NBA vs EuroLeague – How Do The Two Leagues Compare?

Basketball is a sport with passionate fans from all corners of the planet. During the past few decades, the NBA vs EuroLeague comparison has become more interesting since many players from the EuroLeague have embarked on their journey to play NBA basketball. 

So, how good is the biggest basketball competition in Europe, where these players came from, compared to the largest competition in the USA, the NBA?

I’ll walk you through significant differences between these gigantic basketball organizations so you’ll have a much better insight into how they compare against one another. In this article, you’ll see differences in NBA vs EuroLeague style of play, format, revenue, and many other interesting information.

Read ahead so you won’t miss out on this in-depth EuroLeague vs NBA comparison!

Related: The Rise Of European NBA Players – How European Superstars Are Shaping NBA’s Future

Rules Difference Between the EuroLeague and the NBA

First, the difference between these two large competitions is that the Eurolague follows the FIBA rules. For new basketball fans, FIBA rules are the same ones that apply when the Basketball World Cup is played. 

On the other hand, the NBA follows its guidelines, with some minor differences compared to the biggest European competition. 

Court Size

The next difference would be the dimensions of the courts when we look at these leagues. When it comes to the EuroLeague, it’s 28m long and 15m wide. Meanwhile, the NBA court is just slightly bigger, with its dimensions being 28.65m long and 15.24m wide. 

Game Duration

When we talk about the duration of basketball games, in the NBA, the game is longer than the ones in the EuroLeague, with a total of 48 minutes played. The game is divided into four quarters, each 12 minutes long. 

The EuroLeague games are shorter, with 40 minutes total, and divided into four quarters with a 10-minute duration for each quarter.

Personal Fouls

Regarding how many personal fouls players can make, the NBA players are allowed 6, while in the EuroLeague, players can make only 5.

Three-point Line

There’s also a difference in the three-point line. In the EuroLeague, the line is 6.75m at the top of the arc, while the NBA’s is longer, with 7.24m at the top of the arc. 

League Formats

The format of the competition is also different when we compare the NBA and the EuroLeague. 

In the NBA, there are 30 teams, and they are divided into two major conferences — the Eastern and the Western Conference. Each conference consists of three small divisions. For example, the Eastern division has a Central, Southeast, and Atlantic division, and the Western division has a Southwest, Northwest, and Pacific division.

Starting with the 2019-20 season, the NBA introduced a new Play-in format that brought extra competitiveness into the league. From each conference, six NBA teams automatically advance to the playoffs. Teams from 7 to 10 compete in the Play-In in a 7th seed vs. 8th seed and 9th seed vs. 10th seed format. The winner of the first matchup advances to the playoffs, and the loser plays the winner of the second matchup for the 8th and final playoff spot in the conference.

The NBA Finals are played between the Eastern and Western Conference winners.

Speaking of the EuroLeague, it has only 18 teams compared to the NBA’s 30. The format is quite simple, meaning that each EuroLeague team plays against other teams two times. One game is at homecourt, and the other is the away game. The six most successful teams advance to the playfoss at once.

However, the EuroLeague also introduced the Play-In format starting with the 2023-24 season. It works in an identical format and also includes teams who rank from 7th to 10th place that play additional games. The best two teams out of those four will join the other six teams, making that 8 in the final playoffs. 

After these playoffs are done, the final four teams play the semifinals, and the finals are played between the winners of those semifinals. 

Revenue and Salary

We also see a major difference in the generated revenue and salary between the NBA and the EuroLeague. Even though the EuroLeague is the best basketball competition in Europe, it still has a long way to reach the NBA since it has fewer funds at its disposal than it does. 

The average basketball player in the EuroLeague makes around €500K, and the best players make a few €M. 

On the other hand, NBA teams have more funds to pay their players since the infrastructure is much bigger than that of the EuroLeague. Currently, 157 players in the NBA earn $10M or more per year. 

Countries Involved in the Competitions

Regarding the EuroLeague, the league consists of teams from many European countries like Greece, Spain, Turkey, Serbia, France, Germany, etc. On the contrary, the NBA has one team from Canada, and the other 29 teams are in the USA. 

Talent Level 

There are many highly talented players in these major basketball leagues, but there are still differences between them. For instance, many NBA players focus on being good in one aspect of the game, like three-point shooting. On the other side, when we look at EuroLeague players, they like to work on all aspects of the game.

Style of Play

Regarding the style of play, NBA teams like to rely on the offensive prowess of players to score points, and we’ve seen many superstars in the NBA, like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, etc. Meanwhile, the EuroLeague teams focus on moving the ball and playing hard defense.