% Pallacanestro Reggiana 14% Also received votes: WKS Slask Wroclaw, Hapoel Netanel Holon, La Laguna Tenerife, Manisa Basket, ERA Nymburk
If you were to build a team from scratch today, which BCL player would you sign first? Saben Lee 21% Errick McCollum 15% Kendrick Perry 15% Zac Seljaas 15% Also received votes: Marcelinho Huertas, Johann Grunloh, Derrick Alston Jr, Dylan Osetkowski, Jaromir Bohacik, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Angel Delgado