The Euroleague is the Champions League of basketball and is the top tournament in European basketball, with heavyweights from around the continent battling it out to be crowned the best club side in Europe.
For many basketball fans life is all about the glitz and glamour of the NBA and whilst the North American league is undoubtedly the biggest draw in the sport, ignore the Euroleague at your peril. The best European players are on show, as well as one or two players from further afield, and if you throw a bet or two into that mix you have an enthralling, captivating basketball spectacle.
If you do want to have a bet on the Euroleague then our live odds comparison is a great aid and will help you find the best betting odds in seconds. We’ve got odds for all the matches throughout the tournament as well as on the outright winner betting so you need never miss out on better odds again.
Betting on the Euroleague, like the competition itself, has been getting more and more popular in the last few years and increased TV coverage and interest in the sport in general means the Euroleague is well worth checking out.
Sponsored by Turkish Airlines, the Euroleague is administered by the Euroleague Basketball Company and sees 31 sides battle it out to be crowned continental kings of basketball. Broadcast to almost 200 countries, including the US and Canada, it really does provide gripping action of the first order.
As with football’s Champions League, Real Madrid are the most successful side in Euroleague history, with nine titles to their name. Originally established as the European Champions' Cup and falling under the stewardship of FIBA, in 2000 the Euroleague Basketball Company was created, along with the Euroleague itself.
Some messy wrangling took place as different bodies attempted to have separate elite European competitions but by 2002 the Euroleague was firmly established as the top European club tournament.
As with many of basketball’s competitions, there have been various changes to the tournament structure and the number of teams involved. As things stand there are 31 sides from up to 18 countries involved in the Euroleague preliminary round, with 24 teams taking their place in the group stage.
Next comes the second round proper, called the Top 16, before the sides are reduced to eight and play a best of five quarter final. The Final Four phase of the Euroleague is held at a single but changing venue each season and single-game semi finals are held, before a third place play-off and the final itself.
The 2015 champions are Real Madrid, who will now seek La Decima, a fabled 10th title, whilst Maccabi Tel Aviv, who beat Real in the 2014 final, are the second most successful team in Euroleague history, with six championships and a further nine runner-up finishes.
Euroleague is a great alternative to the NBA for basketball fans and with more and more bookmakers offering more and more markets, odds and promotions, now is a great time to start betting on it.