MIES (Switzerland) – Aaand we're back. Season X was emotional, but that's in the past now. We have new teams, new players, new coaches and new stories to write in Season 11 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL. Basketball never stops.
If you haven't had the chance to keep up to date with the teams and transfers this summer, don't stress. We here at BCL HQ have got you covered. To get you back up to speed, we put together a list of players to watch in Season 11.
We call them Player Power Rankings, but note the disclaimer that this is written before a ball has been tipped in anger, and we have included players who have yet to play a game in the BCL Regular Season.
We aren't saying this is absolutely the 15 best players in the BCL.
But they might be.
We covered #15-#6 here. Now, let's get into the top 5.
#5 Willy Hernangomez (Unicaja)
Two-time FIBA EuroBasket champion and 2022 EuroBasket MVP.
2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup champion.
Two-time ACB champion.
2017 NBA All-Rookie First Team and 344 career NBA appearances.
The list doesn't end there, either. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Willy Hernangomez.
And someone, somewhere decided it was a bright idea to let him work with Txus Vidorreta in Malaga. We saw throughout the years of Giorgi Shermadini in Tenerife what happens when you give a coach like Vidorreta an elite big man to work with.
Well, based on the 20 points and six rebounds he already put up in his first game for Unicaja against Real Madrid in the Liga Endesa, Unicaja's opponents are in for a rough ride in the paint this year.
Do we really need to say any more than that about putting Willy Hernangomez in the top five?
#4 Kay Bruhnke (Rytas Vilnius)
Season X champion and German national team forward Kay Bruhnke is up next. Bruhnke is back in Vilnius again this season to defend his throne and is a player who is going from strength to strength on what feels like a game-by-game basis.
Bruhnke was selected for the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic along with the very best of his generation in Europe, and was then selected for Basketball Without Borders the following year.
Like a lot of young players, there were bumps in the road. After going through relegation from the BBL with Medi Bayreuth in 2023 and not getting selected in the NBA Draft that same year, Bruhnke moved to Lithuania. The trajectory from that move has been up ever since.
With Rytas last year, he averaged 7.6 points, five rebounds and 1.3 assists en route to the BCL title. He was sensational in the Final with 10 points and 12 rebounds, providing an X-factor in his role to overcome the strongly favored AEK BC.
Add to that the 14.5 points and six rebounds Bruhnke just put up in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup this September, and we are expecting big things from Kay Bruhnke this year.
#3 Kendrick Perry (Unicaja)
Last year's #1 in the Player Power Rankings comes in at #3. The only thing that's changed is that Unicaja are no longer the defending back-to-back champs, but knowing KP, we know how focused he will be on changing that.
We also know that KP will have even more responsibility to run the Unicaja offense under Txus Vidorreta. In Unicaja's first Liga Endesa game of the season, he played 26 minutes, took 10 shots and dished out five assists to the likes of Willy Hernangomez, Ignas Brazdeikis and Simonas Lukosius, along with all his returning teammates from last year's third-placed team.
If those numbers continue, there's every chance we see KP return to putting up the 15-and-5 type of numbers he had in Nizhny Novgorod back in 2019.
Oh, and a quick mention for the reigning Final Four MVP, Simonas Lukosius. We haven't forgotten about him on this list. We fully expect more of the same, but if he's going to express himself with all the shooting ability he brings, the ammunition will be coming from Kendrick Perry.
#2 Ricky Rubio (Asisa Joventut)
Ricky opened his BCL career with 13.4 points, 5.8 assists and three rebounds last season. He's got even more talent at his disposal this season, not least of which is the arrival of Nicolas Laprovittola and the forming of one of the most exciting backcourts ever put together in the BCL.
Rubio has the ability to make the flashy look functional, while Laprovittola makes the mundane look mesmerizing.
Obviously, they haven't played a game together in this league yet, but do yourself a favor and just go and watch Joventut's performances in the Spanish Supercopa. A truly sensational start to the season for Dani Miret's project.
Rubio is averaging 13.7 points, seven assists and 3.3 rebounds so far in Spain this season.
We think those numbers could be even higher in the BCL. As we said for Nico Laprovittola, Joventut are undoubtedly a preseason favorite for the BCL title this year. On a roster that boasts so much talent, Ricky Rubio is still the talisman.
#1 Frank Bartley (AEK BC)
Talking of talismans and title favorites, at #1 this year we have gone for AEK's Frank Bartley. Could we really have gone for anyone else?
The reigning MVP was in his own league at times last year. 18.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds on 51-38-89 shooting splits and a usage rate of 27 percent.
It's not hyperbole to put it up there with the best seasons ever in the BCL, and there's no reason to expect anything different this year.
Until further notice, the BCL is Frank's world and we are all just living in it.
The only thing missing is a BCL title. Losing that final last year will have stung. Expect Frank Bartley to be on a mission to put that right this time around.
The Basketball Champions League's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA or the Basketball Champions League.
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