The EuroLeague 2026/27 tipped off on 24 September, and it is a good moment to get to grips with the EuroLeague format — Europe’s premier club basketball competition. It is often compared with football’s Champions League, but in structure it is closer to the NBA. There is no qualification through national leagues for most of the participants, no groups and no draw: twenty clubs play each other home and away, then contest a play-in, play-off series and the Final Four.
What is the EuroLeague and who plays in it
The EuroLeague is run by the clubs themselves — the shareholders of Euroleague Commercial Assets. The core of the competition is made up of long-term licence holders: they take part every season regardless of how they performed in their domestic league. The remaining places are allocated on sporting merit (for example, the EuroCup winner) or through a wild card — a one-season invitation. So when it comes to how to get into the EuroLeague, a club has three answers: secure a EuroLeague licence, win a place, or persuade the league to hand out an invitation.
The system is currently being rebuilt. In April Fenerbahçe, the 2025 champion, agreed a new 10-year licence, and in June Real signed the same. At the same time the league is converting long-term licences into permanent franchises; the process is due to be completed during the 2026/27 season. From 2027/28 the clubs have agreed to expand the competition to 24 teams.
EuroLeague 2026/27 teams
Twenty clubs are playing this season: Anadolu Efes, Olimpia Milano, ASVEL, Baskonia, Barcelona, Bayern, Beşiktaş, Crvena Zvezda, Dubai, Fenerbahçe, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Paris, Partizan, Real Madrid, Valencia, Virtus Bologna and Žalgiris. Paris and Beşiktaş received one-season wild cards. Monaco, who played in the EuroLeague in the spring, are not on the list: Beşiktaş took their place.
There are still no Russian clubs in the competition. In February 2022 the league suspended the participation of CSKA, Zenit and UNICS, and they have not played in the EuroLeague since.
The EuroLeague 2026/27 regular season: 38 rounds
Each team plays 38 games — two against every opponent. In all there are 380 regular-season games, with the final round on 16 April 2027. The EuroLeague plays on weekdays: this season opened with games on Thursday and Friday, 24 and 25 September, while weekends are left to the domestic leagues. Among the standout dates on the EuroLeague 2026/27 schedule are Olympiacos v Real on 20 November, Barcelona v Real on 3 December and the Athens derby Panathinaikos v Olympiacos on 11 December.
There is one table for everyone, and the gaps between places are usually tiny. Last season the top side, Olympiacos, finished the regular season with a 26-12 record, while tenth-placed Crvena Zvezda were 21-17: five wins between first and tenth.
The EuroLeague play-in: a second chance for 7th-10th
The top six go straight into the EuroLeague playoffs. The teams from 7th to 10th contest the two remaining places in the play-in, which has been in place since the 2023/24 season:
- Seventh plays eighth. The winner takes the seventh seed.
- Ninth plays tenth. The loser is eliminated.
- The loser of the 7-8 game hosts the winner of the 9-10 game — the eighth seed is at stake.
All the games are single matches, with the higher-placed regular-season team at home. In 2026 the scheme worked exactly as intended: Monaco lost to Panathinaikos in the 7-8 game (79-87), but then beat Barcelona (79-70) and still made the play-offs. Barcelona, ninth after the regular season, had earlier beaten Crvena Zvezda and went out only in the final play-in game. The EuroLeague 2026/27 play-in is scheduled for 20 and 23 April.
The EuroLeague play-offs: best-of-five series
The four quarter-final ties are played as best-of-five series in a 2-2-1 format: the first two games and the fifth, if needed, are hosted by the higher seed. First plays eighth, second plays seventh, and so on. The series winners go to the Final Four. In 2027 the series will run from 27 April to 12 May.
Home-court advantage in such series means a lot, but not everything. In the spring of 2026 Valencia lost two home games to Panathinaikos — the second in overtime — and then won three games in a row to reach the Final Four. The other ties finished as follows: Olympiacos 3-0 Monaco, Real 3-1 Hapoel, Fenerbahçe 3-1 Žalgiris.
The Final Four: it is all decided in a weekend
Four teams gather in a single city chosen in advance. On Friday there are two semi-finals, on Sunday the final. There is no third-place game any more: in 2026 it was not played for the second season in a row.
The EuroLeague Final Four 2026: how Olympiacos took the title
The 2026 Final Four took place on 22-24 May at the Telekom Center in Athens, effectively a home arena for the Piraeus club. Olympiacos, the regular-season winners, first beat Monaco 3-0 in the quarter-finals, then crushed Fenerbahçe in the semi-final — 79-61. In the second semi-final Real beat Valencia 105-90.
Who won the EuroLeague 2026? Olympiacos: in the final on 24 May they defeated Real 92-85. Evan Fournier was named Final Four MVP after scoring 20 points in the decisive game; Real’s best was Trey Lyles with 24 points. For Georgios Bartzokas’s team it is a fourth EuroLeague title and the first since 2013.
What lies ahead for the EuroLeague in 2026/27 and beyond
- The EuroLeague Final Four 2027 is scheduled for 28 and 30 May; under the current multi-year agreement it will be hosted by Abu Dhabi, which has also been awarded the 2029 tournament.
- If plans do not change, this is the last EuroLeague season in the 20-team format: from 2027/28 the league intends to move to 24 participants while keeping the round-robin principle.
- The changes also concern money: according to the league’s CEO Chus Bueno, the EuroLeague’s market valuation has risen to €1.4bn — double in a year.
The EuroLeague rulebook is built on FIBA rules, although the league has its own amendments: for example, since the 2023/24 season a coach has two challenges per game, and one of them must be used in the first 38 minutes or it is lost. We looked in detail at how European basketball differs from the NBA in our piece on FIBA and NBA basketball rules.
Frequently asked questions about the EuroLeague 2026/27
What is the EuroLeague?
Europe’s premier club basketball competition. It is run by the clubs themselves, and most participants play under long-term licences rather than qualifying through national leagues.
Which teams are playing in the EuroLeague 2026/27?
Twenty clubs from Spain, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Serbia, Italy, France, Germany, Lithuania and the UAE. The newcomer compared with last season is Beşiktaş, who took Monaco’s place.
How many wins are EuroLeague play-off series played to?
Best of five, in a 2-2-1 format. Before that, the regular season’s 7th-10th teams contest two play-in places.
Who won the EuroLeague 2026?
Olympiacos. In the final in Athens on 24 May they beat Real 92-85, and Evan Fournier was named Final Four MVP.
When and where will the EuroLeague Final Four 2027 be held?
The semi-finals are scheduled for 28 May and the final for 30 May 2027. Under the multi-year agreement the host should be Abu Dhabi.
