Valencia Basket begins defense of their best season away from home against a rival opening a new arena. The orange squad visits Besiktas on Friday, September 25 at 7:00 PM in a match marking the Turkish club's return to the EuroLeague, where they haven't played since 2013 in their only previous appearance. Besiktas takes the spot vacated by AS Monaco, facing a Valencia team that has rebuilt almost from scratch.
A Valencia Starting Over
Last season was the most brilliant in club history: Liga Endesa title, Supercopa, and their first EuroLeague Final Four, where they fell to Real Madrid in the semifinals. The price of that success came in the summer. Montero and Badio left after paying their release clauses, heading to Olympiacos and Panathinaikos; Braxton Key went to Fenerbahçe, Darius Thompson to Armani Milan, Jaime Pradilla to Real Madrid, and Sergio de Larrea signed with the Dallas Mavericks. Most significantly, the club lost Pedro Martínez, who departed after paying his release clause to coach Madrid.
The coaching choice has been Xavi Albert, who was Martínez's assistant and now makes his head coaching debut, with Israel González, former Alba Berlin coach, as the main addition to his coaching staff. On the court, they add guards TJ Shorts, Mario Saint-Supéry, Gonzalo Corbalán and Armoni Brooks, forwards Mouhamed Gueye and Dylan Osetkowski, and Lucas Marí returns after his time in the NCAA.
The Supercopa, First Test
Valencia already competed in the Supercopa Endesa and fell to Barcelona in the semifinals 86-87, in a tight finish down to the final minute. The difference came on the boards, where Barcelona dominated clearly (51 to 37, with 16 offensive rebounds to Valencia's 10), though the orange squad took much better care of the ball: 11 turnovers to their opponent's 21. Kameron Taylor was the most decisive with 23 points and 11 of 12 from the free throw line, and TJ Shorts delivered a complete performance of 17 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. According to reporting from El Español de Valencia, the team competes but is still far from the intensity and cohesion of last season.
Besiktas, a Newcomer with Pedigree
Besiktas doesn't arrive in the EuroLeague as a passing guest. Last season they reached the EuroCup final for the first time with a 16-5 record, which they lost to JL Bourg, and their coach, Serbian Dusan Alimpijevic, was named Coach of the Year in the competition for the second time in his career. The club has renewed him through 2028 and has built an ambitious summer.
The additions are numerous: Scottie Wilbekin, who also holds Turkish citizenship and played for Fenerbahce last season; Furkan Korkmaz, who arrives from Tofas after time with the Sixers; Jaylen Nowell, DaQuan Jeffries and Metecan Birsen. There are also two names well-known in Liga Endesa: Mady Sissoko, arriving from Real Madrid, and Eugene Omoruyi, who averaged 10.7 points in 23 EuroLeague games with Baskonia. To maintain the identity of the finalist team, the club renewed key pieces like Anthony Brown, Devon Dotson and Berk Ugurlu.
The Keys
Valencia arrives with more minutes together in official competition, but with the same problem exposed against Barcelona: rebounding. Besiktas, with Sissoko, Omoruyi and Wenyen Gabriel inside, has the tools to punish that weakness. On the perimeter, the battle between Shorts' playmaking and Wilbekin's experience could determine the game's pace.
Besiktas, for its part, must assemble nine new players while competing in Europe's most demanding league, and does so against a rival coming off a Final Four appearance. The atmosphere of their Istanbul debut will, almost certainly, be their best ally.
Valencia won't have time to digest the result: four days later, on Tuesday, September 29 at 8:30 PM, they open the EuroLeague at home at Roig Arena against Baskonia.
- Match: Besiktas-Valencia Basket, Matchday 1 of EuroLeague 2026-27
- Date and time: Friday, September 25, 7:00 PM (CET)