Basketball Champions League’s Defectors Are Reshaping Europe

With Badalaona officially announced as the venue for the Basketball Champions League (BCL) Final Four, the prospect of an all-Spanish affair is a topic of conversation. This coupled with the other machinations make for an interesting future for the competition, both near and medium-term, writes Emmet Ryan

The defectors are already having an impact. With Dreamland Gran Canaria and Joventut Badalona going 12-0 in the regular season, the BCL is changing. There’s also the matter of future defections and, of course, the expected link with the NBA.

All of which makes for a fascinating period for a competition that is either second or third in European basketball depending on the current aroma. With full disclosure that I am a Basketball Champions League commentator being pointed out, it’s quite a fascinating few months in store.

The Spanish situation

Badalona was officially announced as the host city for the 2026 BCL Final Four. The home of Joventut Badalona, which bears a striking resemblance to the Millennium Falcon from above, is historic in many ways. Still, this could yet prove a most interesting chapter in its heritage.

Between Joventut, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and defending back-to-back champions Unicaja Malaga, Spanish sides went 18-2 in the regular season. All four won their groups and booked their passage directly to the round of 16. Given that Spanish sides have won 6 of the 9 editions of the tournament, accounting for 16 of the 36 all-time final four berths, this isn’t a huge shock.

The route to an all-Spanish affair in Badalona however faces a roadblock. While three sides from Spain made it to the 2024 edition in Belgrade, the road to get four to Badalona won’t be straightforward. That’s because all four are paired off in two of the round of 16 groups. Even if all four make the playoffs, two are guaranteed to not have home court advantage in a series. Don’t rule out an all-Spanish BCL Final Four but it’s likely odds against right now.

The defectors make their presence felt

In addition to Joventut Badalona and Gran Canaria combining to go 12-0, having jumped from Eurocup, Alba Berlin went 5-1 to win its group and progress directly to the round of 16. Getting the German club to leap from Euroleague was no small feat.

Much as Alba had struggled desperately in Euroleague, the guarantee of what would have been 19 home European games this season would have retained some financial allure. The leap has so far been what Alba wanted. While only certain of 6 home games total (at the time of writing) with an absolute maximum of 8, it is an adjustment.

As Badalona and Gran Canaria have shown however, the relatively lighter schedule of the BCL compared to, in their case, Eurocup has an appeal in keeping the roster healthy. It certainly has been at the heart of Unicaja Malaga’s reasons to stay fully committed. Alba meanwhile have bounced back from an awful 7th place Bundesliga season to sit 3rd at present with the second best points differential in the competition.

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The blend helps to sell to other possible defectors

Having Alba Berlin, Joventut Badalona, and Gran Canaria all start off well in the BCL is good but still having established competition powers stand up to them helps as well. So far, the big powers haven’t crossed paths with the three defectors but both Joventut (Unicaja Malaga), Granca (Tenerife), and Alba (AEK Athens) will all face teams from last season BCL Final Four in the round of 16.

How the standard bearers fare will likely have an impact on teams, moreso at the Eurocup level, open to defection. Asvel is expected to defect no matter what, although it doesn’t hurt to convince them that it’s a standard worth defecting to now.

Much as having a strong Spanish core is good for the BCL, being able to attract Eurocup teams nearer the top of the competition from other nations would help with its aim to be strong on a pan-European level. AEK and Galatasaray have been asked to do far too much heavy lifting to make this more than a Spanish-centric competition in recent years.

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The NBA Europe factor

All of the upheaval in the BCL, including at least one and probably a second defection, is happening in the context of NBA Europe. While the make-up of the competition is still extremely vague, it looks an awful lot like one route to entry will be the BCL itself.

There’s a mild fear with this that it could make the competition another FIBA Europe Cup, which BiE believes should be protected at all costs, but it will likely increase its allure. Alba Berlin and, most certainly, Asvel certainly view it as such. The former has the benefit of being in a target city, of which the NBA is underestimating the level of challenge. The latter has Tony Parker.

That lack of clarity however is an enormous factor. There will likely be more detail later this month but there’s a ticking clock. The BCL is a FIBA project, NBA Europe is a combined project between FIBA and the NBA. FIBA wants to reach a broad spread of the continent, while keeping members happy with meritocratic access. It’s a balancing act and one where the BCL might play a bigger role than most observers realise.

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