Overview
The top club competition in European basketball — a closed league of licensed clubs playing a long double round-robin into the Final Four.
The EuroLeague is the premier club basketball competition in Europe and the strongest league in the world outside the NBA. Most of its places are held by clubs with long-term licences — Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Fenerbahçe, Barcelona and the rest — with a small number of berths awarded on merit each season.
Clubs play a double round-robin regular season from October to April alongside their domestic leagues, then a best-of-five playoff, and the four survivors meet at a single-venue Final Four. That weekend is the biggest event in European club basketball.
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
European club basketball's continental championship dates to 1958 under FIBA. In 2000 the leading clubs broke away to run the competition themselves through Euroleague Basketball, and after a season of two rival competitions the breakaway prevailed.
The licence system introduced in 2016 fixed most of the field for a decade, guaranteeing the biggest clubs revenue but ending qualification on merit for most places — a source of continuing dispute with FIBA, which runs the rival Basketball Champions League. Real Madrid's eleven titles are the most; Panathinaikos and Maccabi Tel Aviv follow.
Governance
The competition is run by Euroleague Basketball, a company owned by its licensed clubs, independently of FIBA. National federations and FIBA continue to govern international basketball.