By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The BKT EuroCup semifinals are coming, Monaco and Paris are expected to be in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason and this makes the race for the two one-year licenses that are given via the EuroCup in the top European competition even more interesting.
Per EuroLeague bylaws two spots to each EuroLeague season are given via the EuroCup, presumably to trophy winner and to the finalist.
However, if a team which arrived to the EuroLeague via the EuroCup manages to make to the playoffs, then it retains its license, leaving just one spot open. Yes, it sounds a bit complicated so here’s how things are for this season.
Monaco and Paris Basketball have entered the EuroLeague by winning the EuroCup. However, only one of those two teams will automatically get a one-year license for the next EuroLeague season and if both of them make it to the playoffs, then the team with the best record gets the spot.
Monaco has a 17-12 record with Paris following at 16-13, so essentially the two teams from the French LNB are fighting not only for a spot in the postseason but also against each other in order to secure without further drama their EuroLeague future for the 2025-26 season.
Monaco has also the tie-breaker and the obvious advantage in this race. Considering that it seems highly unlikely for either team to miss the post-season, only one spot is left for this season’s EuroCup contenders with the winner of the competition taking also the ticket for next season’s EuroLeague.
Out of the four semifinalists only Gran Canaria in the past denied the right to play in the EuroLeague, while Valencia, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Bahcesehir are openly interested in joining the EuroLeague.
Still, only one of them will get a spot automatically and that means that at least two clubs with high ambitions will try to secure their spot via a wildcard. The same applies for Monaco or Paris, depending their final standings and the club from the French capital is already lobbying for a long-term license.
The high demand for a EuroLeague spot justifies even further the idea of the expansion to 20 cluhs or else the future of the last two clubs of the EuroLeague standings, currently Virtus Bologna and ALBA Berlin, may be in the EuroCup.
It has to be noted that EuroLeague added a provision in the license given via the EuroCup, which will take effect from this summer. From next season a team which holds a EuroLeague license via the EuroCup will have the right to renew it by entering the playoffs only for two more seasons. So for example, if Monaco renew their license for next season, they will have the same right for the 2026-27 season, but not for the 2027-28 season.