Turkey's coach Ergin Ataman pours scorn on FIBA power rankings in a blunt reminder

Ergin Ataman, who is the coach of Turkey’s men’s basketball team, dismissed FIBA’s latest EuroBasket 2025 power rankings, which have his team ranked as the second-favorites for the title.

The team's high position in the rankings isn’t hard to see, considering it has yet to lose a game at the tournament. Despite facing tournament favorites Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Ataman led his team out of Group A with a perfect 5-0 record.

But his team’s stellar form isn't enough for the coach to agree or believe in power rankings, as he expressed on Tuesday:

“We don’t think about whether we are the best or the worst Turkish team, we are here to win a medal. FIBA likes to make these things, the power rankings, they are bulls***,” he said. “The reality is on the court and in the victory. We will see in the next games what position we take at the EuroBasket.”

Turkey continued its stellar run on Saturday, defeating Sweden in the round of 16 and securing its place in the quarter-finals.

Many teams, such as Serbia and France, which were considered favorites for the title, have dropped out. But Ataman's team continues to establish its dominance on the international stage, taking down one contender at a time.

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Ergin Ataman’s Turkey prepares to face Poland in the EuroBasket quarterfinals

Alperen Sengun and Co. have overcome huge challenges by defeating Serbia and Sweden in back-to-back games, but they are still far from the promised land. Ergin Ataman will lead his team into the EuroBasket quarterfinals against Poland this Tuesday.

Unlike its opponent, Poland’s run to the quarterfinals has seen the team stumble, dropping two games in the group stages. But the team still has immense talent in players like Jordan Loyd and Mateusz Ponitka, who will look to lead it past Turkey on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ergin Ataman will look toward NBA talents Alperen Sengun and Cedi Osman to lead Turkey further in the tournament. Sengun has been stellar so far, averaging 22 points and 10.7 rebounds at EuroBasket 2025. With eight teams left in the tournament, Ataman and Co. have as good a chance as any at claiming the tournament title this year.