A new era begins as EuroLeague expands to 20 teams
In short: The 2025–26 season marks a significant shift for Europe's premier basketball competition. For the first time since 2009–10, the league operates without Turkish Airlines sponsorship. Simultaneously, the tournament has expanded to 20 teams, welcoming Dubai Basketball as the first non-Israeli team from outside Europe to compete.
The 2025–26 season represents the 26th season of the modern EuroLeague era, though it counts as the 69th season of premier European men's club basketball when including the previous FIBA Europe Champions Cup incarnation. This expansion to 20 teams was driven by strategic goals for long-term sustainability, as evidenced by the approval of long-term wild cards on 19 June 2025. These wild cards include three-year terms for clubs like Crvena zvezda Meridianbet and Partizan Mozzart Bet, and a five-year term for Dubai Basketball.
On the court, the competition saw Olympiacos secure their 4th title and their first in 13 years. In a historic achievement, they became the first regular season leader to claim the championship. They achieved this victory at the Telekom Center in Athens, the same venue used by their arch-rivals Panathinaikos AKTOR, which also hosted the Final Four in 2007.
The season's structure followed a rigorous format. After a 38-round regular season running from 30 September 2025 to 17 April 2026, the top 10 teams advanced to postseason play. This included a play-in tournament for teams ranked 7th through 10th, followed by best-of-five playoff series. The tournament also saw significant movement in the league's landscape, such as ALBA Berlin opting to join the FIBA-organised Basketball Champions League on 7 May 2025 after 24 years in Euroleague competitions.
Opens the Intellect+ feed with this card first. Swipe up for the next one.
Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: 2025–26 EuroLeague
To cite this card, link to https://intellectplus.co.uk/app/history-2025-26-euroleague.
How we source, check and correct cards: Editorial standards.
General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.
Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?
Related
More in Born on this day · More in History · Latest · A–Z · All topics
