MIES (Switzerland) - Season Seven of the Basketball Champions League is starting next week. Lenovo Tenerife are the defending champions, meaning they have the biggest target on their backs ahead of the Regular Season start.

Time for us to introduce all the 32 teams, group by group, continuing with four loaded rosters in Group G, all composed with a goal to reach (at least) the Round of 16 in the BCL.

 

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	JDA Bourgogne Dijon JDA	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Dinamo BDS Sassari SASS	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
3	PAOK mateco PAOK	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Unicaja UNI	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0

JDA Bourgogne Dijon

Who are they?

Jeanne d'Arc Dijon are a 142 year old club, which lived to see its best days over the last 20 years or so. JDA reached the Final of the LNB Pro A in 2020-21, they won the Leaders Cup in 2020, and have one French Supercup in their locker, the one from 2006.

Coached by Nenad Markovic, JDA Bourgogne Dijon did not go through a lot of changes over the summer. That means you'll get to see David Holston create for Gavin Ware, Chase Simon, Robin Ducote, Abdoulaye Loum, Jacques Alingue and himself for at least another year.

Their biggest BCL success?

They upset Turk Telekom in the Quarter-Finals in Athens in 2020, then went on to defeat Casademont Zaragoza to win the Third Place Game in the BCL just over two years ago.

Why should I watch them?

...is a question only someone who never watched David Holston would ask.

Dinamo BDS Sassari

Who are they?

The Islanders who know how to win big trophies. They were Italian champions in 2015, won the Cup in 2014 and 2015, and the Supercup in 2014 and 2019. 2019 was a successful year for them in continental terms - Dinamo BDS Sassari won the FIBA Europe Cup that year.

Coached by Piero Bucchi, Dinamo already played the final of the Italian Supercup this season, and lost it narrowly to Virtus Bologna. They kept the team together from last season, making just minor changes over the summer.

Their biggest BCL success?

Back in 2016-17, Dinamo Sassari eliminated Nymburk in the Play-In Series, then swept Le Mans Sarthe in the Round of 16 and were stopped by Monaco in the Quarter-Finals.

Why should I watch them?

Because Chinanu Onuaku has the best free throw shooting style ever, shooting from below his waist. He also had a monster season in Israel with 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, earning a call from the Italian island. Bendzius, Gandini, Chessa, Gentile, Devecchi, Diop and Kruslin are all coming back from last year, so expect a lot of chemistry on the floor.

PAOK mateco

Who are they?

A team with two Greek championships and three Greek Cups won, and also with a FIBA Saporta Cup and a FIBA Korac Cup trophy in their collection, won in the 1990s. They played two more Finals of the FIBA Saporta Cup then, and reached the Final Four of the EuroLeague back in 1993.

Coached by Aris Lykogiannis, PAOK mateco could go either way. If they want to play with Greek firepower, they have guys like Christos Saloustros and Evangelos Margaritis to carry them. If they want more production from the international guys, they will likely give the ball to Jalen Riley and Yannick Franke to make something happen.

Their biggest BCL success?

They went to the Round of 16 phase three straight times in their first three seasons of this competition. Their elimination of Partizan in 2016-17 still remains mythical as it happened in two sold out arenas.

Why should I watch them?

Because coach Lykogiannis is now in his third year of playcalling, achieving longevity that was last seen from 2009 to 2017, when Soulis Markopoulos was the head coach of PAOK. The club is putting a lot of trust into coach Aris' hands, searching for a continental success for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Unicaja

Who are they?

Spanish champions, Spanish Cup winners, EuroCup winners, FIBA Korac Cup trophy holders. Unicaja are a legendary team that is slowly but surely getting back to the top of Spanish and European basketball. They needed Qualification Rounds to reach the Regular Season, but that felt like a walk in the park for Unicaja.

Coached by Ibon Navarro, Unicaja put together a strong roster with a genuine team-first approach. Kendrick Perry looked unstoppable over the summer, and Alberto Diaz looked like he stopped everybody. Adding veterans as Nihad Djedovic and Augusto Lima seems like a smart move on the market.

Their biggest BCL success?

Unicaja reached the Quarter-Finals last season, but could not match BAXI Manresa's energy.

Why should I watch them?

Because the fans in Malaga are hungry for wins. Any kind of wins, in Spain and in the BCL. And in that kind of mood, they can create a special kind of atmosphere that would feed guys like Perry, Tyson Carter, Melvin Ejim, Dario Brizuela and Will Thomas.