Real Madrid has swept Valencia Basket 3-0 in the final of the ACB, which capped off an extraordinary season at the domestic level. Despite this, several key changes are expected ahead of next year.
Early season struggles
Real Madrid started this season after a turbulent summer, where they saw the departure of veterans Fabien Causeur, Sergio Rodríguez and Rudy Fernández, frontcourt stars Vincent Poirier and Guerschon Yabusele, as well as young prospect Carlos Alocén. Additionally, the situation was palliated with new signings that created more doubt than hope. Amongst them where NBA bench-warmer Usman Garuba, 35-year-old Serge Ibaka, and guards Andrés Feliz and Xavier Rathan-Mayes, the latter two with no prior Euroleague experience.
The first test of this team was the Supercopa de España, held before the beggining of the ACB. After dominating the competition for six consecutive years, Real Madrid’s reign came to an end with a resounding loss to Unicaja Málaga in the final. Despite it being a 10-point defeat, the sensation that the team left was clearly disconcerting as Unicaja opened the match with a 12-0 run and remained firmly in control, never relinquishing the lead for the entire game.
With the start of ACB and Euroleague seasons, the results kept disappointing. An initial 8-4 record in the ACB, which included a loss against last-seeded Leyma Coruña in the inaugural game, made the Merengues hugely disappointed at the team’s performance. The initial bump was even more pronounced in the Euroleague, where Real Madrid had an initial record of 6-9, placing them on a concerning 13th spot.
This harsh reality was not only due to a weakened squad, but also low chemistry, some infighting amongst players, and a lack of alternatives proposed by coach Chus Mateo. Moreover, the second unit was performing well under the expected level, with a struggling Andrés Feliz and Usman Garuba, while not fully counting on Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Serge Ibaka, who played only 58% and 70% of the games respectively. This echoed the huge inconsistency of Mario Hezonja and Dzanan Musa, as well as a Walter Tavares less dominant in the paint.
Madrid’s mid-season revival
Nevertheless, when Real Madrid was at its worst, the team began working, by the hand of an upgraded Andrés Feliz, which became a fundamental defensive and offensive weapon. His performance improved to the point that, in certain decisive moments, Chus Mateo opted to trust him over Campazzo. This step forward of Feliz was accompanied by a stronger performance of Hezonja, Garuba, Abalde, Llull and Hugo González, as well as the in-season signing of Bruno Fernando.
Moreover, the losing tendency was completely reverted. Real Madrid, from that point onwards, had a 14-5 streak in the Euroleague from Round 16 to 34. This represents the second best run, only behind Olympiacos’ 15-4. More impressively, in the ACB they set to win 22 games in a row, ending the season with an astonishing 30-4 record.
The winning streak continued during the play-offs of the domestic league, in spite of tragic complications in the Euroleague’s play-in and play-offs. Real Madrid swept Baskonia 2-0 in the quarterfinals, followed by a hard-fought 3–1 series win against a highly motivated Unicaja in the semifinals. Finally, los Blancos culminated their difficult season utterly dominating Valencia in a 3-0 series, with two wins by margins of more than 10 points.
Key changes expected this summer
Despite a good ending of the season, several moves are expected in the Spanish powerhouse. Firstly, Madrid legend Sergio Rodríguez is expected to replace Juan Carlos Sánchez as the director of the Real Madrid’s basketball section. Additionally, Chus Mateo appears to be nearing the end of his tenure in Madrid, with Italian coach Sergio Scariolo set to replace him. Furthermore, on the very day Real Madrid celebrated their ACB title, Musa’s transfer to Dubai BC was made evident. On the same day, Hugo González was selected for the NBA draft and Eli Ndiaye came to a two-way agreement with the Atlanta Hawks. Apart from these three departures, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Serge Ibaka are also expected to exit the Spanish club, while the future of Bruno Fernando and even Mario Hezonja (rumoured NBA return) remain uncertain.
To overcome the losses, Real Madrid is bringing French star Theo Maledon and German shooting guard David Krämer. Nevertheless, the position of power forward is helpless. With Mario Hezonja more comfortable at the small forward position and Garuba best suited to the center position, coupled with Gabriel Deck’s recurring injuries, Real Madrid currently lacks a natural power forward. Alec Peters, Jaylen Hoard or even NBA’s Tristan Vukcevic have been portrayed as potential candidates. Nevertheless, it is likely that not just one, but two power forwards will be needed to build a sufficiently deep squad for the demanding season ahead. This is no exaggeration — between the EuroLeague and ACB regular seasons alone, there will be 72 games, not including the Supercopa de España, Copa del Rey, and the playoffs of the EuroLeague and Liga Endesa, which could lead to the breathtaking maximum of 99 games. Finally, Real Madrid may come to regret in the long term if no clear replacement for Hugo González is found. Therefore, despite the hopeful initial transfers of Maledon and Krämer, Real Madrid cannot go another season without a natural 4, as well as a growing need for reinforcements in the small forward position to replace Hugo González.
Posted on: 30 June 2025, 11:45 CET
