Every EuroLeague GM expects Olympiacos Piraeus to reach the Final Four for a sixth consecutive season, but Panathinaikos Athens remain the executives’ favorite to lift the trophy, according to the BasketNews EuroLeague GM Survey.
Zalgiris Kaunas and Maccabi Tel Aviv emerged as the leading dark horse picks, while Jean Montero, already second in the MVP voting, dominated another category as the executives’ top choice for the next EuroLeague player to make the jump to the NBA.
Those are some of the key takeaways from Part II of the 2026 BasketNews EuroLeague GM Survey.
In this part, EuroLeague executives were asked to select their four Final Four teams, EuroLeague title favorite, biggest dark horse, MVP favorite, and the next player to make the NBA jump.
In case you missed Part I, the executives revealed their picks for the best offseason signings and the teams that did the best work over the summer.
Part III is also coming later this week and focuses on one of the biggest topics in European basketball: a potential EuroLeague-NBA collaboration.
Four teams that will reach the Final Four 
Olympiacos Kostas Papanikolaou Giorgos Panagiotis Angelopoulos EuroLeague title
Credit IMAGO/AgenciaLOF – Scanpix
Olympiacos Piraeus stand alone in the Final Four predictions.
Every executive who participated in the BasketNews survey picked the reigning EuroLeague champions to reach the 2027 Final Four, giving Georgios Bartzokas’ team a perfect 100% of the vote.
Olympiacos are coming off a campaign in which they finished first in the regular season before ultimately capturing the EuroLeague title. Instead of standing pat, the champions strengthened their roster with several major additions, including Jean Montero and Codi Miller-McIntyre.
Behind Olympiacos, Panathinaikos Athens were the second-most popular Final Four selection, appearing on 86.7% of the ballots.
Real Madrid followed with 73.3%, while Fenerbahce rounded out the executives’ projected Final Four at 66.7%.
Dubai Basketball were not far behind, receiving 46.7% of the vote.
Interestingly, Zalgiris Kaunas were the only other team to receive a Final Four vote, showing how concentrated executives’ expectations are around a small group of contenders this season.
The projected Final Four of Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, and Fenerbahce is exactly the same as last year’s GM prediction.
The order, however, has changed: last year, Panathinaikos were the unanimous choice at 100%, followed by Real Madrid at 91.7%, Olympiacos at 66.7%, and Fenerbahce at 58.3%.
No. Team Vote cast 1. Olympiacos 100% 2. Panathinaikos 86.7% 3. Real Madrid 73.3% 4. Fenerbahce 66.7% 5. Dubai Basketball 46.7% 2022-23: Efes, Real, Barca, Milan | 2023-24: Real, Olympiacos, Monaco, Milan | 2024-25: PAO, Olympiacos, Fenerbahce, Real | 2025-26: PAO, Real, Olympiacos, Fenerbahce Favorite to win the EuroLeague 
Zeljko Obradovic
Credit Vangelis Stolis
Being picked to reach the Final Four by every executive did not make Olympiacos the No. 1 title favorite.
That distinction went to their biggest rival.
Panathinaikos received 46.7% of the championship votes, making the Greens the clear favorite to win the 2027 EuroLeague title.
Panathinaikos brought back Zeljko Obradovic and strengthened an already star-studded roster during the offseason, adding Guerschon Yabusele, Sylvain Francisco, Brancou Badio, Isaac Bonga, and Moustapha Fall.
Olympiacos came second with 26.7%.
Real Madrid received 20%, while Fenerbahce was the only other team to earn a championship vote.
Interestingly, since winning the EuroLeague title in 2024, Panathinaikos has been picked as the top title favorite in the BasketNews EuroLeague GM Survey for three consecutive years.
No. Team Vote cast 1. Panathinaikos 46.7% 2. Olympiacos 26.7% 3. Real Madrid 20% 2022-23: Barcelona | 2023-24: Real Madrid | 2024-25: PAO | 2025-26: PAO Dark horse that could surprise 
Credit LKL, R.Lukoševičius
With a clear group of six teams dominating the Final Four conversation, the executives’ dark horse selections featured teams largely outside the main group of contenders.
Zalgiris Kaunas and Maccabi Tel Aviv shared the top spot with 26.7% of the vote each.
Zalgiris recently announced a franchise-record €28.8 million budget for the upcoming season, including around €13 million net in player salaries, putting the Lithuanian club around the EuroLeague’s top 10 in payroll.
Maccabi operate with a slightly smaller budget and will again face the challenge of playing most home games at a neutral venue.
Still, a promising roster strengthened by additions such as Keaton Wallace, Daniel Theis, Bonzie Colson, and Yam Madar has caught EuroLeague executives’ attention.
Dubai Basketball followed with 13.3% of the vote.
While Dubai appeared on several Final Four ballots, other executives still view the club as a dark horse.
Entering only its second EuroLeague season and coming off a significant roster makeover, Dubai remains a relatively new presence among the competition’s potential Final Four contenders.
Barcelona, Partizan Belgrade, Armani Olimpia Milan, and Baskonia were among the other teams receiving votes in the category.
No. Team Vote cast 1-2. Zalgiris 26.7% 1-2. Maccabi 26.7% 3. Dubai Basketball 13.3% EuroLeague MVP favorite 
Sasha Vezenkov
Credit REUTERS – Scanpix
Nearly two-thirds of EuroLeague executives believe the MVP award will stay in Piraeus for another season, with two Olympiacos players combining for nearly 70% of the vote.
Sasha Vezenkov remains the clear favorite to win back-to-back MVP awards, receiving 40% of the votes.
He is coming off another dominant campaign in which he led the EuroLeague in both scoring and PIR while earning his fourth All-EuroLeague First Team selection.
Right behind him is Olympiacos newcomer Jean Montero with 26.7%.
It is another remarkable endorsement of the young guard from EuroLeague executives after he already dominated two categories in Part I of the BasketNews GM Survey.
Guerschon Yabusele (Panathinaikos), Wade Baldwin (Fenerbahce), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Facundo Campazzo (Real) were among the other players receiving MVP votes.
No. Player Vote cast 1. Sasha Vezenkov (Olympiacos) 40% 2. Jean Montero (Olympiacos) 26.7% 2022-23: Vasilije Micic | 2023-24: Edy Tavares | 2024-25: Nunn & Vezenkov | 2025-26: Kendrick Nunn The next EuroLeague player to make the NBA jump 
Jean Montero
Credit REUTERS – Scanpix
The final individual category rounded out an impressive run for Jean Montero in the 2026 BasketNews EuroLeague GM Survey.
He was already voted the best signing of the offseason, emerged as the No. 1 choice for executives building a EuroLeague team from scratch, and finished behind only Sasha Vezenkov in the MVP voting.
When executives were asked which EuroLeague player could be the next to make the jump to the NBA, Montero dominated once again.
The Olympiacos star signing received 53.3% of the vote, with nobody else coming particularly close.
Still only 23, Montero burst onto the EuroLeague scene last season, leading Valencia Basket to the Final Four and the Spanish League title while earning All-EuroLeague First Team honors, the Rising Star award, and playoff MVP recognition.
Despite going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, his rapid development and upside could make him an intriguing profile for NBA decision-makers.
Kendrick Nunn finished second with 13.3% and also drew recognition as one of the top players outside the league in the NBA general managers’ survey.
Armoni Brooks (Milan), Sylvain Francisco (Panathinaikos), and Tyrese Martin (Barcelona) also received mentions, while executives additionally selected NBA Draft prospects Mario Saint-Supery (Valencia) and Stefan Joksimovic (Baskonia).
No. Player Vote cast 1. Jean Montero (Olympiacos) 53.3% 2. Kendrick Nunn (Panathinaikos) 13.3% 2023: Edy Tavares | 2024: Mario Hezonja | 2025-26: Isaac Bonga We Ranked Every EuroLeague Team This Season!
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