Jokic, Luka, or Giannis: Who’s Winning the EuroBasket 2025?
Not since the NBA finals have the hoops fans had this much basketball to sink their teeth into. EuroBasket 2025 is just around the corner, bringing a fresh wave of rim-rattling action and a sweaty mix of NBA and Euroleague stars.
From September 6-14, Europe’s top national teams will meet in Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia, and I’m here to break it all down for you. We’ll go through the favorites, sleepers, dark horses, best EuroBasket odds, as well as who’s poised to disappoint (Spoiler: Spain).
The Format
But first, let’s breeze over the 2025 EuroBasket format, shall we?
The upcoming tournament features 24 teams divided into four groups of six. The top four national teams advance to the elimination knockout stages, beginning with the Round of 16 and ending with the final game in the Xiaomi Arena, Riga.
Who Are the 2025 EuroBasket Favorites?
Each for their own reasons, Serbia, Germany, and France have emerged as favorites with the bookmakers. Serbia and Germany probably have the most talent on the roster and the biggest knowhow among the staff, but the new-look France is showing a lot of promise.
Serbia
At 2.30 at Shuffle, Serbia is the No. 1 favorite to lift the gold, which has eluded them for 24 years despite regularly competing in the latter stages of the tournament. In 2025, everything appears to be in place for Nikola Jokić and the team to finally take that elusive final step.
The Orlovi are coming to the tour in the strongest lineup possible – more robust than in Manila (Silver) or the Paris Olympics (Bronze) where they gave the start-studded Team USA a run for their money. Serbians also bring a basketball heritage that few nations can match.
NBA MVP Nikola Jokić is the undisputed leader on the court, with strong support from captain Bogdan Bogdanović. But Serbia's true strength lies in its collective – a cohesive unit expertly guided by veteran coach Svetislav Pešić. From this distance, Serbia looks like a lock to reach the finals (1.80 at Stake), and with few centers of his calibre coming to the tour, the Joker seems destined for another MVP award (2.45).
Germany
Germany has recently emerged as the European basketball powerhouse, winning the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup by defeating Team USA in the semis and Serbia in the finals.
While the Manila coup may have taken some by surprise, Germany isn’t fooling anyone anymore. Led by Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner, Die Mannschaft stake a big claim to climb the podium and are the second favorites to win the entire thing.
The only two pieces missing from the team that won gold in Manila are the Orlando Magic center Moritz Wagner and coach Gordon Herbert (replaced by Alex Mumbru). That is to say that Germany is a well-oiled machine ready to tussle with the best.
Those Jackbit odds of 1.90 for Germany to make the top 3 look particularly appetizing. And if you’re looking to back them all the way, Stake has you back with 6.25.
France
France was long expected to be Serbia’s main rival for gold, but the Tricolour are coming to EuroBasket with a significant talent disadvantage compared to some other years and some other tournaments. However, despite Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Mathias Lessort, Evan Fournier, and Vincent Poirier all missing, France still holds sway with bookies and is Betpanda’s No. 3 favorite at 6.50.
Isaia Cordinier will lead the line for France, backed by Guerschon Yabusele of the NY Knicks and Theo Maledon of Real Madrid. France has had flawless preparations, finishing the window unbeaten at 5:0.
By the early looks of it, France is certainly poised for another deep run on the tour, even without long-time leaders Nicolas Batum and Nando De Colo, who both retired after the 2024 Olympics. How deep? Deeper than Greece’s if you trust Stake at 1.60.
Who Are the Dark Horses?
Slovenia, for one. It’s simple. Luka Doncic is the kind of player who can drop 40 on any given night and singlehandedly beat the opposition. He’s also the kind of player who can string several such games together, particularly now with a body overhaul ahead of the LA Lakers season where Luka is expected to take over the franchise reins from LeBron. At 15.00 at Stake, Luka is also a good shout for MVP.
Greece could be another dark horse to lift the gold, but with BC.GAME’s respectable odds of 11.00 lead me to consider them more of a sleeper pick. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the front and center of that team, which is missing important pieces like Georgios Papagiannis, Ioannisa Papapetroua, and, perhaps most importantly, Nick Calathes. The Bucks leader is insurance enough for Greece to at least top Group C (1.80 at BC.Game), if not clinching the MVP title (12.00 at Stake).
Picking the Biggest Surprise (and the Biggest Disappointment) of 2025 EuroBasket
Watch out for Finland, folks. Along with Serbia and France, it’s one of only three nations to finish the preparations unbeaten. Led by sharpshooting Lauri Markkanen, Finland advanced to the quarterfinals at the last EuroBasket and will look to capitalize on what is de facto the golden era of Finnish basketball. Stake offers an interesting head-to-head for Finland to finish above Israel at 1.45.
Lastly, Spain is poised to be the biggest disappointment of EuroBasket 2025. As current European title holders, few punters give La Furia any chance of climbing the podium, let alone winning. Those who do are in for a serious reality check. Spain has four gold medals from the last six Euros and are by far the most decorated European nation. But the current team led by Santi Aldama and Hernangomez brothers is hardly a patch on the one that won in 2023.
Milos Antic
Sports Betting Expert
Milos is a sports betting professional whose special skill involves sitting through countless hours of football fixtures. He entered the sports betting arena in 2017 and hasn't looked back since. He is that guy who gets stopped and asked for a handy betting tip or two. As an in-house betting expert for CryptoGamba, Milos takes much pride when results go the way he called them while always finding a fitting excuse when they don't.
