Professional men's basketball clubs in Europe can compete in a number of different competitions, including national leagues, regional (multi-national) leagues, and continental competitions. It is therefore possible for clubs from some countries to take part in several levels of competition in the same season. Clubs usually qualify for European competitions through performance in their national or regional leagues, with the exception of wild cards .
10-402: The FIBA Saporta Cup , founded as FIBA European Cup Winners Cup , was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA Europe . It was named after the late Raimundo Saporta , a former Real Madrid director. The competition
20-770: Is made up of mostly Russian clubs, as well as a smaller number of clubs from nearby countries - currently Belarus and Kazakhstan . It serves as the top division of the Russian national league system . Other multi-national leagues in Europe have included the North European Basketball League (1999–2003), the Baltic Basketball League (2004–2018), the Central European Basketball League (2008–2010),
30-907: The LNB Pro A in France, the Greek Basket League , the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany, and the ABA League . Giulio Iellini Giulio Iellini (born 18 October 1947) is a retired Italian professional basketball player. In 2009, he was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame . Iellini won two EuroLeague championships, in 1966 and 1976. Iellini was a part of the senior Italian national basketball teams that won bronze medals at
40-730: The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League , the BNXT League , and the Alpe Adria Cup . Each country generally has its own league system , with various divisions which involve promotion and relegation , as well as playoffs following the regular season. The Spanish Liga ACB contributes the most, three to four clubs to the EuroLeague each season. Other leagues among the strongest include Turkey's BSL , Russia's VTB United League , Italy's LBA ,
50-479: The EuroCup qualify for the next season's EuroLeague. The Basketball Champions League , which began in 2016, is FIBA Europe's highest competition. Initially, FIBA established EuroLeague in 1958 but never trademarketed the name which was later taken over by Euroleague Basketball . The Basketball Champions League involves 52 teams. The Europe Cup is FIBA Europe's secondary competition. 47 teams compete, and
60-553: The league has also included clubs from Bulgaria , the Czech Republic , Hungary , and Israel . Clubs generally also compete in their own national leagues in the same season, after the conclusion of the ABA League season. The winner of the league qualifies for the next season's EuroLeague. Balkan International Basketball League began in 2008 and European North Basketball League started in 2021. The VTB United League
70-458: The national or regional leagues in the previous season. The EuroLeague is a competition with currently 18 teams. It has historically been the most prestigious competition in European basketball and is widely recognised as the top-tier league in Europe. The EuroCup is Euroleague Basketball's secondary competition, and currently made up of 20 teams from around Europe. The two finalists of
80-717: The teams which did not enter in the Basketball Champions League regular season have the option to drop down into the regular season of the Europe Cup. In addition to national leagues in individual countries, there are leagues which include clubs from several countries. The ABA League , commonly called the Adriatic League, began in 2001, and consists of clubs from the former Yugoslavia ( Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Serbia and Slovenia ). At different times,
90-958: Was created in 1966, as the FIBA European Cup Winners Cup, but it had several denominations, until its eventual folding in 2002: The final Saporta Cup season was held during the 2001–02 season. After that, it was fused with the FIBA Korać Cup , into the formed FIBA Europe Champions Cup . Stan McKenzie , Sauro Bufalini , Dino Meneghin , Giambattista Cescutti , Ottorino Flaborea , Massimo Villetti , Paolo Vittori , Enrico Bovone , Pierangelo Gergati , Roberto Gergati ( Head Coach : Vittorio Tracuzzi ) Georgios Amerikanos , Georgios Trontzos , Christos Zoupas , Stelios Vasileiadis , Eas Larentzakis , Antonis Christeas , Lakis Tsavas , Petros Petrakis , Nikos Nesiadis , Andreas Dimitriadis , Georgios Moschos † ( Head Coach : Nikos Milas ) †Moschos died of cancer in 1966, but he
100-9529: Was inducted into the AEK Hall of Fame in 2008, and added to the 1968 championship team as an honorary member. Jiří Zídek Sr. , Jiří Růžička , Robert Mifka , Jiri Ammer , Bohumil Tomášek , Karel Baroch , Jaroslav Krivy , Jiří Konopásek ( Head Coach : Jaroslav Šíp ) Miles Aiken , Jim Williams , Sauro Bufalini , Carlos d'Aquila , Remo Maggetti , Giovanni Gavagnin , Francesco Ovi , Antonio Errico , Vincenzo Errico , Manfredo Fucile , Renato Abbate , Leonardo Coen ( Head Coach : Antonio Zorzi ) Art Kenney , Massimo Masini , Renzo Bariviera , Giulio Iellini , Giorgio Giomo , Giuseppe Brumatti , Paolo Bianchi , Giorgio Papetti , Mauro Cerioni , Roberto Paleari , Giorgio Gaggiotti ( Head Coach : Cesare Rubini ) Art Kenney , Massimo Masini , Renzo Bariviera , Giulio Iellini , Giuseppe Brumatti , Mauro Cerioni , Paolo Bianchi , Giorgio Giomo , Doriano Iacuzzo , Sergio Borlenghi , Claudio Ferrari ( Head Coach : Cesare Rubini ) Alexander Belov , Yuri Pavlov , Alexander Bolshakov , Yuri Shtukin , Andrei Makeev , Vladimir Yakovlev , Sergei Kuznetsov , Leonid Ivanov , Valeri Fjodorov , Ivan Dvorny , Evgeni Volkov , Ivan Rozhin ( Head Coach : Vladimir Kondrashin ) Zoran Slavnić , Ljubodrag Simonović , Dragan Kapičić , Dragiša Vučinić , Radivoje Živković , Ivan Sarjanović , Zoran Lazarević , Dragoje Jovašević , Goran Rakočević , Ljupče Žugić ( Head Coach : Aleksandar Nikolić ) Alexander Belov , Yuri Pavlov , Alexander Bolshakov , Vladimir Arzamaskov , Yuri Shtukin , Andrei Makeev , Vladimir Yakovlev , Sergei Kuznetsov , Mikhail Silantev , Leonid Ivanov , Valeri Fjodorov ( Head Coach : Vladimir Kondrashin ) Mike Sylvester , Austin "Red" Robbins , Giuseppe Brumatti , Paolo Bianchi , Antonio Francescatto , Sergio Borlenghi , Vittorio Ferracini , Franco Boselli , Maurizio Borghese , Maurizio Benatti , Dino Boselli , Paolo Friz ( Head Coach : Filippo Faina ) Bob Lienhard , Hart Wingo , Pierlo Marzorati , Carlo Recalcati , Fabrizio Della Fiori , Renzo Tombolato , Franco Meneghel , Giorgio Cattini , Roberto Natalini , Umberto Cappelletti , Non Prezzati , Bruno Carapacchi , Giampiero Cortinovis ( Head Coach : Arnaldo Taurisano ) Bob Lienhard , Hart Wingo , Pierlo Marzorati , Carlo Recalcati , Fabrizio Della Fiori , Fausto Bargna , Renzo Tombolato , Franco Meneghel , Giuseppe Gergati , Denis Innocentin , Umberto Cappelletti , Davide Bertazzini , Fabio Brambilla ( Head Coach : Arnaldo Taurisano ) Johnny Neumann , Dave Batton , Pierlo Marzorati , Carlo Recalcati , Fabrizio Della Fiori , Renzo Bariviera , Renzo Tombolato , Denis Innocentin , Umberto Cappelletti , Antonello Riva , Non Porro , Giorgio Panzini ( Head Coach : Arnaldo Taurisano ) Bob Morse , Dino Meneghin , Bruce Seals , Aldo Ossola , Alberto Mottini , Maurizio Gualco , Enzo Carraria , Fabio Colombo , Mauro Salvaneschi , Antonio Campiglio , Riccardo Caneva , Marco Bergonzoni ( Head Coach : Edoardo Rusconi ) Pierlo Marzorati , Antonello Riva , Bruce Flowers , Tom Boswell , Renzo Bariviera , Renzo Tombolato , Denis Innocentin , Giorgio Cattini , Terry Stotts , Umberto Cappelletti , Eugenio Masolo , Antonio Sala , Valerio Fumagalli , Giuseppe Bosa ( Head Coach : Valerio Bianchini ) Krešimir Ćosić , Aleksandar Petrović , Andro Knego , Zoran Čutura , Mihovil Nakić , Sven Ušić , Damir Pavličević , Adnan Bečić , Rajko Gospodnetić , Mlađan Cetinja , Toni Bevanda , Srđan Savović ( Head Coach : Mirko Novosel ) Dragan Kićanović , Željko Jerkov , Walter Magnifico , Mike Sylvester , Domenico Zampolini , Giuseppe Ponzoni , Amos Benevelli , Alessandro Boni , Massimo Bini , Gianluca Del Monte , Fabio Mancini, Antonio Sassanelli ( Head Coach : Petar Skansi ) Juan Antonio Corbalán , Brian Jackson , Fernando Martín , Wayne Robinson , Rafael Rullán , Fernando Romay , Juan Manuel López Iturriaga , Antonio Martín , Francisco José Velasco , Juan Antonio Orenga , Wilson Simon ( Head Coach : Lolo Sainz ) Juan Antonio San Epifanio , Chicho Sibilio , Ignacio Solozábal , Mike Davis , Otis Howard , Juan Domingo De la Cruz , Xavi Crespo , Pedro Ansa , Arturo Seara , Julián Ortiz , Ángel Heredero ( Head Coach : Antoni Serra / Manuel Flores ) Juan Antonio San Epifanio , Chicho Sibilio , Ignacio Solozábal , Greg Wiltjer , Mark Smith , Juan Domingo De la Cruz , Xavi Crespo , Arturo Seara , Julián Ortiz , Steve Trumbo , Ferran Martínez , Ángel Heredero , Jordi Soler ( Head Coach : Aíto García Reneses ) Dražen Petrović , Aleksandar Petrović , Danko Cvjetićanin , Andro Knego , Zoran Čutura , Mihovil Nakić , Franjo Arapović , Sven Ušić , Branko Vukićević , Adnan Bečić , Nebojša Razić ( Head Coach : Janez Drvarič / Mirko Novosel ) Richard Dacoury , Clarence Kea , Stéphane Ostrowski , Greg Beugnot , Don Collins , Jacques Monclar , Hugues Occansey , Georges Vestris , Alain Forestier , Frederic Guinot , Jean-Luc Hribersek , Laurent Vinsou , Franck Maquaire ( Head Coach : Michel Gomez ) Dražen Petrović , Johnny Rogers , Fernando Martín , José Biriukov , Antonio Martín , Pep Cargol , Fernando Romay , José Luis Llorente , Enrique Villalobos , Javier Pérez , Miguel Ángel Cabral , Carlos García ( Head Coach : Lolo Sainz ) Micheal Ray Richardson , Roberto Brunamonti , Mike Sylvester , Clemon Johnson , Gus Binelli , Lauro Bon , Claudio Coldebella , Vittorio Gallinari , Massimiliano Romboli , Clivo Massimo Righi , Tommaso Tasso , Davide Bonora , Andrea Cempini ( Head Coach : Ettore Messina ) Bane Prelević , Ken Barlow , John Korfas , Panagiotis Fasoulas , Nikos Boudouris , Nikos Stavropoulos , Georgios Makaras , Panagiotis Papachronis , Memos Ioannou , Achilleas Mamatziolas , Lazaros Tsakiris , Georgios Valavanidis ( Head Coach : Dragan Šakota ) Rickey Brown , Mark Simpson , José Biriukov , Antonio Martín , Fernando Romay , José Miguel Antúnez , Pep Cargol , José Luis Llorente , Enrique Villalobos , Jonatan Ángel Ojeda , José María Silva , Tomás González ( Head Coach : Clifford Luyk ) Roy Tarpley , Panagiotis Giannakis , J. J. Anderson , Michail Misunov , Dinos Angelidis , Vangelis Vourtzoumis , Georgios Gasparis , Vassilis Lipiridis , Memos Ioannou , Igor Moraitov , Theodosios Paralikas ( Head Coach : Zvi Sherf ) Dušan Hauptman , Roman Horvat , Boris Gorenc , Žarko Đurišić , Marko Tušek , Nebojša Razić , Marijan Kraljević , Jaka Daneu , Vitali Nosov , Klemen Zaletel ( Head Coach : Zmago Sagadin ) Petar Naumoski , Orlando Woolridge , Ken Barlow , Stefano Rusconi , Riccardo Pittis , Massimo Iacopini , Andrea Gracis , Denis Marconato , Alberto Vianini , Riccardo Esposito , Maurizio Ragazzi , Federico Peruzzo , Paolo Casonato ( Head Coach : Mike D'Antoni ) Velimir Perasović , Kenny Green , Ramón Rivas , Marcelo Nicola , Jordi Millera , Miguel Ángel Reyes , Ferran Lopez , Jorge Garbajosa , Juan Pedro Cazorla , Carlos Cazorla , Carlos Dicenta , Pedro Rodríguez , Juan Ignacio Gómez ( Head Coach : Manel Comas ) Dejan Bodiroga , Joe Arlauckas , Alberto Herreros , Mike Smith , Juan Antonio Morales , Juan Antonio Orenga , Alberto Angulo , José Miguel Antúnez , Ismael Santos , Roberto Núñez , Pablo Laso , Lorenzo Sanz ( Head Coach : Željko Obradović ) Saulius Štombergas , Ennis Whatley , Franjo Arapović , Dainius Adomaitis , Tomas Masiulis , Virginijus Praškevičius , Darius Maskoliūnas , Kęstutis Šeštokas , Mindaugas Žukauskas , Eurelijus Žukauskas , Darius Sirtautas , Tauras Stumbrys , Danya Abrams ( Head Coach : Jonas Kazlauskas ) Henry Williams , Željko Rebrača , Marcelo Nicola , Glenn Sekunda , William Di Spalatro , Tomás Jofresa , Denis Marconato , Casey Schmidt , Davide Bonora , Riccardo Pittis , Oliver Narr , Stjepan Stazić , Matteo Maestrello ( Head Coach : Željko Obradović ) Anthony Bowie , Martin Müürsepp , Michalis Kakiouzis , Angelos Koronios , Nikos Chatzis , Dimos Dikoudis , Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis , Dan O'Sullivan , Steve Hansell , Vassilis Kikilias , Nikos Papanikolopoulos , Miltos Moschou ( Head Coach : Dušan Ivković ) Ashraf Amaya , Jimmy Oliver , Vasco Evtimov , Georgios Maslarinos , Alexis Falekas , Sotirios Nikolaidis , Vangelis Vourtzoumis , Dimitris Marmarinos , Dimitris Karaplis , Vangelis Logothetis , Sotiris Manolopoulos , Charalampos Charalampidis , Kostas Anagnostou ( Head Coach : Vangelis Alexandris ) Petar Naumoski , Vrbica Stefanov , Brian Tolbert , Boris Gorenc , Milenko Topić , Roberto Chiacig , Mindaugas Žukauskas , Nikola Bulatović , Alpay Öztaş , Marco Rossetti , Germán Scarone , Andrea Pilotti ( Head Coach : Ergin Ataman ) European professional club basketball system There are currently four competitions which are branded as Europe-wide, two controlled by Euroleague Basketball , and two by FIBA Europe . Clubs which compete in these competitions also play in their national and/or regional leagues. Clubs usually qualify for these competitions based on their performance in
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