Valencia had the best European season in club history: second in the regular season, eliminated Panathinaikos in the playoffs after overcoming a 0-2 deficit, and reached the Final Four in Athens. Jean Montero was playoff MVP, Pedro Martínez was coach of the year, and Brancou Badio was the standout in the decisive fifth game against the Greeks.
None of the three remain at Valencia. Montero plays for Olympiacos, Badio for Panathinaikos, and Pedro Martínez coaches Real Madrid.
The Starting Point
The 2025-26 season was historic. Valencia finished second with 25 wins and 13 losses, only behind Olympiacos, with a +175 point differential. In the quarterfinals, they lost the first two games at home against Panathinaikos—the second in overtime, 105-107—and won the next three to reach the Final Four.
It was also the first season in the Roig Arena, with a capacity of 15,600 and an average attendance above 12,600, among the best in the competition.
Individually, the team had a season of accolades: Montero won playoff MVP and Rising Star, and Pedro Martínez won the Gomelskiy Award for best coach. In the fifth game against Panathinaikos, Nate Reuvers had already been MVP of matchday 35 with a 44 rating.
What's Leaving
The list explains why this preview looks so different from last year's. Montero left for Olympiacos, Badio for Panathinaikos, Jaime Pradilla for Real Madrid, and Braxton Key for Fenerbahçe. Darius Thompson signed with Olimpia Milano and Sergio de Larrea made the jump to the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks.
Also departing were Xabi López-Arostegui to La Laguna Tenerife, Isaac Nogués to Joventut, Joel Soriano to Obradoiro, and Matt Costello to Japanese basketball.
And, most importantly, Pedro Martínez.
What's Arriving
Nine signings, and one of them changes the scale of the project.
Nikola Mirotic arrives from Monaco at 35 years old with a résumé that includes the EuroLeague MVP award. He is, by far, the biggest name the club has ever signed and the player tasked with winning the close games that Montero used to decide.
The point guard position is covered by TJ Shorts, who arrives from Panathinaikos after being play-in MVP, and Mario Saint-Supéry, who returns from Gonzaga at 20 years old on a long-term contract. Armoni Brooks arrives on loan from ASVEL and Gonzalo Corbalán from San Pablo Burgos.
In the frontcourt, Dylan Osetkowski enters as the summer's first signing from Partizan, and Mo Gueye arrives from the G League. The group is completed by Lucas Marí, who returns after his college stint, and Elias Valtonen, who signs a non-guaranteed contract.
On the bench, Xavi Albert takes over as head coach for his first season leading the project.
Who Stays
Seven players provide continuity. Kam Taylor renewed through 2028 and is now the offensive reference point of the remaining core. Omari Moore, Josep Puerto, and Álvaro Cárdenas remain on the perimeter.
In the paint, Nate Reuvers, Neal Sako, and Yankuba Sima continue—the part of the roster that has changed the least.
The Keys
How do you replace a Final Four run? You don't. Valencia has lost its playmaker, its big-game closer, and its coach in the same offseason, and has responded with a bigger name but older player and a new point guard. It's a different project, not a continuation.
Mirotic and the schedule. At 35 years old with a demanding injury history, Mirotic won't play thirty-eight more ACB games at maximum intensity. Managing his minutes is part of the plan, which means Taylor, Osetkowski, and Gueye must carry the load in January.
Xavi Albert, without a safety net. It's his first season directing the project in the EuroLeague, and he inherits an extremely high bar. Anything below the play-in will be read as a step back, even though the roster is objectively worse than last year's.
The Roig Arena. It's the club's major new asset. A venue filled with more than fifteen thousand people is a real advantage in a competition where half the league plays in small arenas or away from their city.
The Forecast
Repeating second place isn't realistic, and Valencia knows it. The reasonable goal is to finish in the top ten again, fight for the play-in, and keep the club in the European conversation while the project rebuilds with Saint-Supéry, Marí, and Corbalán as future bets.
If Mirotic arrives healthy in March and Shorts performs like he did in Athens, this team can return to the playoffs. If not, it will be a transition season with the consolation of a new arena and a young roster to develop.
What Valencia did last year was extraordinary. And the extraordinary, by definition, doesn't repeat every year.
Full Roster
Point Guards and Shooting Guards: TJ Shorts (1.75m), Álvaro Cárdenas (1.87m), Gonzalo Corbalán (1.93m), Armoni Brooks (1.94m), Mario Saint-Supéry (1.94m), Lucas Marí (1.97m), Omari Moore (1.98m), Kam Taylor (1.98m)
Small Forwards: Elias Valtonen (2.01m), Josep Puerto (2.02m), Mo Gueye (2.06m), Dylan Osetkowski (2.06m), Nikola Mirotic (2.08m)
Power Forwards and Centers: Nate Reuvers (2.09m), Yankuba Sima (2.09m), Neal Sako (2.10m)