EuroLeague to implement Play-In Tournament next season / News - Basketnews.com

EuroLeague will have a new format starting from the next season.

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com-Scanpix, Quality Sport Images/GettyImages, BNS arba BasketNews Illiustration Credit ZUMAPRESS.com-Scanpix, Quality Sport Images/GettyImages, BNS arba BasketNews Illiustration

EuroLeague will adapt its format for the upcoming season, as the teams that finish the regular season 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th will participate in the Play-In Tournament before the quarterfinal series, according to Robert Heusel.

Newly-elected EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas hinted at this change last Tuesday during the Zalgiris Kaunas press conference.

"There are talks [regarding play-in], we will talk with the clubs," he underlined at that time. "The basis of our league is that every team plays every team. This is the essential axis on which we must stay and not return to the fact that there are groups, some teams come [to a particular city] and others don't. This will definitely not change."

The introduction of a Play-In Tournament has been considered to potentially enhance the chances of teams qualifying for the EuroLeague playoffs. Currently, fewer than 50% of teams (8 out of 18) make it to the playoffs, and the Play-In Tournament should provide additional opportunities.

If this format had been implemented this past EuroLeague season, Zalgiris Kaunas, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Vitoria Baskonia-Gasteiz, and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade would have been contending for two spots in the quarterfinals.

NBA has had the Play-In Tournament since 2020, with the league officially adopting it in 2022.

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.