The 2023-24 EuroLeague season is right around the corner and fans are excited as ever to cheer on their teams as this season shapes up to be one of the most competitive in the competition's history. Speaking of fans, it's what the EuroLeague is known for. The passionate fanbases give teams a greater advantage at home, and for many, it is the past success that fuels that fandom.
So who are the most popular and successful teams in EuroLeague? We decided to assess this with a combination of cumulative social followings and historical club success. It was not the most scientific system, but the logic is generally fair. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook followers were added up for social following. From there, platform followings were averaged and then multiplied for a team's championships in a certain competition.
For example, Facebook followings were the largest across the 18 teams at 20,720,000. The average for each team was 1,151,111. This was brought down to a round number of 500,000 and each continental title a team won — EuroLeague, EuroCup, and FIBA Basketball Champions League — was then multiplied by 500,000 to add to a team's cumulative following. Domestic titles were worth 250,000 followers, and Domestic cups, including pre-season cups, were worth 100,000.
To reiterate, this system is not incredibly scientific and certainly has its flaws. Zalgiris for example was very difficult to assess in regards to domestic trophies due to their history in the former Soviet League.
For brevity, we're only going to go in-depth on the top 5 teams following this experiment but we will share the counts for the remaining teams at the end. You may be surprised at who the top five are, and who didn't make the cut. Let's begin.
Most popular and successful teams in EuroLeague: 5. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Cumulative Social Following: 794,400
Continental Titles: 2
Domestic League Titles: 16
Domestic Cups: 25
Total Score: 3,294,400
Anadolu Efes Istanbul just barely made the cut and the two EuroLeague titles they've won in the past three years are the reason why. The club has a deep history but only won their first EuroLeague title in 2021 defeating FC Barcelona.
They were powered to those championships by head coach Ergin Ataman and players Vasilije Micic, Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, Bryant Dunston, Elijah Bryant, and others. Micic and Ataman left after the team failed to make the playoffs last season though, and they'll be looking to bounce back under new head coach Erdem Can.
They also added Darius Thompson, Derek Willis, Tyrique Jones, Erkan Yilmaz, and others this summer as they prepare to return to the top of the European basketball world. This team should be successful. Replacing a player of Micic's caliber is never easy but Darius Thompson is the best substitute they could possibly ask for, and head coach Can led Turk Telekom Ankara to the EuroCup title game last season. They have as good a chance as almost anyone as lifting the EuroLeague trophy next May.
Most popular and successful teams in EuroLeague: 4. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Cumulative Social Following: 3,400,000
Continental Titles: 1
Domestic League Titles: 13
Domestic Cups: 14
Total Score: 4,800,000
We're staying in Istanbul as Efes' rivals Fenerbahce Beko are the next most popular team. Their success is much more recent and less historic. They won their only EuroLeague title in 2017, defeating Real Madrid and Olympiacos in the Final Four. Serbian legend Zeljko Obradovic led them to that title and also helped build most of their popularity.
The main reason they are ahead of Efes, though, and other EuroLeague teams, is because of their social followings. They have 1.1 million followers on Facebook and Twitter and 1.2 million on Instagram. They have the second-highest cumulative social following out of the 18 EuroLeague teams and also, they've got their sights set on winning the EuroLeague crown this season.
Scottie Wilbekin, Tyler Dorsey, Yam Madar, Marko Guduric, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Dyshawn Pierre, and Jonathan Motley are ready to push this team past the playoffs — where they got eliminated by Olympiacos last season — and to the EuroLeague Final Four. With former Zeljko Obradovic assistant coach Dimitris Itoudis at the helm, they'll always be in the position possible to make that happen.
Most popular and successful teams in EuroLeague: 3. Maccabi Tel Aviv
Cumulative Social Following: 430,600
Continental Titles: 6
Domestic League Titles: 56
Domestic Cups: 55
Total Score: 5,930,600
Fenerbahce was thrust into the top five most popular EuroLeague teams due to their massive social followings, and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv is the exact opposite of that. Their paltry social following of 430,600 is only the 12th-best and easily the smallest of the top five teams. They are in the top five due to their domestic dominance back home in Israel. Their 111 total domestic trophies are well ahead of the rest of the field, and they've also got six EuroLeague trophies to go with that.
Interestingly, this domestic dominance has waned over the past decade. There have been five other Israeli Basketball Premier League champions since the 2012-13 season. This is not incredibly surprising. Maccabi did win the 2013-14 EuroLeague championship under head coach David Blatt but has not made the EuroLeague Final Four since then. After that championship, they made the playoffs the following season but did not return to the playoffs again until the 2021-22 season.
Maccabi did make the playoffs last season thanks to their dynamic core of Lorenzo Brown, Wade Baldwin, and Bonzie Colson. They went five games with AS Monaco Basket but came up short. They are essentially running it back for the 2023-24 season and will be looking to make their first Final Four appearance since their championship a decade ago.
Most popular and successful teams in EuroLeague: 2. FC Barcelona
Cumulative Social Following: 2,854,200
Continental Titles: 2
Domestic League Titles: 20
Domestic Cups: 33
Total Score: 6,154,200
Better known for their football, FC Barcelona remains one of the most popular EuroLeague teams. This position is largely driven by their Facebook following of 2.2 million but also the club's success. They have won two EuroLeague titles and also played a part in developing some of the biggest names in European basketball.
Both Pau and Marc Gasol played for Barcelona before crossing the Atlantic and coming to the NBA. Orlando Magic legend Fran Vasquez also played for Barcelona as did NBA one-hit wonder Juan Carlos Navarro. Also known as "La Bomba," Navarro was on both Barcelona teams that won EuroLeague titles in 2003 and 2010. That 2010 squad also had Erazem Lorbek and Ricky Rubio. The new head coach for the upcoming season, Roger Grimau, was also on the 2010 team.
FC Barcelona has made the last three EuroLeague Final Fours but they have come up short in all three of them. They lost in the 2021 title game, and in the semifinals in 2022 and 2023. They scaled back their budget this season and star forward Nikola Mirotic left the club and signed with Olimpia Milan. They've brought in Willy Hernangomez and Jabari Parker to replace him.
Tomas Satoransky, Nicolas Laprovittola, Alex Abrines, and Rokas Jokubaitis are some names NBA fans may recognize who is also on this squad and still believe they can win the EuroLeague title next season.
Most popular and successful teams in EuroLeague: 1. Real Madrid Baloncesto
Cumulative Social Following: 19,191,600
Continental Titles: 11
Domestic League Titles: 36
Domestic Cups: 38
Total Score: 22,991,600
Real Madrid Baloncesto is far and away the most popular and successful EuroLeague team of our incredibly scientific formula. Yes, this figure is largely supported by their following of 14 million on Facebook but they are also the winningest club in EuroLeague history with 11 titles so their final position is fair on both popularity and actual success.
Real Madrid are the favorites for the 2023-24 season as well. Not only are they the returning champions, but they brought back Argentinian guard Facundo Campazzo this summer while retaining Edy Tavares, Dzanan Musa, Mario Hezonja, Guerschon Yabusele, and the majority of their team. They will once again have one of the most talented teams in Europe with a ridiculous amount of depth.
Here's how the rest of the teams scored:
Surprisingly, none of Panathinaikos, Partizan, Zvezda, Zalgiris, or Olympiacos made the top five given the strength of those teams' home courts. They are all very well known for their passionate fanbases and have historical success in the competition as well. Other clubs have them beaten though, but maybe they can change that in the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.