ELPA President Nachbar wants to get rid of Final Four: 'Players want that' / News - Basketnews.com

Nachbar says the people who would benefit the most would be the fans.

Credit: EuroLeague basketball via GettyImages Credit EuroLeague basketball via GettyImages

Three EuroLeague playoff series went to Game 5 this year, with underdogs winning in two of them, a first since 2011. As such, the conversation about the validity of a Final Four has resurfaced.

Final Four has been an integral part of the modern EuroLeague ever since its creation in 2000. The format is simple - four teams arrive at one designated place in Europe and compete in a single-game elimination format to determine the winner.

Final Fours have produced many memorable moments throughout their history. However, the president of the EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA), Bostjan Nachbar, who competed in two Final Fours as a player himself, is in favor of eliminating the format and introducing a best-of-five series to determine the EuroLeague winner.

"After watching yet another unforgettable EuroLeague quarterfinals playoff series, it is impossible to again overlook the immense potential of European basketball if the playoffs in its best league would be played all the way to the finals," Nachbar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"EuroLeague F4 is an incredible event that brings the excitement & drama, but its downside is that we"only" get three high-level games which conclude the season (it is questionable whether 3rd place game belongs in this category)," he explained.

In Nachbar's opinion, fans would be the biggest winners if such a change was implemented.

"The opportunity for many more packed arenas with [the] best atmosphere in sports, home court advantage (for which teams battle for 6 months), nail-biting games, and opportunity to create dozens of historic, game-winning plays & unforgettable moments gets lost," he said about the concept of a Final Four when compared to a series.

"At the end, the ones that lose the most are the most vital part of this sport - casual fans, who don't get the chance to watch [the] best teams in Europe battle it out in a 5-game series to determine the true #1 team in one of the most competitive sports leagues in the world," Nachbar explained.

Changing the format from the Final Four to a series would mean adding a number of games, with 10 being the highest number if the same team played five games both in the semifinals and the finals.

With competitions domestically and internationally, EuroLeague teams already play almost as many games as their counterparts in the NBA.

"Adding more games to the schedule is obviously not the solution - at this stage that is not even possible. But an overhaul of the system is needed in order to unlock [the] full potential of each competition, with players being ready & motivated to play in each game (club or NT)," Nachbar said.

"Maybe, individual issues of each entity can be pushed aside for the common goal to grow the game- together," he said about the conflict about the EuroLeague and FIBA. "There’s no doubt that once that would be achieved everyone involved in basketball, including the most passionate fans,will win. Players want that. What about the rest?"

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