Regular season curtain falls in EuroLeague: Fenerbahçe clinches home-court, Anadolu Efes hits historic low
The 2025-26 EuroLeague regular season has officially come to an end, with all 38 rounds completed and the full playoff and play-in picture now set. Fenerbahçe Beko finished fourth in the standings and will face Zalgiris in the quarterfinals, while Anadolu Efes closed a disappointing campaign down in 19th place.
Top six secure direct playoff berths
In Europe’s premier club basketball competition, the top six teams locked in their tickets directly to the playoffs:
– 1st – Olympiacos
– 2nd – Valencia Basket
– 3rd – Real Madrid
– 4th – Fenerbahçe Beko
– 5th – Zalgiris
– 6th – Hapoel IBI
These six will wait for the winners emerging from the play-in phase to complete the quarterfinal bracket.
Play-in route for teams ranked 7-10
Teams ranked from 7th to 10th will battle through the play-in format to claim the remaining two playoff spots:
– 7th – Panathinaikos AKTOR
– 8th – Monaco
– 9th – Barcelona
– 10th – Crvena zvezda (Kızılyıldız)
The structure is straightforward but unforgiving. Seventh-placed Panathinaikos will host eighth-placed Monaco. The winner of this single game goes straight into the playoffs as the 7th seed. The loser gets one more chance: they will face the winner of the 9th vs 10th showdown between Barcelona and Crvena zvezda. The team that survives that final play-in clash will clinch the 8th and last playoff ticket.
Key dates: play-in, playoffs, Final Four
EuroLeague’s postseason calendar is now fixed:
– Play-in games: 21-24 April
– Playoff series: 28 April – 13 May
– Final Four: 22-24 May in Athens, Greece
The Greek capital will host the Final Four weekend, bringing the season to a climax in one of European basketball’s most traditional hotbeds.
Fenerbahçe Beko grabs home-court advantage
Defending EuroLeague champions Fenerbahçe Beko completed the regular season with a 24-14 record and, thanks to superior tiebreaks, secured fourth place. That position is crucial: it gives the Istanbul powerhouse home-court advantage in the best-of-five playoff series.
Fenerbahçe will meet Lithuanian side Zalgiris, who finished fifth. The series will follow the classic 2-2-1 format. The first two games will be played at Ülker Sports and Event Hall in Istanbul. If needed, a decisive Game 5 would also be played on Fenerbahçe’s home floor. The first team to reach three wins advances to the Final Four in Athens.
For Fenerbahçe, the stakes are double: defending their title and confirming that last season’s championship run was no one-off. With a deep roster, strong home support, and a proven coaching staff, they start the series as favorites on paper, but Zalgiris’s physical style and disciplined half-court game mean there will be no easy possessions.
Zalgiris: a dangerous fifth seed
Zalgiris’s fifth-place finish underlines how competitive they have been across the entire season. The Lithuanian club, known for its intense atmosphere in Kaunas and its ability to overachieve relative to budget, enters the playoffs without the pressure of being a favorite.
Their path to fifth was built on solid defense, aggressive rebounding, and a short rotation that knows its roles. Against Fenerbahçe, Zalgiris will likely try to slow the pace, force long possessions, and challenge the Turkish side’s guards with physical perimeter defense. If they can steal one of the first two games in Istanbul, the series could become far more unpredictable than the seedings suggest.
Anadolu Efes ends season in 19th place
On the other side of Istanbul, Anadolu Efes endured one of the toughest seasons in their recent EuroLeague history. With 12 wins and 26 defeats, Efes finished 19th in the standings, far from the playoff conversation and well below the expectations that usually surround a club with two EuroLeague titles.
This is their poorest campaign since the 2017-18 season, when they finished bottom in a 16-team competition. For a club that recently dominated the league with back-to-back titles, the decline highlights issues in roster balance, defensive consistency, and perhaps the need for a broader rebuild.
Efes’s struggles also reflect how quickly the landscape at the top level can shift. Injuries, coaching changes, and failed signings can derail even the strongest programs. The offseason will likely bring significant roster moves, possible structural changes, and a reconsideration of long-term strategy if Efes wants to return to contender status.
Panathinaikos and the play-in test
Panathinaikos AKTOR, coached by Ergin Ataman, could not secure direct qualification to the playoffs and had to settle for the play-in route despite a strong finish. The Greek giants closed the regular season with 22 wins and 16 losses, ending up seventh on tiebreaks.
In their final regular-season game, Panathinaikos crushed Anadolu Efes 97-62, a result that not only boosted confidence but also showcased their high ceiling when the defense is locked in and the offense flows. Turkish international Cedi Osman, wearing the Panathinaikos jersey, has been one of the key pieces, providing scoring versatility on the wing and adding experience in crunch moments.
The upcoming single-elimination battle with Monaco will be played at Telekom Center. One game decides everything: a win sends Panathinaikos straight into the playoffs, while a loss pushes them into a do-or-die matchup against the Barcelona-Crvena zvezda winner. For a club with a rich EuroLeague tradition and a demanding fan base, failing to make the playoffs would be considered a major disappointment.
Monaco, Barcelona, Crvena zvezda chase survival
Monaco, finishing eighth, are built for big games with an athletic, star-driven roster. Single-elimination formats tend to favor teams with go-to scorers and strong individual talent, which makes them a particularly dangerous opponent for Panathinaikos. If Monaco can control tempo and keep composure in Athens, they have every chance to grab that 7th seed.
Barcelona, ninth, find themselves in a rare underdog role. Their roster is full of experienced EuroLeague performers, but inconsistency and some surprising defeats pushed them into the play-in zone. In a one-off match against Crvena zvezda, execution in the final minutes and defensive discipline will be crucial.
Crvena zvezda, meanwhile, come into the play-in series with nothing to lose. Historically fueled by passionate support and physical defense, they will rely on toughness, rebounding, and opportunistic offense to first get past Barcelona and then challenge either the loser of Panathinaikos-Monaco. Their path to the playoffs is the longest, but also the kind of gauntlet that can galvanize a roster.
How the playoff bracket shapes up
With the format now settled, the playoff matchups are:
– Olympiacos vs. the team that takes the 8th and final playoff spot from the play-in
– Fenerbahçe Beko vs. Zalgiris
– Real Madrid vs. Hapoel IBI
– Valencia Basket vs. the winner of Panathinaikos AKTOR vs. Monaco (the team securing the 7th seed)
Olympiacos, as the top seed, will presumably face a team that has already survived at least one elimination game. That can be both an advantage and a danger: while the top seed is rested and better prepared, the opponent arrives battle-tested and full of momentum.
Real Madrid, a perennial contender, will be heavily favored against Hapoel IBI but will be wary of underestimating a team that battled its way to sixth place. Valencia Basket, second in the table, may have the most unpredictable first-round series, as they will only know their opponent once the play-in dust settles.
What to expect heading into the postseason
The end of the regular season has set up a postseason with multiple compelling storylines:
– Can Fenerbahçe Beko convert home-court advantage into another Final Four trip and defend their crown?
– Will Anadolu Efes use this disastrous season as a turning point for a major rebuild?
– Can Panathinaikos and Ergin Ataman navigate the high-pressure play-in format to return to the EuroLeague elite?
– Which of Monaco, Barcelona, and Crvena zvezda will rise to the occasion in single-elimination clashes?
– And will Olympiacos and Real Madrid, the traditional powerhouses, impose their dominance in the playoffs?
With the regular season curtain now drawn, every possession from here on carries extra weight. The calendar is set, the matchups are clear, and Europe’s best clubs are only a few games away from Athens and the battle for the EuroLeague crown.