Euroleague 2017/2018 season preview Basketball

Fenerbahce crowned Euroleague champions

Fenerbahce have been crowned Euroleague champions after beating Olympiakos 80-64 in the final of the tournament last season. They advanced to the final after defeating Real Madrid 84-75, while Olympiacos eliminated CSKA Moscow to proceed to final in Final Four. Fenerbahce is the seventh different EuroLeague team to win the competition in the last eight years.

Since 2010, Barcelona, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow lifted the trophy. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce is the first Turkish club to win the competition, but their coach Zeljko Obradovic has won his ninth EuroLeague title, more than any other coach in Euroleague history. CSKA Moscow defeated Real Madrid 94-70 to finish the 2016/17 Euroleague season in third place.

#	Team	overall
final four
1	Fenerbahce	23-12
3	Olympiakos	23-14
3	CSKA Moscow	21-9
4	Real Madrid	26-10
quarterfinal
5	Panathinaikos	19-14
6	Efes	19-16
7	Baskonia	17-16
8	Darussafaka	17-17
group stage
9	Crvena zvezda	16-14
10	Zalgiris	14-16
11	Barcelona	12-18
12	Galatasaray	11-19
13	Bamberg	10-20
14	Maccabi	10-20
15	Unics	8-22
16	Armani	8-22

The table displays the Euroleague team's success in the 2016/17 season.

Euroleague format

The EuroLeague announced a new competition format for last season, with only 16 teams, playing in one regular season group stage phase with a double round-robin. The first eight qualified teams will then play in a best-of-five playoff round for qualification to the Final Four.

Baskonia	Valencia	Khimki	Armani Milano
Barcelona	Olympiacos	Anadolu Efes	Zalgiris
Real Madrid	Panathinaikos	Fenerbahce	Crvena zvezda
Unicaja	CSKA Moscow	Maccabi	Brose Bamberg

Sito Alonso named head coach of Barcelona

Barcelona found a new head coach in Sito Alonso, who inked a two-year deal with the Spanish powerhouse. The deal, which runs until 2019, also includes an option for a third season. Alonso arrives from Baskonia, whom he led to the Euroleague and the Spanish league Playoffs, but falling short at the quarter-final and semi-finals, respectively. The 41-year-old replaces Georgios Bartzokas, who parted ways with Barcelona at the end of last season due a poor campaign.

Khimki hire Bartzokas

After parting ways with Barca, Bartzokas returns to Russia as the new coach of Khimki for the next two seasons. In 2015, the Greek tactician led Lokomotiv Kuban to a first-ever Final Four appearance. Meanwhile, retired Argentinian point guard Pablo Prigioni, 40, has been hired as the head coach of Baskonia. Prigioni's career as a player lasted roughly 22 seasons, 17 of which were overseas and seven of those seasons were with Baskonia.

This page is introduction to the 2017/2018 Euroleague season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euroleague basketball page.

Maccabi Tel Aviv name Spahija head coach

Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Neven Spahija has been named head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv and will return overseas to continue his career. The 54-year-old Croatian joined the NBA team in 2014 and just finished his third season on the staff of head coach Mike Budenholzer. He coached for over 30 seasons before joining the Hawks and won domestic league titles in six countries, Slovenia, Croatia, Lithuania, Spain, Israel and Turkey.

Armani Milan appoint Pianigiani as new boss

Armani Milan have appointed Simone Pianigiani as their new head coach on a three-year deal. Pianigiani, 48, arrives from Hapoel Jerusalem, whom he led to the Israeli championship and Eurocup semifinals last season. He succeeds Jasmin Repesa, who coached Milan the past two seasons. Pianigiani led his hometown club Montepaschi Siena to Euroleague Final Four appearances in 2008 and 2011, and playoff appearances in 2009 and 2012. He coached Fenerbahce Istanbul during the 2012/13 and served as Italy's national team head coach from 2009 to 2015.

Other coaching changes

Spanish League champions Valencia and Txus Vidorreta penned a one-year deal to make him the team's new head coach. Vidorreta comes from the Iberostar Tenerife, with which he won the Basketball Champions League and was named Best Coach of the Regular Season in the Spanish top flight. Crevena Zvezda also have a new coach. Dusan Alimpijevic has signed a three-year contract with the Serbian powerhouse. The 31-year-old arrives from FMP Belgrade, whom he led to the Serbian League finals last season. He started his coaching career at age 22, working for Meridiana Novi Sad, where he stayed for six seasons, joining FMP last April.

Euroleague favourites

According to online bookmakers CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce and Real Madrid are the favourites to take this year's Euroleague.

Team	Odds	Team	Odds
CSKA Moscow	3	Baskonia	34
Fenerbahce	4.5	Valencia	34
Real Madrid	4.5	Unicaja Malaga	34
Panathinaikos	11	Efes Pilsen	34
Olympiakos CFP	12	Armani Milano	67
Barcelona	12	Zalgiris Kaunas	101
Maccabi	29	Crvena Zvezda	151
Khimki	29	Brose Baskets	151

The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2017/18 Euroleague.

Key players