MIES (Switzerland) - It seems just like yesterday Unicaja were lifting the Basketball Champions League trophy in Belgrade. On Sunday, after what felt like the blink of an eye, they lifted another trophy, the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore, and just like that, Season 9 is upon us.
Some of you might not have had the chance to keep up to date with the teams and transfers this summer, but don't worry, 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 9.
Let's call it a Player Power Rankings but add the disclaimer that this is written before a ball has been tipped in anger and we have included players who are yet to play a game in the BCL. We also haven't included any of the players still battling through the Qualifying Rounds. This is a subjective list of players to whet your appetite and give you an idea of who to look out for this season, not an official ranking based on stats and performances this season.
15. Nolan Traore (Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball)
We get this list started with a bang and when we say bang, we really mean BANG like a Mike Breen kind of "BANG". Debutants Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball arrive in the BCL with a squad that positively gleams with shiny new talent. The talent gleaming the brightest is almost certainly Nolan Traore. The young point guard won't turn 19 until May next year, but he's already scored the highest-ever points total for an under-18 player in the LNB Pro A with 25 points against Lyon Villeurbanne last May.
There is a reason Traore is projected as high as the second pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and when you watch him this season, it won't take you long to work out what that reason is. Don't be surprised if Monsieur Traore ends the season with a shiny new award for Best Young Player.
14. Chris Coffey (Peristeri Domino's)
Louisville native Chris Coffey has moved from Patras to Peristeri and looks like a player ready to have a breakout season. The 2.00m (6ft7in) power forward averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds in the BCL last season, shooting 50 percent from the field in the process.
In what will be his fifth season as a pro, the Georgetown College alumni will be a double-double threat every game and hoping to help steer Peristeri into the Round of 16.
13. Jerome Robinson (Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball)
Playing his rookie season in Europe, Jerome Robinson is the second name on this list from newcomers Saint-Quentin. The LA Clippers 13th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Robinson has played over 100 games in the NBA for the Clippers, Washington Wizards, and Golden State Warriors. He also averaged 15 points and 5 assists for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the 2022-23 NBA G League season.
Robinson is a crafty scorer and outside shooting threat, who also has the ability to make plays for others and make teammates better. He is one to watch, Traore is one to watch, Saint-Quetin Basket-Ball... well, you get the picture here, you will want to be watching them this year.
12. Otis Livingston II (Galatasaray)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water after a shifty guard from the German BBL called TJ Shorts dominated everyone's highlight reels throughout BCL Season 7, here comes another one. Otis Livingston II averaged 20.5 points and dished 5.5 assists en route to winning the BBL MVP Award for Wurzburg Baskets last year. That season has now earned him a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Livingston put up those 20.3 points and 5.2 assists whilst shooting over 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep, on over 5 attempts per game. Don't be fooled by him appearing at number 12 on this list, if Galatasaray make a deep run this season and end up with a player in the running for the MVP Award, there is a very good chance it will be Otis Livingston II.
11. Sean McDermott (Pinar Karsiyaka)
The next name on our list is another man with NBA Regular Season experience. Pinar Karsiyaka's new shooting guard played 18 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020 and before that spent 4 years at Butler, averaging over 11 points and 6 rebounds as a senior.
As a pro, McDermott spent his rookie season in Europe with Pallacanestro Varese where he absolutely lit it up. Across all competitions, the 1.98m (6ft 6in) Indiana native scored 13.7 points and pulled 4.4 rebounds per game, whilst shooting 40 percent from behind the arc and 45 percent overall. Those numbers also included 44 points in two games of the BCL Qualifiers.
10. James Palmer Jr (Galatasaray)
There are no sure things in sport, nor are there in life, but if there is one thing that comes close it's that James Palmer Jr will get buckets for Galatasaray this season. He won the 2022 Polish Cup with Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski and has averaged 15 points or thereabouts in each of his three seasons since he arrived in Europe. He also shot close to 50 percent overall and over 40 percent from deep in each of those seasons - including six games in the BCL as a European rookie in 2021-22.
We spoke about Otis Livingston II being primed to make the most of his move to Galata from Wurzburg. Palmer Jr is also coming off a great season with Turk Telekom and looks more than ready for the step up to Galatasaray.
9. Jayvon Graves (Rytas Vilnius)
Apparently, they call him Graves because that's where Jayvon Graves sends defenders when they get too close (insert drum roll and dead emoji here). Ok, maybe it's a little too early in the season for such an egregious pun but what isn't too early is Jayvon Graves' move to Rytas Vilnius at this point in his career.
With an average of 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists Graves was comfortably one of the best all-round back court players for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the BCL last season. This year he's arriving in Vilnius to find a roster stacked with domestic and international talent that is perfectly primed to make the next push into a deep run in the BCL.
8. Dylan Ennis (UCAM Murcia)
Remember when we told you that this wasn't an official ranking? Now that you see Dylan Ennis only coming in at number 8 you can probably understand why we said that.
If Jayvon Graves was one of the best all-round backcourt players in the BCL last season, Dylan Ennis has been that guy in each of his four seasons with us so far. He steered UCAM Murcia to another Final Four last year, his third, and you only need to watch the way he has started pre-season this year to understand that he's in the mood to be the one wearing the baseball cap next spring.
7. Zoltan Perl (Falco-Vulcano Szombathely)
Somehow, Zoltan Perl is entering his sixth season in the BCL. How does time fly, huh?
That's not the only Perl of wisdom we can share with you either. At 29 years of age, Zoltan Perl is still getting better. He's increased his scoring average in each of his five seasons so far. In 2020 he ended the season with an average of 12.2 points, in 2021 it was 14.8 points, then 16.9 points in 2022, 17.7 points in 2023, and last season he put up 18.5 points on 50 percent shooting overall and 50 percent from behind the arc.
Those are truly astounding scoring numbers and there is no reason to expect anything less from him this time around. Perl is such a skilled player, there really isn't a weakness in his offensive game.
6. Dylan Osetkowski (Unicaja)
Dylan Osetkowski is one of those players who wears his heart on his sleeve and everyone seems to have an opinion about. But one thing that isn't an opinion is that he is not only one of the most complete players in the BCL but also one of the most complete players on this continent.
If we go by his MVP performance in the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, it's not even going overboard to say he's one of the most complete players in international club basketball.
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