Paris Basketball have finally found some rhythm in the EuroLeague. Three straight road wins have lifted them to 4–6, and now the reward is a rather unforgiving homecoming: Fenerbahçe, the side that's beaten Paris in all seven of their previous EuroLeague meetings. Wednesday's Round 11 clash at the Accor Arena in Paris, tipping off at 8.45pm local time on 11 November, is the club's first game at the bigger venue this season. Paris have momentum. Fenerbahçe have the history, a 7–3 record and a defence capable of making that momentum hard to maintain.
Paris were 1–6 before their run gathered speed. They've since beaten Dubai 99–93, Maccabi Tel Aviv 99–94 and Anadolu Efes 95–90, all away from home. Those aren't runaway wins built on one outrageous shooting quarter; they're three games in which Paris kept enough offence flowing to finish the job. The club's match preview highlights the winning streak and the contrast in styles. Against Fenerbahçe, Paris will need the same willingness to attack without giving away the easy possessions that a disciplined opponent can turn into control.
Nadir Hifi is at the centre of it. The guard leads the competition at 22.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive EuroLeague appearances. He also has at least one three-pointer in 20 straight games. Paris's 95–90 victory over Efes featured 28 points and nine assists from Hifi, the sort of scoring-and-creation balance that makes it difficult to load up on his jumper alone. The EuroLeague's official game notes underline how sustained his production has become.
But Paris aren't just asking Hifi to shoot their way out of trouble. Tyson Etienne is averaging 3.3 made threes, second in the league, while Sebastian Herrera sits fourth at 2.7. Those numbers matter because they change the geometry of the floor: helping too aggressively towards Hifi can leave another reliable shooter available, while staying attached to the perimeter gives him more space to drive and pass. Paris can make defenders choose. The catch is that Fenerbahçe are comfortable forcing opponents to make those decisions later in the shot clock.
Fenerbahçe's most recent EuroLeague result was an 84–65 win over Baskonia. They conceded just 23 points across the second and third quarters combined, while Talen Horton-Tucker supplied 19 points, as BasketEurope's match preview notes. It's a useful snapshot of what Paris are walking into: a team that can win by shrinking the opposition's scoring windows rather than matching every burst at the other end. Fenerbahçe's experienced perimeter group includes Wade Baldwin and Will Clyburn, and the official matchup notes show Baldwin has recorded a steal in five straight games. Paris will have to move the ball decisively, not merely quickly.
The history makes the challenge sharper. Fenerbahçe swept Paris 3–0 in the 2025 EuroLeague playoffs and edged them 92–90 in Paris last season. Their earlier 101–100 win in Istanbul was settled by a Nigel Hayes-Davis buzzer-beating three. Seven meetings, seven Fenerbahçe victories: Paris have repeatedly been close enough to see an opening without walking through it. This time they arrive on a winning streak, with Hifi producing at an elite level and the Accor Arena offering a bigger stage. The EuroLeague game centre records that head-to-head record.
The contest should turn on the possessions between the highlights. Can Paris push after stops, keep Hifi connected to its shooters and get quality attempts before Fenerbahçe set their defence? Or will the visitors slow the game into the kind of half-court exchanges that suited them against Baskonia? The Paris fixture listing confirms the 8.45pm tip-off at the Accor Arena. For Paris, a fourth straight win would be more than another result in the standings. It would be a long-awaited answer to an opponent that's had their number every time.
Comments