Last year’s Lions were a juggernaut—stacked with EuroCup talent and a budget no one else could touch. This year’s team was different. Still among the league’s top spenders but no longer operating in a tier of their own. The salary cap narrowed the gap. What set them apart wasn’t money. It was execution.
Peter Božić built a team that didn’t just play hard; they played smart, sharp, and suffocating. London led the league in defensive rating, allowed the fewest points in the paint, and ranked second in turnovers forced. But the stat that said the most? A league-leading +4.32 fourth-quarter differential—proof that when the game tightened, they tightened harder. The glamour might have faded. The control never did.
Aaryn Rai became the face of that shift. No histrionics. Just consistency—always in the right spot, always making the right play. When London needed a basket, or a stop, or a moment of calm, Rai delivered.
London stayed composed. But they didn’t stay dominant. They failed to reach a single knockout final all year. They treated the Trophy like a pre-season, failing to make it out of the South group. They were undone by Surrey in the Cup quarter-final. And in the Play-Offs, they fell to a Newcastle side missing key players but playing with absolute cohesion. London did what they do. It just wasn’t always enough against teams with better answers on the night.
But across 32 games and months of pressure—they won the Championship. London weren’t flashy, but they were ruthlessly well-drilled. They played like a team that knew exactly what it was trying to do—and had the personnel to execute it. Even when games got tight, there was no panic. Just poise.
When It Mattered
The title decider was done by halftime. With 4:19 left in the second quarter, London led 47–19 against Leicester. Azania Stewart summed it up on commentary—“What do you do here?”. It wasn’t a contest. It was a coronation. Leicester arrived with a chance to take the crown. London made sure they never touched it.
That scoreline didn’t just end the title race, it snapped the tension like it had never been real. Under pressure, in the biggest game of the season, London didn’t blink. They buried the challengers before the break and reminded everyone who still runs this league.
But not every opponent folded. And not every game went their way. When London couldn’t win with defence—when opposing scorers got hot and they struggled to control the tempo—they lacked a second gear. The structure that made them elite also made them rigid. They didn’t fall apart. But they didn’t adjust. And in knockout ties, that lack of nuance caught up to them.
Not Pulling Away Yet
London only managed to win one of the four trophies on offer this year. The league is stronger. The salary cap is working. But over the full season, they were still the team on top.
This season proved London can win without overwhelming talent. But with the rest of the league closing in, staying ahead won’t be automatic. The gap has closed—and now they’ll need to evolve to stay in front.
The long game hasn’t changed. Plans are in motion for a new 10,000-seat arena, financed by Tesonet and backed by the Mayor of London—big enough to meet EuroLeague standards. Big enough to anchor basketball in this country. The league has caught up for now. But London are building to pull away.
