Basketball Champions League 2025–26 - The Complete Guide (Season X) by Courtside 1891

19 Sep 2023

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The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is FIBA’s pan-European club competition for professional teams, running alongside domestic leagues from autumn to spring. Season X (the 10th edition) features 32 clubs in the Regular Season and concludes with a Final Four in May 2026.

How to watch the 2025/26 Basketball Champions League

As the home of FIBA live streaming, Courtside 1891 shows every BCL game live and on demand (availability may vary by territory due to local broadcast rights).
👉 Watch on web or app on Courtside 1891

What is the BCL & how does it work?

  • → Sporting merit first. Clubs qualify primarily via domestic league (and cup) performance; a limited number of wild cards can be issued.
  • → Qualification Rounds (single-elimination tournaments). Three winners join 29 direct entrants to complete the 32-team Regular Season. In 2025–26, the Qualifiers ran 19–25 September 2025.
  • → Regular Season (Oct–Dec). 8 groups of 4 (home & away, six games). Group winners → Round of 16; 2nd & 3rd → Play-Ins (best-of-three in January).
  • → Round of 16 (Jan–Mar). Four groups of four; top two advance.
  • → Quarter-finals (late Mar–Apr). Best-of-three series.
  • → Final Four (May 8–10, 2026). Semifinals, Third-Place Game, and Final on May 10, 2026.

Key dates (Season X)

  • → Qualification Round Tournaments: 19-25 September 2025
  • → Regular Season: 7 October - 17 December 2025
  • → Play-Ins: 6-14 January 2026
  • → Round of 16: 20 January - 18 March 2026
  • → Quarter-finals: 31 March - 15 April 2026
  • Final Four: 8-10 May 2026 (Final on May 10)

Who’s favourite in 2025–26?

Tier 1 : front-runners

Unicaja. The Málaga club comes in with the target on its back after setting the BCL standard over the last two seasons. Their identity travels: a deep rotation that defends for 40 minutes, multiple ball-handlers who keep the tempo under control, and enough shooting to punish help-perfect ingredients for Play-Ins, best-of-three series, and Final Four one-offs. Last year, Tyson Carter cut the net as Unicaja defeated Galatasaray in Athens to retain their title.

The Andalusians lost Dylan Osetkowski to Partizan Mozzart Bet, but added Xavier Castaneda and Chris Duarte for their backcourt whilst replacing the big man with James Webb III. Coach Ibon Navarro will be looking to make history, as Unicaja will try to be the first team to three-peat in the Basketball Champions League.

Lenovo Tenerife. No team in BCL history has been more comfortable living in late-round games. Their half-court execution is clinic-level-high ball screens, Spain actions, and shooters who flatten defensive coverages-while their experience in handling end-game possessions makes them a threat to win any neutral-court semifinal or final.

Their leader Marcelinho Huertas is aging like fine wine, after a season where he racked a double BCL and Liga ACB MVP at the tender age of 42.

The Canarios have lost David Kramer to RealMadrid, but signed Wesley Van Beck from Aliaga Petkimspor, Héctor Alderete from Movistar Estudiantes, Dylan Bordón from their rivals Dreamland Gran Canaria, and a Lithuania international Rokas Giedraitis from Crvena Zvezda of EuroLeague. Will their roster renovation be enough to give them another shot at the gold medal?

Tier 2 - prime contenders

Galatasaray. The Istanbul giants showed last season they can punch all the way through the bracket. With athletic wings to switch across the arc and guards who pressure the rim, they generate runs in bunches; if the three-point variance breaks their way, they look and feel like a title team. Having added Fabian White Jr, Freddie Gillespie, and Errick McCollum, The Lions are looking for yet another season at the top.

ALBA Berlin. The headline newcomer immediately changes the weight class of the competition. ALBA’s pace-and-space principles, size across positions, and development pipeline give them switchability on defense and continuity on offense - exactly the profile that tends to scale in the BCL’s two-game weeks and short series.

Joventut Badalona. Few clubs develop guards and wings like Penya, and that shows in their pick-and-roll craft and off-ball timing. They run disciplined sets, rebound their position, and rarely beat themselves; against BCL defenses that load up on the ball, their second-side actions are built to find the extra pass and the open three. Plus: Ricky Rubio is back! The Playmarker's homecoming will be a great story for the BCL's 10th iteration.

Dreamland Gran Canaria. GranCa bring Euro pedigree and grown-man depth to every position. Their front-court physicality tilts the possession game (glass, free throws, second chances), and when they control tempo, their shooters can turn quarter-long windows into scoreboard separation.

New & notable this season

  • → ALBA Berlin join BCL in 2025–26, returning to FIBA competitions and boosting the German contingent.
  • → Joventut Badalona and Dreamland Gran Canaria enter directly; notable first-timers include Karditsa Iaponiki (GRE), Mersin (TUR), MLP Academics Heidelberg (GER), Trapani Shark (ITA).
  • → Qualifiers winners: Patrioti Levice (SVK), Bursaspor (TUR), Élan Chalon (FRA).
  • → Group placement notes (examples):
  • → Élan Chalon in Group B (with ALBA Berlin, ERA Nymburk, Sabah).
  • → Bursaspor in Group C (with Joventut, Hapoel Holon, Cholet).
  • → Teams competing in 2025–26 (Regular Season, 32 clubs)
Club Country Domestic league 2024–25 finish
AEK Betsson BC Greece Greek Basket League 3rd
ALBA Berlin Germany Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) 7th
Bnei Penlink Herzliya Israel Israeli Basketball Premier League 5th
Bursaspor Basketbol † Türkiye Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) 10th
Cholet Basket France Betclic Élite (LNB Pro A) 5th
Dreamland Gran Canaria Spain Liga ACB (Endesa) 7th
Élan Chalon † France Betclic Élite (LNB Pro A) 7th
ERA Nymburk Czech Republic National Basketball League (NBL) 1st (champions)
Filou Oostende Belgium BNXT League (Belgium) 1st (champions)
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets Germany Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) 4th
Galatasaray Türkiye Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) 7th
Hapoel Netanel Holon Israel Israeli Basketball Premier League 4th
Igokea m:tel Bosnia & Herzegovina Basketball Championship of BiH 1st (champions)
Joventut Badalona Spain Liga ACB (Endesa) 6th
Karditsa Iaponiki Greece Greek Basket League 5th
La Laguna Tenerife Spain Liga ACB (Endesa) 3rd
Legia Warszawa Poland Orlen Basket Liga (PLK) 1st (champions)
Le Mans Sarthe Basket France Betclic Élite (LNB Pro A) 6th
MLP Academics Heidelberg Germany Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) 3rd
Mersin Sports Club Türkiye Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) 6th
NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbányász Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A (NB I/A) 1st (champions)
Pallacanestro Trieste Italy LBA Serie A 6th
Patrioti Levice † Slovakia Slovak Basketball League (SBL) 1st (champions)
Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola Greece Greek Basket League 4th
Rytas Vilnius Lithuania Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL) 2nd
Sabah BC Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Basketball League 1st (champions)
SL Benfica Portugal Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol 1st (champions)
Spartak Office Shoes Serbia Basketball League of Serbia (KLS) 2nd
Tofaş Bursa Türkiye Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) 5th
Trapani Shark Italy LBA Serie A 3rd
Unicaja ‡ Spain Liga ACB (Endesa) 4th
VEF Rīga Latvia Latvian–Estonian Basketball League (Latvia) 1st (champions)

 

Last season’s Final Four (2024–25 recap)

  • → Venue & dates: Athens (SUNEL Arena), May 9–11, 2025
  • → Champion: Unicaja def. Galatasaray 83–67
  • → Third place: AEK Betsson def. Lenovo Tenerife 77–73
  • → Final Four MVP: Tyson Carter (Unicaja)

 

History of the Basketball Champions League (2016 - present)

  • → Origins (2016–17): The BCL launched in 2016–17; the inaugural title went to Lenovo Tenerife (then Canarias).
  • → Pandemic season (2019–20): The BCL concluded with a Final Eight in Athens (Sep 30–Oct 4, 2020), won by San Pablo Burgos.
  • → Spanish dominance: Spanish clubs have won 6 of the first 9 BCL titles — Tenerife (2), Burgos (2), Unicaja (2).
  • → Most titles (joint): Tenerife, Burgos, Unicaja (2 each).
  • → Continuity kings: Tenerife, AEK Betsson and Filou Oostende are the only clubs present in every BCL season.
Season Champion Runner-up
2016–17 Lenovo Tenerife Banvit
2017–18 AEK Athens AS Monaco
2018–19 Virtus Bologna Lenovo Tenerife
2019–20 San Pablo Burgos AEK Athens
2020–21 San Pablo Burgos Pınar Karşıyaka
2021–22 Lenovo Tenerife BAXI Manresa
2022–23 Telekom Baskets Bonn Hapoel Jerusalem
2023–24 Unicaja Lenovo Tenerife
2024–25 Unicaja Galatasaray

 

Where to watch the 2025-26 Basketball Champions League

Tune in on Courtside 1891 and watch the Basketball Champions League for FREE from 7th October 2025, when the action kicks of in Patras, with Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola hosting MLP Academics Heidelberg in the inaugural game of Season X of the Basketball Champions League.

The Basketball Champions League is available worldwide on Courtside 1891, but access may be subject to local broadcast restrictions. In certain territories where official broadcast partners hold exclusive rights, live games may be blacked out on the platform. Fans in those regions can still enjoy replays, highlights, and additional coverage once local restrictions are lifted.