The EuroLeague has become an increasingly unforgiving environment for head coaches. Patience is becoming harder to find, expectations are rising, and when results do not arrive quickly enough, the coach is often the first person to pay the price.
The 2025-26 season provided perhaps the clearest example of that trend. No fewer than 10 of the 20 EuroLeague clubs changed their head coach during the campaign, meaning that half of the competition eventually moved on from the person who started the season on the bench. Several experienced coaches were among those departures, highlighting just how little room there can be for prolonged struggles in Europe’s top competition.
That reality makes the start of a new season particularly important. Coaches are not judged only by their long-term potential or the quality of their work, but increasingly by how quickly they can turn a new roster into a competitive team. A poor start can create pressure almost immediately, especially when expectations are high, the investment is significant or the club has already shown a willingness to make changes.
With the 2026-27 EuroLeague season set to begin on September 24, we take a look at five coaches who could enter the new campaign under the greatest pressure.
1. Pablo Laso
Pablo Laso could arguably be the coach entering the new EuroLeague season under the greatest pressure. He arrived at Anadolu Efes during the 2025-26 campaign as a replacement for Igor Kokoskov, but his appointment did little to change the team’s fortunes. Injuries, inconsistent performances and a series of disappointing results eventually saw Anadolu Efes finish 19th in the EuroLeague, an outcome that fell well short of the expectations surrounding one of the competition’s biggest spenders.
Laso’s position was already considered uncertain during the offseason, with Efes reportedly looking at other options for the bench. Luca Banchi was among the names mentioned as a potential replacement, although Laso ultimately remained in charge and was given another opportunity to turn things around in Istanbul. That makes the margin for error particularly small. Anadolu Efes has built another ambitious roster, adding Mike James, Daron Russell, Collin Malcolm, Bruno Fernando, Santi Yusta and Matthew Strazel, while also moving on from several experienced players.
The expectations will therefore be much higher this season. Anadolu Efes cannot afford another campaign anywhere near the bottom of the standings, and a difficult start could quickly bring the pressure back onto Laso. The schedule makes that possibility even more relevant, with Barcelona and Real Madrid among the first two opponents before difficult road games against Crvena Zvezda and Olympiacos. Bayern and Zalgiris follow, before Anadolu Efes also face Besiktas, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos later in October.
A few unexpected defeats in that stretch could create a very different atmosphere around the team. Laso has the roster and experience to turn Efes into a contender, but after what happened last season and with his position already under scrutiny during the offseason, he may have less time than most coaches to prove it.
2. Joan Penarroya
Joan Penarroya could find himself under significant pressure from the very beginning of the season. He took over Partizan at one of the most difficult moments in the club’s recent history, replacing Zeljko Obradovic after his departure. The atmosphere around the club has remained highly demanding and negative, and Penarroya has had to operate under those circumstances while trying to establish a new identity for the team.
There were certainly positive signs during his first months in Belgrade. Partizan improved considerably during the final stretch of the season and looked like a much more convincing team as the ABA League playoffs approached. However, the campaign ultimately ended without a trophy, with defeats to Dubai in the ABA League final and FMP in the Serbian League semifinal leaving an otherwise improved finish without a title.
That makes the start of the new season particularly important for Penarroya. Partizan has also not assembled a roster that appears as loaded on paper as some of the club’s teams from previous years, which could make expectations even more difficult to manage. After taking over in the aftermath of Obradovic’s departure, the Spaniard now needs to show that the progress seen last season can translate into consistent results over a full campaign.
The schedule also leaves little room for a slow start. Partizan opens its EuroLeague campaign against Milano before travelling to face Paris, Bayern and Real Madrid in three consecutive road games. Panathinaikos then arrives in Belgrade in Round 5, giving Penarroya a challenging opening to the campaign before the team has had much time to settle.
For that reason, Joan Penarroya belongs high on any list of coaches entering the season under pressure.
3. Paolo Galbiati
Baskonia’s 2025-26 season left plenty of questions around the club’s direction. The team struggled in the EuroLeague and was eliminated by Joventut in the Liga Endesa quarterfinals, leading to serious doubts about whether Paolo Galbiati would remain on the bench. Baskonia spent much of the offseason considering other options, while AS also reported that there had been some tension between Galbiati and club president Josean Querejeta.
Galbiati does have an important achievement from his first season in Vitoria to point to. Baskonia won the Copa del Rey for the first time in 17 years, giving the Italian a major trophy and providing a strong counterargument to the disappointing results in the two main competitions. That success ultimately helped him keep his job, despite the doubts that had emerged around his future.
The situation became even more interesting during the offseason when Barcelona showed serious interest in Galbiati. He was reportedly among their preferred options for the bench, but Baskonia wanted compensation for his departure and Barcelona was not prepared to meet the required amount. Galbiati therefore remained in Vitoria, while Baskonia was also linked with several possible replacements, including Velimir Perasovic.
That background makes the new season particularly important for Galbiati. Baskonia has put together a roster that does not look particularly convincing on paper, meaning the Italian may have little room for another disappointing EuroLeague campaign. The Copa del Rey will remain an important part of his case, but the fact that the club seriously considered a change and was willing to discuss his departure this summer means that poor results could quickly reopen the question of his future.
There is also an interesting parallel with Joan Penarroya. Like Galbiati, Penarroya entered a new season with Baskonia after his team had been eliminated by Joventut in the Liga Endesa 2023 quarterfinals. However, the more important similarity was the situation behind the scenes. Penarroya did not have the full confidence of Querejeta when he started that season, and he was dismissed after only a few games. Galbiati now finds himself in a similar position, with his contract automatically renewed but questions still surrounding the level of confidence he has from the club’s owner.
4. Dimitris Itoudis
Dimitris Itoudis enters his third season with Hapoel Tel Aviv after guiding the club from the EuroCup title to the EuroLeague in his first year. Last season was a solid debut at the highest level, although Hapoel’s sixth-place finish and eventual 3-1 quarterfinal loss to Real Madrid were not enough to fully satisfy the expectations surrounding one of the competition’s biggest spenders. The team had, however, spent a significant part of the season in first place in the standings.
There was also a period when the situation around Itoudis became much more complicated. Hapoel Tel Aviv went through a five-game losing streak across all competitions in February, including four consecutive EuroLeague defeats, after previously spending weeks at or near the top of the standings. The pressure around the Greek coach increased considerably, but the club publicly backed him and he remained in charge.
Hapoel Tel Aviv then lost the Israeli Premier League final to Maccabi Tel Aviv, although injuries and absences had left Itoudis without a significant part of his roster. That still meant ending the season without a trophy, something that will matter even more now that Hapoel Tel Aviv enters the new campaign with even greater ambitions.
Itoudis has already shown that he can deliver results with the club, having won the EuroCup before taking Hapoel into the EuroLeague. But with the expectations now even higher, another prolonged crisis could put his position under serious pressure. The question is whether Hapoel Tel Aviv would be as patient a second time if a similar downturn happens again.
5. Aleksander Sekulic
Aleksander Sekulic is probably the least obvious name on this list, but Barcelona’s expectations make it difficult to completely ignore him. The club has entered a clear rebuilding phase, with 11 new players arriving during the offseason and only four players remaining from last season’s roster. Kevin Punter is the most notable holdover, while much of the new squad consists of players coming from the G League, EuroCup or smaller EuroLeague roles.
That also means expectations should be more realistic. Barcelona has deliberately moved away from the kind of expensive, star-heavy roster it had in previous years, giving Sekulic time to develop a completely new team and establish a different style. The club has described the project as a new chapter, and Sekulic signed a contract through 2028.
Still, Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in European basketball, and patience has its limits when results start going badly. A few poor stretches would probably be accepted as part of the rebuilding process, but a prolonged crisis could eventually force the club to reconsider its plans. Sekulic therefore enters the season with more protection than most coaches on this list, but not without pressure.
