Fenerbahce and the Art of Switching
A defensive juggernaut built on versatility, discipline, and elite Bigs
Some teams impose their will with star power. The current EuroLeague champions do it with structure. Every possession, every screen, every switch is part of a carefully built defensive ecosystem designed to suffocate opponents and survive any matchup.
With mobile Bigs and relentless Guards, they have turned versatility into their greatest weapon, and it has carried them to the top of the EuroLeague even as the offense continues to find its rhythm.
A Defense That Drives Everything
Up until Round 21, Fenerbahce leads the EuroLeague in Defensive Rating, holding opponents to 108.9 points per 100 possessions, 1.5 points better than the second-best defense. They also force the lowest shooting efficiency in the league: opponents shoot just 50% on twos, 32.4% on threes, and post a league-low 49.5% eFG%.
This dominance is not built on chaos. Fenerbahce ranks only 14th in opponent turnover rate (16.4%), which helps explain their slow pace (18th in the league). Instead, they defend possessions all the way through, finishing them by securing 68.5% of defensive rebounds, good for 7th in the league.
Offensively, they rank 14th with a 113.4 Offensive Rating, but their elite defense lifts them to the 5th-best Net Rating at +4.5.
Controlling Every Action
Across almost every play type, Fenerbahce ranks among the best teams in limiting opponent efficiency. They are especially dominant in Pick & Roll defense. When the Handler finishes — which occurs on 19% of opponent possessions, they allow just 0.64 PPP, by far the best mark in the league. When the Roller finishes, they still lead the league at 0.73 PPP.
They also rank near the top defending Catch & Shoot actions (0.97 PPP, 2nd) and Catch & Drives (0.65 PPP, 3rd), while remaining solid in Isolations (0.75 PPP, 9th).
How Fenerbahce Wins the Screen Game
Against Pick & Roll Handlers, Fenerbahce goes over the screen only 41.1% of the time — well below league average, with only Hapoel and Paris doing so less often. Despite this, they hold opponents to a league-best 0.89 PPP, 0.20 better than the EuroLeague average. Fenerbahce main defensive weapon though is switching.
Switching as a Weapon
Fenerbahce switches on Ball Screens 35.2% of the time. When they do, opponents score just 0.87 PPP, the second-best mark in the EuroLeague. This is only possible because of their Bigs, who can survive — and thrive — guarding Guards on the perimeter.
Personnel Fit
Every Fenerbahce defender who faces a significant number of Pick & Roll Handler possessions — except Wade Baldwin — holds opponents below the EuroLeague average in efficiency, many of them on high volume. Their ability to defend multiple positions without structural breakdowns is the backbone of the scheme.
Guards Fighting Over and Under
When Fenerbahce chooses to go over or under screens, their Guards excel:
Talen Horton-Tucker: 0.41 PPP, 99th percentile
Devon Hall: 0.53 PPP, 92nd percentile
Tarik Biberovic: 0.65 PPP, 78th percentile
Bigs Owning the Switch
Their Bigs are even more impressive when switched onto Guards:
Nicolo Melli: 0.47 PPP, 96th percentile, ranked 4th among Bigs
Mikael Jantunen: 0.61 PPP, 83rd percentile, 10th among Bigs
Khem Birch: 0.69 PPP, 71st percentile, 17th among Bigs
Holding Up in Isolation
Even when forced into one-on-one defense, Fenerbahce’s best defenders remain efficient. Tarik Biberovic allows 0.52 PPP (88th percentile), while Nicolo Melli allows 0.64 PPP (60th). Birch is less comfortable in isolation, giving up 0.92 PPP (21st percentile).
Defensive Anchors
Nicolo Melli and Khem Birch are the backbone of the defense. When they are on the court, Fener significantly improves their defense and when they are paired with certain teammates, the results are even better.
With Melli on the court, Fener’s opponents score 101.8 Points per 100 possessions (7.1 fewer points vs the average Defensive Rating), leading to a team-best +13 Net Rating. These numbers drop when he is paired with:
Khem Birch: 91.1 Points per 100 possessions (17.8 fewer points than the average)
Devon Hall: 95.1 Points per 100 possessions (13.8 fewer points than the average)
Talen Horton-Tucker: 96.1 Points per 100 possessions (12.8 fewer points than the average)
Khem Birch shows a similar effect. With him on the floor, Fenerbahce’s Defensive Rating improves by 11.1 Points per 100 possessions (97.8) and when he is paired with:
Tarik Biberovic: 87.7 Points per 100 possessions (22.2 fewer points than the average)
Nicolo Melli: 91.1 Points per 100 possessions (17.8 fewer points than the average)
Devon Hall: 96.7 Points per 100 possessions (12.2 fewer points than the average)
The trade-off is offensive efficiency, which drops significantly when Birch plays.
Elite Defensive Trios
Can it get any better? Surprisingly, yes. The ceiling gets even higher when Melli and Birch share the floor with a third stopper.
When together with Devon Hall, the Defensive Rating is down to 86.0 Points per 100 possessions, in 115 minutes played
When together with Talen Horton-Tucker, the Defensive Rating is down to 83.4 Points per 100 possessions, 105 minutes played
When together with Tarik Biberovic, the Defensive Rating is down to an astounding 80.4 Points per 100 possessions in 98 total minutes played
An Offense Built on Guards
As we mentioned before, offensively the team is not performing as good. Their Offensive identity relies heavily on their Guards chasing a mismatch on screens and beating their opponents in Isolation. Compared to the EuroLeague average, Fenerbahce consistently choose more Guard Actions. They rank 1st in Isolations (9.7% of their possessions), 2nd in Screen Offs (7.5%) and 5th in Pick & Roll with the Handler finishing (19.9%). In contrast, actions involving Bigs are rare: Rollers (3.4%), Cuts (4.5%), and other interior actions sit near the bottom of the league.
In terms of efficiency, the actions involving their guards are at around league average with the exception of Handoffs — which is not a very frequent playtype — and Catch and Shoots, while actions involving their Bigs stand lower than the EuroLeague average with the exception of Pick & Roll Roller actions.
Where the Offense Breaks Down
A closer look at Fenerbahce’s four main perimeter creators shows why their offense struggles to gain separation despite the defensive dominance. The team relies heavily on Guards to win mismatches after switches, but the efficiency simply isn’t there often enough.
Talen Horton‑Tucker sits in the 32nd percentile in Isolation scoring at 0.80 Points per Shot, meaning that even when he gets the matchup he wants, the outcome is only marginally positive. In Pick & Roll Handler situations he is better at 1.10 PPS (67th percentile), but that efficiency drops once defenses switch, where his drives and pull‑ups become easier to contain.
Wade Baldwin is more stable but still not elite. He scores 0.96 PPS in Isolations (54th percentile) and 1.11 PPS as a Pick & Roll Handler (69th percentile). Interestingly, he handles switches slightly better than most of his teammates, improving to 1.14 PPS when attacking after a switch, but even that sits closer to average than to star‑level production.
Tarik Biberovic’s offensive efficiency has been below par this season. He ranks in the bottom quartile across every major Guard action. In Isolations he scores just 0.57 PPS (10th percentile). In Pick & Roll Handler situations he produces 0.85 PPS (23rd percentile), which drops further to 0.83 after switches. On Off screens, he scores 0.72 PPS (14th percentile). The split is even more revealing: when he immediately shoots after receiving the ball, his efficiency rises to 0.86 PPS, but when he puts the ball on the floor it collapses to just 0.55 PPS, making him an easy target for switching defenses.
Devon Hall is the most reliable one‑on‑one scorer of the group, producing 1.13 PPS in Isolations (78th percentile), but his volume is limited. In more common actions, his efficiency falls back toward or below league average: 0.96 PPS in Pick & Roll Handler situations, 0.71 after switches, and 0.95 PPS off screens (1.06 when he immediately shoots).
Aging Like Fine French Wine. Is De Colo the Missing Piece?
Almost a week ago, Fenerbahce announced the return of Nando De Colo. One of the most experienced players in the EuroLeague and one of the elite guards of his generation, the move closely resembles last season’s mid‑year Errick McCollum signing: a targeted attempt to boost the offense without changing the team’s defensive identity.
With ASVEL this season, De Colo improved the team’s Offensive Rating by +10.7 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor. Individually, he remains an elite shooter, posting a 61.5% effective field‑goal percentage, good for the 81st percentile in the EuroLeague. He is also the league’s most efficient Pick & Roll finisher, scoring 1.39 Points per Shot when he completes the action himself.
His isolation efficiency has been more modest, at 0.75 Points per Shot on limited volume, but De Colo’s value goes beyond shot‑making. He continues to be an excellent playmaker, averaging 4.7 assists per game (95th percentile) with a 1.69 assist‑to‑turnover ratio.
The logic of the move is clear: give Fenerbahce a guard who can shoot, create, and organize at a high level to balance a system that is already elite defensively. Whether this addition is enough to push them toward a repeat remains the final question.
Fenerbahce have built a championship-caliber defense through switching, discipline, and elite personnel. The structure is already strong enough to win games on its own. If De Colo can provide even a modest offensive lift, this team’s ceiling rises from contender to favorite. With the continued development of their perimeter and Bigs, Fenerbahce could establish themselves not just as a top defensive team, but as a balanced contender capable of thriving in any matchup, making them a legitimate threat to repeat in the EuroLeague.
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