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