2025 EuroLeague Final Four

On 28 January 2025, the EuroLeague, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, and Etihad Arena reached an agreement that the Final Four would be played at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 23–25 May 2025,^[4][1] marking the first time the event would take place outside of Europe in the competition's history in 21 years. The venue has a basketball capacity of 12,000.^[1] Three-time EuroLeague Final Four MVP and former NBA player Toni Kukoč was involved in marketing the tournament in Abu Dhabi.^[5] Thousands of Turkish and Greek basketball fans traveled to Abu Dhabi out of personal expense to cheer on their favorite teams.^[6]

Critics argued that the move prioritized financial gains over fan engagement. Abu Dhabi reportedly paid €50 million to host the event, a sum that helped trigger a contract extension between EuroLeague and IMG until 2036.^[7] Former EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu acknowledged the decision as "risky" emphasizing the importance of fan experience.^[8] Journalist Faustino Sáez of Cadena SER described the move as emblematic of sports becoming "purely a business that overlooks emotions", undermining the competition's foundations.^[9]

Fans also faced logistical challenges due to the distance and cost of traveling to Abu Dhabi. The city's limited public transport and higher expenses compared to European hosts like Belgrade or Barcelona were highlighted as deterrents.^[10] Technical issues during ticket sales further frustrated supporters, with many unable to purchase tickets due to platform errors.^[11] To boost attendance, organizers resorted to incentives like daily car raffles and free tickets.^[12] The venue choice also raised questions about the EuroLeague's European identity. With no EuroLeague teams based in the Middle East, critics viewed the move as brand dilution.^[13] Only Real Madrid and Olympiacos openly opposed the decision, expressing concerns about the maturity of the Arabian market and the potential alienation of core European fans.^[14] Others, including Žalgiris coach Andrea Trinchieri, saw potential benefits in expanding basketball's reach, the consensus among critics was that the move compromised the competition's integrity and accessibility in favor of commercial interests.^[10]

Olympiacos v Monaco

23 May 2025	Olympiacos	68–78	Monaco	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
20:00 (CEST)	Scoring by quarter: 17–17, 15–18, 19–22, 17–21
	Pts: Fournier 31 Rebs: Vezenkov 8 Asts: three players 2 PIR: Fournier 27	Boxscore	Pts: Diallo 22 Rebs: James 7 Asts: James 7 PIR: James 29	Arena: Etihad Arena Attendance: 10,218 Referees: Ilija Belošević, Emilio Pérez, Milan Nedović

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 1   Nigel Williams-Goss 12 4 2 SG 94 Evan Fournier 31 3 2 SF 16 Kostas Papanikolaou 2 3 0 PF 14 Sasha Vezenkov 7 8 1 C 10 Moustapha Fall 2 3 1 Reserves: PG 0   Thomas Walkup 2 3 2 C 2   Moses Wright DNP G 8 Luca Vildoza 0 0 0 G 9   Saben Lee 1 1 1 PF 25 Alec Peters 3 1 1 C 33 Nikola Milutinov 8 2 0 G/F 77 Shaquielle McKissic 0 1 0 Head coach: Georgios Bartzokas

Olympiacos Monaco 0 Olympiacos Statistics Monaco 18/32 (56.3%) 2-pt field goals 25/47 (53.2%) 5/27 (18.5%) 3-pt field goals 5/17 (29.4%) 17/23 (73.9%) Free throws 13/15 (86.7%) 9 Offensive rebounds 12 24 Defensive rebounds 29 33 Total rebounds 41 10 Assists 21 14 Turnovers 14 7 Steals 10 6 Blocks 2 23 Fouls 19

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 55 Mike James 17 7 7 SG 32 Matthew Strazel 2 3 3 SF 11 Alpha Diallo 22 6 3 PF 4 Jaron Blossomgame 12 5 0 C 10 Daniel Theis 5 4 0 Reserves: G 0 Élie Okobo 7 3 3 SG 8 Jordan Loyd 0 2 1 C 9 Georgios Papagiannis DNP C 14 Mam Jaiteh 11 6 1 SF 22 Terry Tarpey DNP F 30 Vitto Brown DNP PG 33 Nick Calathes 2 1 3 Head coach: Vassilis Spanoulis

Olympiacos' Evan Fournier scored a EuroLeague career-high 31 points, but his team still lost to Monaco 78–68.^[19][20] Nigel Williams-Goss was the only other Olympiacos player to reach double figures in scoring, with 12 points. Sasha Vezenkov had a difficult game offensively, with only 7 points and 8 rebounds; he also missed all six of his three-point field goal attempts. Aside from Fournier, Olympiacos was 1 of 19 on three-pointers.^[19] Monaco was ahead for most of the game,^[19][20] led by the scoring of Mike James and Alpha Diallo, with 22 and 17 points respectively.^[19] The game began with Olympiaco's defense locking down Monaco in the first three minutes; both teams' defenses maintained an advantage over the offenses throughout the first quarter, with the score tied at 17 apiece when it concluded. Monaco scored the first four points of the second quarter, but Olympiacos' head coach Georgios Bartzokas' small ball lineup of three guards responded with their own 6–0 run to take the lead. Nikola Milutinov of Olympiacos contributed with some help on offense and rebounding, but this was not enough compared to his team's shooting woes combined with Monaco's fast break, as Monaco went ahead by five (31–26).^[21]

Olympiacos entered halftime just 2 of 12 on three pointers, with seven assists and eight turnovers, all far worse than their typical performance.^[21] Monaco increased their lead throughout the second half by taking advantage of Olympiacos' low shooting percentage and questionable decisions.^[19] Several key baskets to open the third quarter from Monaco's Daniel Theis, Diallo, and Jaron Blossomgame pushed their lead to twelve, but Olympiacos' Fournier answered with his own scoring surge to cut Monaco's lead down to four (55–51). Fournier alone had trouble keeping up, as he received little scoring help from teammates in the fourth quarter, while Monaco expanded their lead into double digits highlighted by Mike James dishing out crowd-pleasing assists.^[21] With two minutes remaining and his team down by seven, Fournier committed a crucial turnover, which Monaco converted into a basket to increase their lead to nine (74–65) with 79 seconds left.^[21] As a result of the victory, Monaco became the first French team in 32 years to play in the final of the European highest level league, and only the second team to reach the stage, following Limoges CSP in the 1992–93 FIBA European League.^[22]

Fenerbahçe Beko v Panathinaikos AKTOR

23 May 2025	Fenerbahçe Beko	82–76	Panathinaikos AKTOR	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
17:00 (CEST)	Scoring by quarter: 22–14, 16–19, 17–15, 27–28
	Pts: Hall 18 Rebs: Melli 6 Asts: Hayes-Davis, Baldwin 5 PIR: Hall 18	Boxscore	Pts: Osman 22 Rebs: Osman 6 Asts: Grant 4 PIR: Grant 17	Arena: Etihad Arena Attendance: 10,218 Referees: Carlos Peruga, Robert Lottermoser, Mehdi Difallah

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 23 Marko Gudurić 3 2 1 SG 20 Devon Hall 18 1 2 SF 50 Bonzie Colson 3 1 1 PF 11 Nigel Hayes-Davis 7 3 5 C 92 Khem Birch 2 4 0 Reserves: G 0 Errick McCollum 13 3 2 G 2 Wade Baldwin 10 5 5 F/C 4 Nicolò Melli 9 6 1 C 5 Sertaç Şanlı 0 0 0 SF 13 Tarik Biberović 15 3 0 F 21 Dyshawn Pierre 2 1 0 C 44 Jilson Bango DNP Head coach: Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Fenerbahçe Panathinaikos 0 Fenerbahçe Statistics Panathinaikos 14/28 (50%) 2-pt field goals 19/36 (52.8%) 13/34 (41.2%) 3-pt field goals 7/17 (41.2%) 12/15 (80%) Free throws 17/22 (77.3%) 10 Offensive rebounds 6 23 Defensive rebounds 23 33 Total rebounds 29 17 Assists 10 9 Turnovers 12 7 Steals 3 4 Blocks 1 19 Fouls 22

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 22 Jerian Grant 15 5 4 SG 25 Kendrick Nunn 19 3 0 SF 16 Cedi Osman 22 6 0 PF 41 Juancho Hernangómez 5 5 0 C 32 Wenyen Gabriel 4 3 2 Reserves: G/F 0 Panagiotis Kalaitzakis 0 1 0 PG 2 Lorenzo Brown 0 1 0 G 10 Kostas Sloukas 2 0 3 F 21 Ioannis Papapetrou 0 0 0 C 26 Mathias Lessort 7 1 1 F/C 44 Dinos Mitoglou 0 2 0 C 77 Ömer Yurtseven 2 2 0 Head coach: Ergin Ataman

Fenerbahçe won 82–76 over Panathinaikos, who lacked consistency on both offense and defense, and struggled with little to no scoring from several key players: Juancho Hernangómez (5 points), Ömer Yurtseven (2), Kostas Sloukas (2), and Dinos Mitoglou (0). For offensive help, they relied on Cedi Osman and Jerian Grant, who scored 22 and 15 points respectively, though these two players alone had difficulty establishing momentum for the team. Fenerbahçe won the game with proficient three point shooting and timely scoring runs, as well as successfully executing plays during clutch moments. Panathinaikos' guards being outmatched by Fenerbahçe's was another deciding factor in the game's outcome.^[23]

Panathinaikos had five first-quarter turnovers, which gave Fenerbahçe the chance to grab an early lead.^[23] Panathinaikos continued to be behind for the majority of the first half, but were able to trim the lead down to five by halftime.^[24] A turning point came when Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos, the game's top scorer at the time with 19 points, fouled out with 5:45 remaining; his consistent scoring output had kept the game close. Without their main scoring threat, Panathinaikos was subsequently unable to overcome Fenerbahçe's high-percentage three-point shooting, which had persisted all game long. Clutch perimeter shots from Devon Hall and Errick McCollum following Nunn's disqualification maintained the lead for Fenerbahçe until game's end.^[23] The game marked the return of Mathias Lessort, the Panathinaikos center who had sat out the preceding 150 days due to a broken left leg;^[24][25] he had 14 minutes of action and scored seven points.^[23]

Olympiacos v Panathinaikos

25 May 2025	Olympiacos	97–93	Panathinaikos	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
16:00 (CEST)	Scoring by quarter: 33–20, 24–26, 18–18, 22–29
	Pts: Peters 32 Rebs: Peters 7 Asts: Vildoza 9 PIR: Peters 31	Boxscore	Pts: Yurtseven 23 Rebs: Yurtseven 8 Asts: Brown 12 PIR: Yurtseven 25	Arena: Etihad Arena Referees: Carmelo Paternicò, Ilija Belošević, Artūras Šukys

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 0 Thomas Walkup 0 1 8 SG 94 Evan Fournier 5 1 4 SF 25 Alec Peters 32 7 1 PF 14 Sasha Vezenkov 23 2 1 C 10 Moustapha Fall 5 0 3 Reserves: C 2 Moses Wright 19 4 1 PG 3 Naz Mitrou-Long DNP SG 5 Giannoulis Larentzakis 5 4 1 G 8 Luca Vildoza 0 3 9 G 9 Saben Lee 8 5 6 C 33 Nikola Milutinov DNP G/F 77 Shaquielle McKissic DNP Head coach: Georgios Bartzokas

Olympiacos Panathinaikos 0 Olympiacos Statistics Panathinaikos 22/38 (57.9%) 2-pt field goals 30/44 (68.2%) 13/27 (48.1%) 3-pt field goals 6/23 (26.1%) 14/16 (87.5%) Free throws 15/18 (83.3%) 6 Offensive rebounds 9 23 Defensive rebounds 25 29 Total rebounds 34 34 Assists 25 14 Turnovers 13 7 Steals 7 0 Blocks 1 17 Fouls 21

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 2 Lorenzo Brown 2 5 12 SG 25 Kendrick Nunn 9 3 1 SF 0 Panagiotis Kalaitzakis 7 1 1 PF 44 Dinos Mitoglou 8 3 1 C 77 Ömer Yurtseven 23 8 0 Reserves: G 10  Kostas Sloukas DNP SF 16  Cedi Osman 14 2 3 PF 20 Alexandros Samodurov 8 4 1 G 22 Jerian Grant 8 3 3 C 24 Tibor Pleiß 2 1 0 C 26 Mathias Lessort 12 4 3 F/C 32 Wenyen Gabriel DNP Head coach: Ergin Ataman

The third place game was contested between two Greek rivals, with Olympiacos defeating Panathinaikos 97–93. Fans of the two clubs clashed before the game, though these incidents were quelled by security forces prior to the opening tip-off.^[26][27] In spite of this, the gameplay on the court was considered to have a "friendly exhibition feel",^[28] with soft defense, minimal ball pressure, and few fouls. Olympiacos took the early lead by making several open shots from long range, and enjoyed leads of up to 15 points on two different occasions. Panathinaikos had to rely on their bench (led by Alexandros Samodurov) to score enough to keep the game close.^[28]

Panathinaikos was able to reduce the lead in the final two minutes, but consistent free throw shooting from Giannoulis Larentzakis and Alec Peters helped clinch the victory for Olympiacos.^[28] Olympiacos was ahead the entire game; Peters led all scorers with 32 points, tying a tournament record.^[27] Olympiacos displayed proficient ball movement and offensive efficiency with 25 assists in the first 25 minutes.^[28] By game's end, they set the Final Four single-game team record for most assists with 34, led by Luca Vildoza with nine and Thomas Walkup with eight; this broke the previous high of 31 assists accomplished by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2004 championship game.^[29]