There are four games on Thursday night, followed by six on Friday
At a glance: An emotional reunion and a mouth-watering clash in Athens highlight Round 17's action
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The action keeps on coming in the last double round of 2025, with Round 17 providing another batch of exciting matchups in the race for the playoffs. This is everything you need to know about Thursday and Friday’s games.
Thursday, December 18
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv vs. Valencia Basket (20:05 CET)
Two red-hot teams go head-to-head in Jerusalem as Maccabi (6-10) welcomes Valencia (11-5). The hosts have won three games straight and will look to continue climbing towards the playoff places by showing the same kind of spirit that held on for victory at Dubai two days ago, when Jaylen Hoard again underlined his importance by pouring in 21 points. He will be confronted by one of the architects of Valencia’s impressive win at Olympiacos, Nate Reuvers, who also scored 21 points in that game. The visitors' backcourt will be led by rising star Jean Montero, who had 13 points and 8 assists in Piraeus, while Maccabi hopes that recent signing Iffe Lundberg will follow a strong display in Dubai by continuing to exert a growing influence.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (20:15 CET)
A thrilling encounter looks guaranteed as two of Tuesday’s winners meet, with fourth-placed Panathinaikos (10-6) welcoming league leader Hapoel (12-4). The Greens snapped a two-game losing streak by triumphing at Fenerbahce behind 25 points from usual suspect Kendrick Nunn, and another boost was the Cedi Osman’s return after injury. Hapoel made it three straight wins by outlasting Zvezda as late scores by Chris Jones finished a job that had been started by 28 points from the outstanding Elijah Bryant, whose matchup with Nunn promises fireworks. Hapoel’s all-round efficiency is demonstrated by its shooting stats: 59.1% from two-point range (second in the league) and 39.3% for three (third best), so Panathinaikos will need to be ready to answer that versatility – and hope others can step up to support Nunn’s scoring heroics at the other end.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (20:30 CET)
A battle of direct rivals will see Milan (9-7) seek a second victory this week against a Fenerbahce (9-6) determined to avoid two losses. The hosts will be confident after taking a solid victory against Real Madrid on Tuesday, when Marko Guduric warmed up for a reunion with his former team by netting a season-high 22 points. He faces a good matchup with Fener’s most in-form player, Talen Horton-Tucker, who has scored 24 and 22 points in the last two games. The reigning champ’s home loss to Panathinaikos earlier this week was partly explained by 22 turnovers, so Saras Jasikevicius will be looking for a more controlled performance against a Milan team which will hope to maintain its record as the league’s most accurate three-point shooters (39.5% from deep).
Real Madrid vs. Paris Basketball (20:45 CET)
Real (9-7) is targeting a swift return to winning ways with a visit from a Paris side (5-11) attempting to escape free fall. The Spanish team needs better shooting accuracy after making just 36.7% of its field-goal attempts in Tuesday’s loss at Milan, but will look to show similar effectiveness crashing the glass after grabbing 19 offensive rebounds in that game. Paris is better than anyone in that respect, averaging 15.7 offensive boards per night, but also needs to find its range after making just 6-of-22 three-point attempts in defeat to Barcelona earlier this week. Big man Alain Dokossi gave his best performance of the season with 14 points and 9 rebounds in that contest, and he will look to again subdue Walter Tavares and Alex Len after they scored just 2 points apiece in Milan.
Friday, December 19
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Dubai Basketball (18:30 CET)
Efes (6-10) will look to make it two wins out of two this week by overcoming direct rival Dubai (7-9). The Turkish team made a perfect start under Pablo Laso by crushing Zalgiris, with the return of big man Vincent Poirier from injury making a big difference as he paired 14 points with 6 rebounds. He faces a good battle with the hugely consistent Filip Petrusev, who ranks fifth in the league with an average PIR of 19.8. In the backcourt, Dubai will hope McKinley Wright can stay hot after an astonishing performance – 26 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds – in Tuesday’s last-gasp loss to Maccabi, while Efes will be led by the playmaking of Nick Weiler-Babb, who dished 13 assists in Kaunas.
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (19:00 CET)
Two teams eager to bounce straight back meet in Kaunas with Zalgiris (9-7) welcoming Partizan (6-10). Partizan’s two-game winning streak was brutally snapped by a heavy home loss to Virtus, when 15 points from Sterling Brown was not enough to compensate for a team total of 20 turnovers. Zalgiris suffered a similarly tough night on Wednesday with a 23-point reverse against Efes, with nobody managing to score more than Nigel Williams-Goss’s 11 points. Shooter Deividas Sirvydis is among the home team players looking for an upturn in form after going 2-of-12 from three-point range in the last three games, while Jabari Parker will be hoping for an opportunity to shine after receiving no playing time for Partizan last time out.
AS Monaco vs. FC Bayern Munich (19:30 CET)
Bayern’s (5-11) seven-game road odyssey finally concludes with a tough trip to face Monaco (9-7). Both teams are looking for a revival, with Bayern’s losing streak reaching seven games after suffering a second consecutive one-point defeat at ASVEL on Wednesday. Monaco – one of five teams currently tied for sixth place – has slipped to two straight losses after suffering a poor night offensively earlier this week at Baskonia, where only Mike James (21 points) could score more than 10 points. Vassilis Spanoulis’s men particularly need to rediscover their long-range accuracy after going 4-of-19 from three-point range in that defeat, while Bayern’s chief challenge is to find better penetration after converting just 44.7% of its two-pointers in the loss at ASVEL.
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:15 CET)
ASVEL (4-12) will seek its first road win of the season as it travels to face an Olympiacos (8-7) team hoping to emerge from a three-game losing slide. The French team could have to cope without Nando De Colo after he limped out of Wednesday’s win over Bayern, which saw fellow veteran backcourt star Thomas Heurtel step up to sink the late game-winning basket. Olympiacos will look to dominate physically through Nikola Milutinov and Sasha Vezenkov – respectively ranked first and second in the league in PIR – who combined for 37 points and 16 rebounds in Tuesday’s loss to Valencia. Staying at home with an extra day to recover and rest should work in the Reds’ favor, but ASVEL will feel it has nothing to lose.
FC Barcelona vs. Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (20:30 CET)
Red-hot Barcelona (11-5) hopes to extend its four-game winning streak with a visit from a Baskonia (6-10) aiming for a first road win. The hosts hope Will Clyburn continues his spectacular form after averaging 23.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in the last three games, while Baskonia will look for center Eugene Omuruyi to control the paint after debuting in Wednesday’s win over Monaco. That game also saw influential playmaker Trent Forrest consolidate his return from injury with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Barca needs Tomas Satoransky to contain him. Watch out for a great duel between a pair of in-form scorers: Kevin Punter (20.8 points in the last four games) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who has scored between 18 and 21 points in seven games straight.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Virtus Bologna (20:45 CET)
Zvezda (9-7) is desperate to snap a three-game losing streak as it welcomes a Virtus team (8-8) targeting a perfect week in Belgrade. The Italian team was impressive in a big win at Partizan on Wednesday, when Derrick Alston maintained his form by knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers – he now has five straight games with multiple triples. Injury-hit Zvezda’s latest loss came at Hapoel on Tuesday despite Jared Butler maintaining his strong form by pouring in 27 points, and the host will look for better ball circulation after only recording 11 assists in that game. These are two of the best defensive teams in the competition (Zvezda ranks second with 81.9 points per game allowed; Virtus fourth with 82.7 points), and this could become an intense physical battle.