Let's count down contenders:
1. SPAIN. A bit reluctantly and with some doubts I'm saying Spain is still No.1 to win it all. No other NT has the depth and champs vibe like Spain. Obviously Pau used to be the guarantee of success for them and it's hard to expect him to be there, but they do have options. If they will pack one of the Gasols, they're good to go with guys like Llull, Redriguez, Rubio and Hernangomez will give them size and toughness under the boards as well. Probably most vulnerable in years, but I simply can't put anyone else in the first place.
2. SERBIA. Coherence, Teo, upcoming super talent Jokič and the recent success. Serbia poised to contend.
3. FRANCE. New post-Parker era upcoming. Gobert, Seraphin, Lauvergne (and still Diaw?) will be a tough frontcourt to handle, all glued by De Colo and Batum. Wouldn't they lack true leadership though.
4. CROATIA. A bit unpopular pick as Croatia yet to establish as a true winner, powerhouse, but they are coming and it was obvious in OG. Bogdanovic, Hezonja, Saric, Simon all are ready for big games and likely Bender might already see some minutes. Croatia is a bit shaky, but if Bogdanovic and Saric will play BIG Croatia can expect good things to come.
5. LITHUANIA. Finalists of 2 previous Eurobaskets won't be easy to handle as always. I expect most of the players to come as next 2018 is a window. Lekavicius and Grigonis should shake calm backourt waters hopefully. Sabonis and Kuzminskas poised for bigger role and a possible trump card - Motiejunas.
6. GREECE. A bit out of the map recently long year powerhouse. Still extremely deep team which struggled to succeed has one of the most explosive players in the word (Greek Freak) and eager to get back on track. They should re-establish identity. Winning identity.
7. ITALY. Used to be half a step from the glory last few years. If they will pack all best players, should be among contenders again. Yet Italy might be a bit irritated with all those loses, some players collapsing mentally (Gentille). Fast to play big and to crash I suppose.
And things get complicated...very complicated...
8. TURKEY. I must go with Turkey. They are host and respectable team which had success at home before. Turkey recently had great success at youth category, yet they are about to build almost entirely new core and unfortunately for them they won't have Kanter as a guy to go. The question is - do they have ripped material to fight for big things.
9. LATVIA. Underrated team which potentially might pack Porzingis. But he's not the only one to shine - Davis Bertans is a heck of an athletic stretch 4. Latvia one of the dark horses of the EB.
10. SLOVENIA. Recent 17yo sensation Doncic linked with Goran Dragic. Sounds pretty good. Couple of other solid guards. Permanently underperforming Slovenia opens new page with new BB prodigy. They need a whole bunch, whole core including competitive frontline to realistically compete for high though.
11. GEORGIA. Another underrated team which can cause a lot of trouble. Great starting 5, but a bit short bench. Pachulia is good as ever
12. RUSSIA. To low? Probably, but they used to be a mess. Can they collect all their best player and to bounce back?It's a test for Kirlilenko as a president of federation. They might be a powerhouse, but they are so out of the map now. They need to gather them selves mentally in the first place and to clean the mess inside.
13. CZECH REPUBLIC. Satoransky and Vesely. Could be a pain in the ass again, just like in 2015 EB.
14. POLAND. Gortat, Lampe, Karnowski. Solid roster, solid team. I doubt they would go anywhere far though.
15-17, FINLAND. UKRAINE, BELGIUM. Teams which had some surprising success recently. No idea if they can keep it up. Specially Finland. Ukraine might be pretty good if Alex Len and all players show up. The same with Belgium which has some solid athletic backourt.
18. GERMANY. Another team looking forward to a new era. Maybe first steps to the bright future. Paul Zipser, Schröder and plenty of youngs.
19. MONTENEGRO. Vucevic and Co. Pekovic unfortunately retiring from basketball. However it's rather competitive Balkan team.
20. ISRAEL. Hosts. High expectations. Tough group. The only true international name Casspi. Tough task.
21. GREAT BRITAIN. No idea what kind of team do they bring. Might be way too low or absolutely spot on as a non-basketball country.
22-24. HUNGARY. ROMANIA. ICELAND.
1. SPAIN. A bit reluctantly and with some doubts I'm saying Spain is still No.1 to win it all. No other NT has the depth and champs vibe like Spain. Obviously Pau used to be the guarantee of success for them and it's hard to expect him to be there, but they do have options. If they will pack one of the Gasols, they're good to go with guys like Llull, Redriguez, Rubio and Hernangomez will give them size and toughness under the boards as well. Probably most vulnerable in years, but I simply can't put anyone else in the first place.
2. SERBIA. Coherence, Teo, upcoming super talent Jokič and the recent success. Serbia poised to contend.
3. FRANCE. New post-Parker era upcoming. Gobert, Seraphin, Lauvergne (and still Diaw?) will be a tough frontcourt to handle, all glued by De Colo and Batum. Wouldn't they lack true leadership though.
4. CROATIA. A bit unpopular pick as Croatia yet to establish as a true winner, powerhouse, but they are coming and it was obvious in OG. Bogdanovic, Hezonja, Saric, Simon all are ready for big games and likely Bender might already see some minutes. Croatia is a bit shaky, but if Bogdanovic and Saric will play BIG Croatia can expect good things to come.
5. LITHUANIA. Finalists of 2 previous Eurobaskets won't be easy to handle as always. I expect most of the players to come as next 2018 is a window. Lekavicius and Grigonis should shake calm backourt waters hopefully. Sabonis and Kuzminskas poised for bigger role and a possible trump card - Motiejunas.
6. GREECE. A bit out of the map recently long year powerhouse. Still extremely deep team which struggled to succeed has one of the most explosive players in the word (Greek Freak) and eager to get back on track. They should re-establish identity. Winning identity.
7. ITALY. Used to be half a step from the glory last few years. If they will pack all best players, should be among contenders again. Yet Italy might be a bit irritated with all those loses, some players collapsing mentally (Gentille). Fast to play big and to crash I suppose.
And things get complicated...very complicated...
8. TURKEY. I must go with Turkey. They are host and respectable team which had success at home before. Turkey recently had great success at youth category, yet they are about to build almost entirely new core and unfortunately for them they won't have Kanter as a guy to go. The question is - do they have ripped material to fight for big things.
9. LATVIA. Underrated team which potentially might pack Porzingis. But he's not the only one to shine - Davis Bertans is a heck of an athletic stretch 4. Latvia one of the dark horses of the EB.
10. SLOVENIA. Recent 17yo sensation Doncic linked with Goran Dragic. Sounds pretty good. Couple of other solid guards. Permanently underperforming Slovenia opens new page with new BB prodigy. They need a whole bunch, whole core including competitive frontline to realistically compete for high though.
11. GEORGIA. Another underrated team which can cause a lot of trouble. Great starting 5, but a bit short bench. Pachulia is good as ever
12. RUSSIA. To low? Probably, but they used to be a mess. Can they collect all their best player and to bounce back?It's a test for Kirlilenko as a president of federation. They might be a powerhouse, but they are so out of the map now. They need to gather them selves mentally in the first place and to clean the mess inside.
13. CZECH REPUBLIC. Satoransky and Vesely. Could be a pain in the ass again, just like in 2015 EB.
14. POLAND. Gortat, Lampe, Karnowski. Solid roster, solid team. I doubt they would go anywhere far though.
15-17, FINLAND. UKRAINE, BELGIUM. Teams which had some surprising success recently. No idea if they can keep it up. Specially Finland. Ukraine might be pretty good if Alex Len and all players show up. The same with Belgium which has some solid athletic backourt.
18. GERMANY. Another team looking forward to a new era. Maybe first steps to the bright future. Paul Zipser, Schröder and plenty of youngs.
19. MONTENEGRO. Vucevic and Co. Pekovic unfortunately retiring from basketball. However it's rather competitive Balkan team.
20. ISRAEL. Hosts. High expectations. Tough group. The only true international name Casspi. Tough task.
21. GREAT BRITAIN. No idea what kind of team do they bring. Might be way too low or absolutely spot on as a non-basketball country.
22-24. HUNGARY. ROMANIA. ICELAND.
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