The EuroLeague, officially known as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague is a professional basketball competition in Europe.
It is organized by EuroLeague Basketball, which took over from FIBA, with the first season held in 2000. It features the top professional basketball clubs in Europe.
The EuroLeague is one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world and it averages a viewership of 9,000 fans per game.
It is considered the fifth-highest-attended professional indoor sports league globally and the second-highest professional basketball league, only behind the National Basketball Association. The league currently consists of 18 teams, with Real Madrid being the most successful club in EuroLeague history.
History
From 1958 to 2000, FIBA was responsible for organizing the top European basketball competitions.In 2000, EuroLeague Basketball was formed, and they introduced the EuroLeague as the new top-tier competition, replacing the FIBA European Champions Cup.
Although FIBA had used the name "EuroLeague" before, they never trademarked it, allowing EuroLeague Basketball to use the name without any legal issues. The competition has undergone several changes over the years, including a brief period of competition with the FIBA SuproLeague, which created a rift between the two organizations that remains unresolved.
Format
In the EuroLeague, there is a regular season followed by playoffs and then a Final Four competition.For the regular season, each team will play against every other team in a Round-Robin format. The top eight teams will then play in the playoffs and the top four will play in the Final Four, which will end in the championships.
Notable Players
Many famous basketball players have made their mark in the EuroLeague, these include Luka Doncic, Nikola Mirotic, and Vassilis Spanoulis.Sponsorship
In 2010, the EuroLeague Basketball and Turkish Airlines announced that a €15 million strategic agreement was made to sponsor the event.The league later re-branded into Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball. They would also name the final four teams as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, where they would be appearing in all forms of media to promote the team.
The partnership has been extended a couple of times since.