There are 30 rounds of games in the Euroleague regular season. They take place across 60 nights. Emmet Ryan has put together a viewing schedule to give you the best way through the season ahead
With 16 teams playing 30 rounds of basketball there are 240 games in the Euroleague season. We’re distilling this down to just the top 60 games which, come to think of it, is still a massive proportion of the total number of games that will be played.
All the same, you want to watch a whole lot of basketball involving the best teams on the continent and we’ve compiled the best of that here.
There is one big rule, namely that we try to avoid rematches wherever possible. That’s mainly to make the list less obvious and to force you, the viewer, into taking in a broader range of games.
Here. We. Go…
11 October – Buducnost vs Olimpia Milano
It’s a left-field one to start but it’s the first game for Buducnost in the big show in 15 years and Milano was the go to league pass side last season.
12 October – FC Bayern vs Anadolu Efes
The return of the Bundesliga champs and the beginning of a possible bounceback season for Efes makes this a safe bet.
16 October – Gran Canaria vs FC Barcelona
Granca makes its home debut in Euroleague against a Barca side with so many questions to answer.
17 October – Baskonia vs Olympiacos
Still very much the formative stage of the season, a good time to take the early temperature of Baskonia’s status with an eye on pushing for a home final four appearance.
18 October – CSKA Moscow vs Darussafaka
CSKA on the road is a brutal trip, we’ll see a lot of what Dacka are made of in this one.
19 October – Zalgiris Kaunas vs Fenerbahce
This one is just a no-brainer. Rematch of last May’s Final Four with a lot of changes on both sides.
25 October – Real Madrid vs Buducnost
Not likely to be the closest game on the docket on this date but if Real are going to have an early offensive explosion, this is the likely candidate.
26 October – Panathinaikos vs Zalgiris Kaunas
It’s the OAKA against Saras. That’s enough.
1 November – FC Barcelona vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
A few rounds later than expected but Maccabi makes its debut on this list in a clash between two sides looking to make the bottom end of the playoffs.
2 November – Olimpia Milano vs Anadolu Efes
Milano and Efes is just league pass nonsense in the right way. Solid fare when looking to relax on a Friday.
8 November – Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Real Madrid
The back court combinations here are going to be joyous to watch, this is just a good match-up.
9 November – Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos
Regular readers need no explanation. For newcomers, this is known as the Derby of Eternal Enemies.
15 November – FC Bayern vs CSKA Moscow
Our first look at Bayern since the opening week and the added bonus that I plan on being in the building.
16 November – Zalgiris Kaunas vs FC Barcelona
Another reliable one of Saras against a past team of his on one of the weaker days, overall, for viewing quality in the season.
20 November – Fenerbahce vs Darussafaka
All the Istanbul derby combinations should prove interesting this season so good to get one in the front end of the campaign.
21 November – Khimki vs Buducnost
We wait all the way until Round 8 to include the other Russian side but it’s a game where failure to win should cast doubt over their playoff aspirations.
22 November – Olympiacos vs Real Madrid
It would be just rude to not have at least one Spanoulis vs Llull game on this list.
23 November – Baskonia vs Panathinaikos
We return to the home of the final four to once more check in on the progress of Toko Shengelia and the lads.
29 November – Maccabi Tel Aviv vs FC Bayern
It’s our first look at the German champions away from the Audi Dome and a good time to see if Maccabi are panicking or over confident.
30 November – Khimki vs Panathinaikos
The winner of the Golden Langford last year takes on the man it’s named after. Alexey Shved and Keith Langford are both about to draw some fouls.
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6 December – Olimpia Milano vs Gran Canaria
It’s been far too long since we checked in on Granca and Milano’s season should be a Jackson Pollock painting by this stage.
7 December – Anadolu Efes vs Real Madrid
I could go for the Obradovic goes to play Panathinaikos option but that’s boring and, besides, this game will be more interesting.
13 December – Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Baskonia
Skipping El Clasico for now because this one has a deeper story to tell with regards to what happens next for both sides.
14 December – Gran Canaria vs Buducnost
These sides will get talked about less than most which makes a head to head between them a good fall back option as the holiday period hits.
18 December – Fenerbahce vs CSKA Moscow
Two heavyweights knocking the stuffing out of each other. Fenerbahce will win in late drama or overtime. This already feels like a safe call and in no way hubristic. It’s early September.
19 December – Real Madrid vs Panathinaikos
I mean, this is just an obviously good match-up plus lends to a trend of making it a heavyweight battles week.
20 December – Baskonia vs FC Barcelona
The final four hosts take on their wealthier rivals who have floundered when it matters in this rivalry of late.
21 December – Zalgiris Kaunas vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
It’s our third example of Saras vs a former club and another pairing of two of storied clubs from this continent. It’s a solid way to complete the week.
27 December – FC Barcelona vs Anadolu Efes
I’m going to be honest, I’m not watching games from this night or the next night live. I’m going to have friends over for box sets. These will be viewed the morning after so I’ll pick the most fun one based on results. Still, were I going in blind this is the best bet for drama.
28 December – Fenerbahce vs Real Madrid
Actually, I might demand the lads are late on this night or we take a break for this game. It’s the rematch of last year’s title game. That’s too tasty to ignore.
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3 January 2019 – Gran Canaria vs Khimki
It’s a new year, the second half of the season, and a solid…oh wait, we don’t want to do rematches. Sorry Real vs Maccabi, we’re going for the hipster’s choice of Granca vs Alexey Shved.
4 January – Zalgiris Kaunas vs CSKA Moscow
It’s the classic Soviet derby, you’ve now got it ticked off nicely. Good job.
8 January – Khimki vs Fenerbahce
It’s a mixed bag of a start to 2019 for Khimki. A long trip to the Canary Islands is followed up with a home clash against the 2017 champions.
9 January – Olimpia Milano vs FC Barcelona
It’s been a while since we stopped by the forum and this match-up is usually good for surprises.
10 January – Baskonia vs Gran Canaria
A clash between two Spanish sides that could be going in wildly different directions by the time they meet here.
11 January – Maccabi Tel Aviv vs CSKA Moscow
I mean, it’s the rivalry that put Maccabi on the map. Also, much as Barca vs Panathinaikos is my go-to game of the season, I don’t want to recommend the Blaugrana twice in three nights.
17 January – Olympiacos vs Khimki
This one just has that sniff of something possibly crazy could go down.
18 January – Anadolu Efes vs Darussafaka
This one could be called the Derby of Eternal Silence, at least in the stands. On the floor, it promises plenty.
24 January – Panathinaikos vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
The Maccabi portion of this guide has been home heavy, this gives a bit of balance by throwing them into one of the toughest away dates there is.
25 January – FC Barcelona vs CSKA Moscow
This could well be a do or die game for Barca’s season at the two-thirds marker.
31 January – Khimki vs Zalgiris Kaunas
It’s got the potential to have playoff implications but, more importantly, it avoids a rematch or another easy jump to a Barca game.
1 February – CSKA Moscow vs Buducnost
If one game has the potential to be the basketball equivalent of this then this is it.
7 February – Anadolu Efes vs Gran Canaria
This may be the latest in the season that Granca are still worth watching and it’s a fun one in terms of the match-up.
8 February – CSKA Moscow vs Real Madrid
A rematch from last year’s final four and one where Real’s depth is going to be worth keeping an eye on.
21 February – Anadolu Efes vs Olympiacos
It’s been over a month since checking in on Olympiacos and a tricky trip to Istanbul is a good time to have a look.
22 February – Real Madrid vs FC Bayern
This is one where Bayern might still be fighting to be relevant or be already done and ready to get taken apart. Lots of variables makes it a decent looking bet for a good game here.
28 February – Fenerbahce vs Anadolu Efes
And the combination of Istanbul derbies is complete
1 March – Olympiacos vs CSKA Moscow
It’s not the playoffs but it’s still Spanoulis vs CSKA
7 March – Darussafaka vs Panathinaikos
The clash of the teams in green should have plenty at stake as we hit the season run-in.
8 March – Buducnost vs Olympiacos
We haven’t checked out a Buducnost home game since the very first day of the season, it’s time to head back to Podgorica.
14 March – Real Madrid vs Khimki
About as reliable a game as one can gauge this far out to have implications for several playoff chasing sides.
15 March – Fenerbahce vs Barcelona
The seeding implications for Fener coupled with the survival or seeding situation for Barca makes this a decent bet.
19 March – Anadolu Efes vs CSKA Moscow
It’s no accident that most of the CSKA games on this list see them on the road, their home form is just that touch too good to want to stick a whole heap of games in Moscow on this list.
20 March – Real Madrid vs Olimpia Milano
I mean, it’s likely to be one-sided but Milano on the road is still a good league pass play.
21 March – FC Bayern vs FC Barcelona
Even if both sides are out, there’s going to be serious pride on the line here due to the Pesic link.
22 March – Baskonia vs Real Madrid
Yup, Real being recommended twice in three nights whereas Barca in the same scenario was avoided. This one just screams of a slobberknocker already.
28 March – Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Gran Canaria
My gut says Granca are done by this stage but Maccabi may be playing nervy if it’s a close run-in and that makes this the best option without a repeat.
29 March – Olympiacos vs Zalgiris Kaunas
It was a failure to take care of business against the Kaunas club last April that cost Oly their spot in the final four. This game should have an impact on their chances of getting back there.
4 April – Panathinaikos vs Buducnost
Biased as I am hoping to be at this game…
5 April – Olympiacos vs Darussafaka
…and this one too. It’s round 30, if there is a game with playoff on either day you won’t need this guide to tell you what you need to watch.
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