The EuroLeague Basketball Playoffs feature the top teams in European hoops. The postseason is heading for the semifinals and the action is heating up on the hardwood.
The EuroLeague semifinals will feature top teams Real Madrid of Spain and Anadolu Efes of Turkey. Two further teams will qualify for the semifinals as two of the four quarterfinals series have gone the distance.
What are the EuroLeague Basketball Playoffs?
If you only follow the NBA or NCAA college basketball, you may not understand just how big basketball is across Europe. The game is massive and many of the top soccer teams in Europe also have a basketball team connected to them.
The EuroLeague basketball league is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world today despite not a lot of North Americans being aware of its existence. A number of current and former NBA players started in the European leagues, and every year, players from NCAA basketball and NBA teams arrive in Europe to play.
The EuroLeague is the top-tier European professional basketball competition for clubs or teams. Think of it as the NBA for Europe and it has been in action since 2000. The league replaced the FIBA EuroLeague which started in 1958. It is basically the same competition with new branding.
EuroLeague 2021-22 format
The regular season featured 18 teams, although the three Russian participants were suspended due to the war in Ukraine. Teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin style format.
Unlike the NBA season in which teams play 82 regular-season games with an unbalanced schedule, EuroLeague teams play a mere 34-game season. This is also due to the teams playing games against their domestic rivals back. For example, Real Madrid must play in the EuroLeague on weekdays while playing in the Spanish league on weekends.
The top eight teams in the final EuroLeague standings make the playoffs. There is just a single table for teams to be ranked in. Therefore, the top eight make the postseason. The regular season ran from September 30, 2021, to April 8, 2022.
Which EuroLeague basketball teams made the playoffs in 2022?
The eight teams that made the EuroLeague basketball playoffs in 2022 were:
- Barcelona
- Olympiacos
- Armani Exchange Milan
- Real Madrid
- Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Anadolu Efes
- AS Monaco
- Bayern Munich
How do the EuroLeague playoffs work?
The EuroLeague Playoffs are a best-of-five series. The postseason started with
- No. 1 Barcelona vs. No. 8 Bayern Munich
- No. 2 Olympiacos vs. No. 7 AS Monaco
- No. 3 Armani Exchange Milan vs. No. 6 Anadolu Efes
- No. 4 Real Madrid vs. No. 5 Maccabi Tel Aviv
The quarterfinals have so far seen Real Madrid knockout Maccabi Tel Aviv in a three-game sweep. Anadolu Efes upset Milan 3-1 in their best-of-five games series.
Barcelona and Bayern Munich will meet on May 3 in Game 5 to determine the series winner. Meanwhile, Olympiacos and AS Monaco will play on May 4 to determine their series winner. Could we see more upsets? Certainly, as it isn’t ideal for the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to be pushed to a full five games in the quarterfinals.
Who is the all-time winningest team in EuroLeague basketball history?
Real Madrid are the all-time winningest team in EuroLeague basketball. Los Blancos have won 10 EuroLeague titles. On eight further occasions, Real Madrid have finished as runner-up. Los Blancos have not won the EuroLeague since 2018.
The reigning champions of EuroLeague basketball are Anadolu Efes. The Turkish team got off to a great start by knocking out No. 3 Olympiacos in the quarterfinals.
Betting odds on EuroLeague basketball playoffs
(odds courtesy of Bet365. We will update these once the quarterfinals finish this week. Updated May 4.)
- Barcelona
+180+160 - Anadolu Efes +260
- Real Madrid +350
- Olympiacos
+600+550 - AS Monaco +1600
When is the EuroLeague Final?
The playoff semifinals will tip-off on May 21. After the best-of-five game series, the finals will be set.
EuroLeague basketball picks
The quarterfinals of the EuroLeague will come to an end this week. Barcelona will play Bayern Munich in Barcelona. The Germans are coming off of a Game 5 win 59-52 at home. Both teams won one game at home and won away. Now, the Germans have to win in Barcelona again. Our betting tips prediction is for Barcelona to pick up the home win when they need it. The Blaugrana won both regular-season games and they should pick up a Game 5 home victory.
(Update May 4: In last night’s Game 5 between Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the Spanish team won the game 81-72 to win the series 3-2.)
Monaco are hoping to upset Olympiacos. These teams traded wins with both winning home and away in the opening four games of the quarterfinal series. Monaco have never won the EuroLeague and that trend should continue as Olympiacos pick up a home victory.
After the final quarterfinal best-of-five series this week, Zcode System will bring you even more exciting EuroLeague previews for the semifinals.
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