2018–19 EuroLeague
The 2018–19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 19th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champions Cup, this was be the 62nd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs.
The season started on 11 October 2018 and finished in May 2019 with the 2019 EuroLeague Final Four at Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. CSKA Moscow won the championship after defeating Anadolu Efes in the championship game.
Team allocation
A total of sixteen teams participated. The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round. Eleven teams were placed as Licensed Clubs, long-term licenses, while five spots were given to Associated Clubs, based on merit.- LC: Qualified as a licensed club with a long-term licence
- 1st, 2nd, etc.: League position after Playoffs
- EC: EuroCup champion
- WC: Wild card
Teams
A total of 16 teams from 9 countries contest the league, including 11 sides with a long-term licence from the 2017–18 season, 1 team qualified from the EuroCup and the 4 highest-placed teams from the ABA League, the German Bundesliga, the VTB United League and the Spanish ACB.Bayern Munich and Budućnost VOLI qualified, after clinching the Bundesliga and ABA League titles respectively. Khimki qualified as runner-up of the VTB United League. Herbalife Gran Canaria qualified as the highest-placed team in the Liga ACB without a long-term EuroLeague licence. Darüşşafaka qualified as the EuroCup champions, after beating Lokomotiv Kuban in the Finals.
Venues and locations
Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
Anadolu Efes | Istanbul | Sinan Erdem Dome | |
AX Armani Exchange Olimpia | Milan | Mediolanum Forum | |
Barcelona Lassa | Barcelona | Palau Blaugrana | |
Bayern Munich | Munich | Audi Dome | |
Budućnost VOLI | Podgorica | Morača Sports Center | |
CSKA Moscow | Moscow | Megasport Arena | |
Darüşşafaka Tekfen | Istanbul | Volkswagen Arena | |
Fenerbahçe Beko | Istanbul | Ülker Sports Arena | |
Herbalife Gran Canaria | Las Palmas | Gran Canaria Arena | |
Khimki | Khimki | Mytishchi Arena | |
Kirolbet Baskonia | Vitoria-Gasteiz | Fernando Buesa Arena | |
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Menora Mivtachim Arena | |
Olympiacos | Piraeus, Athens | Peace and Friendship Stadium | |
Panathinaikos OPAP | Marousi, Athens | Olympic Sports Center Athens | |
Real Madrid | Madrid | WiZink Center | |
Žalgiris | Kaunas | Žalgirio Arena |
Personnel and sponsorship
Managerial changes
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced with | Date of appointment |
Herbalife Gran Canaria | Luis Casimiro | End of contract | Pre-season | Salva Maldonado | ||
Darüşşafaka | David Blatt | End of contract | Pre-season | Ahmet Çakı | ||
Olympiacos | Ioannis Sfairopoulos | Mutual consent | Pre-season | David Blatt | ||
Kirolbet Baskonia | Pedro Martinez | Sacked | 16 November 2018 | 11th | Velimir Perasović | 16 November 2018 |
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | Neven Spahija | Sacked | 18 November 2018 | 14th | Ioannis Sfairopoulos | 18 November 2018 |
Herbalife Gran Canaria | Salva Maldonado | Sacked | 5 December 2018 | 13th | Víctor García | 5 December 2018 |
Darüşşafaka Tekfen | Ahmet Çakı | Sacked | 11 December 2018 | 16th | Selçuk Ernak | 12 December 2018 |
Panathinaikos OPAP | Xavi Pascual | Sacked | 20 December 2018 | 10th | Rick Pitino | 26 December 2018 |
Budućnost VOLI | Aleksandar Džikić | Sacked | 29 December 2018 | 15th | Jasmin Repeša | 30 December 2018 |
Khimki | Georgios Bartzokas | Sacked | 21 January 2019 | 13th | Rimas Kurtinaitis | 21 January 2019 |
Herbalife Gran Canaria | Víctor García | Sacked | 11 March 2019 | 14th | Pedro Martínez | 11 March 2019 |
Regular season
In the regular season, teams played against each other home and away in a round-robin format. The top eight teams advanced to the playoffs and the bottom eight teams were eliminated.League table
Results
Playoffs
series are best-of-five. The first team to win three games wins the series. A 2–2–1 format is used – teams with home-court advantage play games 1, 2, and 5 at home, while their opponents host games 3 and 4. Games 4 and 5 are only played if necessary. The four victorious teams advance to the Final Four.Series
Final Four
The Final Four, held over a single weekend, is the last phase of the season. The four remaining teams play a single knockout round on Friday evening, with the two winners advancing to the championship game. Sunday starts with the third-place game, followed by the championship game. The Final Four was played at the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain on 17 and 19 May 2019.Attendances
Average home attendances
Top 10
Panathinaikos game against Olympiacos was played with only 17,345 seats available for security reasonsAwards
[EuroLeague MVP]
Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy">Alphonso Ford Trophy">Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy
- Mike James
Best Defender">Euroleague Best Defender">Best Defender
- Edy Tavares
Rising Star">EuroLeague Rising Star">Rising Star
- Goga Bitadze
MVP of the Round
Round | Player | Team | Performance Index Rating| | |
1 | Jan Veselý | Fenerbahçe Beko | 34 | |
2 | Nikola Milutinov | Olympiacos | 33 | |
2 | Anthony Randolph | Real Madrid | 33 | |
3 | Scottie Wilbekin | Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | 30 | |
3 | Rodrigue Beaubois | Anadolu Efes | 30 | |
4 | Nando de Colo | CSKA Moscow | 27 | |
5 | Gustavo Ayón | Real Madrid | 30 | |
6 | Cory Higgins | CSKA Moscow | 28 | |
7 | Eulis Báez | Herbalife Gran Canaria | 32 | |
8 | Alexey Shved | Khimki | 30 | |
9 | Alexey Shved | Khimki | 32 | |
10 | Zach LeDay | Olympiacos | 42 | |
11 | Gustavo Ayón | Real Madrid | 34 | |
12 | Derrick Williams | Bayern Munich | 35 | |
13 | Nikola Milutinov | Olympiacos | 36 | |
14 | Vassilis Spanoulis | Olympiacos | 31 | |
15 | Johnny O'Bryant III | Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | 44 | |
16 | Nikola Milutinov | Olympiacos | 41 | |
17 | Kostas Papanikolaou | Olympiacos | 31 | |
18 | Marcelo Huertas | Kirolbet Baskonia | 29 | |
19 | Will Clyburn | CSKA Moscow | 27 | |
20 | Angelo Caloiaro | Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv | 33 | |
21 | Nando de Colo | CSKA Moscow | 38 | |
22 | Krunoslav Simon | Anadolu Efes | 34 | |
23 | Brandon Davies | Žalgiris | 34 | |
24 | Ante Tomić | Barcelona Lassa | 28 | |
25 | Shane Larkin | Anadolu Efes | 43 | |
26 | Mike James | AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan | 31 | |
27 | Micheal Eric | Darüşşafaka Tekfen | 33 | |
28 | Nick Calathes | Panathinaikos OPAP | 39 | |
29 | Toney Douglas | Darüşşafaka Tekfen | 37 | |
30 | Brandon Davies | Žalgiris | 34 |
;Playoffs
Game | Player | Team | Performance Index Rating| | |
1 | Vasilije Micić | Anadolu Efes | 30 | |
2 | Vincent Poirier | Kirolbet Baskonia | 32 | |
3 | Shane Larkin | Anadolu Efes | 34 | |
4 | Nando de Colo | CSKA Moscow | 35 | |
5 | Shane Larkin | Anadolu Efes | 19 |