Paris basketball: from newcomer to title contender
Paris Basketball is (again) the greatest success story in European basketball. For a team that was founded only six years ago, it climbed up in the rankings of French and European basketball really fast. It wasn’t because it had the biggest budget but because it had a good strategy for signing players and trusting young coaches who proved their value.
Last season the French team greatly dominated the EuroCup, winning 22 of the 23 games they played in the second most important continental competition (the only defeat came against Besiktas in the regular season) and Paris Basketball won its first-ever continental trophy. The team was coached by Tuomas Iisalo who took over after a successful stint with German side Bonn. He also brought to Paris some of the players that helped Bonn win the Basketball Champions League in 2023, the most important name being T.J. Shorts who was named the EuroCup MVP after being BCL MVP the season before. In the summer, even though the team earned the right to play in the EuroLeague, coach Iisalo decided to accept the offer he received from the Memphis Grizzlies to be an assistant coach in the NBA. The management decided to name another young coach to replace him, former EuroLeague legend Tiago Splitter.
The Brazilian had a difficult job, as Paris doesn’t have the budget of the top EuroLeague teams so they couldn’t sign the biggest names. They started the EuroLeague season 1-3 and many wondered if Paris deserved to be in the league. However, since the defeat they suffered in Munich against Bayern on October 17th, T.J. Shorts & Co. won 16 of 17 games in all competitions, including 10 consecutive wins in the EuroLeague, where they are currently leading the standings, while in the French LNB, they are 2nd with a 9-2 record.
Last week they beat Maccabi and Olympiacos on the road, while yesterday they had an LNB game at home against rivals Monaco. In the 3rd quarter, Splitter’s team was down by 19 points, but they managed to come back and win the game in overtime. This win showed once again that the team has character and they are a dark horse that might continue to surprise everyone in the coming months.
Imre Halasz
Photo credit: EuroLeague
