EuroLeague Basketball News: EL Approves All 20 2026-27 Teams

The EuroLeague is gearing up for the 2026-27 campaign.

EuroLeague officials recently confirmed the 20 teams that will compete for the championship, which was won last season by Greek side Olympiacos.

However, this season will bring some new changes to the league calendar, with the EuroLeague Super Cup set to debut in September.

Below, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the 2026-27 EuroLeague season.

Frank Ammirante Last Updated on Jul 10, 2026

EuroLeague 20-Team Format

The EuroLeague’s 20-team format will continue for one more season before a proposed expansion to 24 teams ahead of the 2027-28 campaign.

The regular season currently features 38 games, with each team playing each other twice, once at home and once away.

The top six teams in the regular season automatically qualify for the playoffs. They are joined by two additional teams that finish between seventh and tenth after they compete in a four-team play-in.

The play-in has the same format as the NBA Play-In Tournament. The teams that finish seventh and eighth in the standings play for the No. 7 seed, with the loser then facing the winner of a game between the ninth- and tenth-placed teams for the final playoff spot.

Once the eight-team playoff field is set, qualified teams will play a best-of-five series against each other, with No. 1 playing No. 8, No. 2 playing No. 7, No. 3 playing No. 6, and No. 4 playing No. 5. The higher seed has home-court advantage, playing three of five games (if necessary) at home.

The four teams that win those playoff series advance to the EuroLeague Final Four, which is contested like the NCAA Final Four, where the semifinals and championship game are played as single-elimination contests over one weekend.

Super Cup

The EuroLeague Super Cup is a preseason tournament debuting this year.

While the format has not yet been finalized, the Super Cup is expected to be a four-team tournament.

Among the teams rumored to feature in this year’s edition are the previous two EuroLeague winners, Olympiacos and Fenerbahce, and 2026 finalist Real Madrid.

Competition Calendar

The EuroLeague Super Cup is set to take the first spot on the competition calendar, with the debut edition expected to play out on September 18 and 19.

The EuroLeague season will then tip off on Thursday, September 24 and run through mid-April.

The play-in will begin on April 20, with the full eight-team playoffs beginning a week later. There will be two full weeks off between the playoffs and the EuroLeague Final Four, which is scheduled for May 28.

The EuroLeague championship game will take place on Sunday, May 30.