The 2025 NextGen EuroLeague Finals field includes five clubs that have already hoisted the trophy.
Real Madrid seeks NextGen EuroLeague three-peat with former champs standing in its way
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The biggest and best of the best will seek to shine in Abu Dhabi at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals with five past continental champions highlighting the eight-team field that includes two-time defending champion U18 Real Madrid. The action will start on May 22 at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City with the 2025 winner to be crowned on May 25. All the games will be broadcast live and free of charge on Euroleague Basketball’s YouTube channel.
The record five-time winner Real slipped up in the qualifying but the Spanish side still must be dethroned as it looks for the competition’s first three-peat in 19 years. Four other past winners - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris, U18 Zalgiris Kaunas, U18 FC Barcelona and U18 Mega Super Belgrade - will be looking to add another crown to their trophy cases. The other three teams competing for the 22nd NextGen EuroLeague title are host U18 Dubai Basketball, U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and U18 Overtime Elite.
The eight teams are broken down into two four-team groups with the clubs facing each of the others in their group in a round-robin style from May 22 to 24. Group A consists of Barcelona, Dubai, Mega and Milan while Group B is made up of INSEP, OTE, Real and Zalgiris. All three games played between Barcelona, Mega and Milan in Group A will be hotly contested while the absolute highlight of Group B will be Real facing INSEP - a repeat of last season’s NextGen Championship Game, which Real won 85-84 in overtime.
Five of 11 past winners on hand
Five of the 11 clubs that have won the NextGen EuroLeague will be playing in Abu Dhabi, including eight of the last nine winners. Real is the record champion with five crowns - 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024 - while U18 CSKA Moscow managed the only three-peat from 2004 to 2006. Zalgiris (2003 and 2007) and INSEP (2010 and 2017) are two of the other four teams with two continental trophies - along with U18 FMP Belgrade and U18 Rytas Vilnius. 2016 winner Barcelona and 2022 champ Mega will be looking to join the group of multiple title-holders.
Breakdown of Group A
Barcelona will enter the tournament as one of the favorites. The Spanish powerhouse, which reached the NextGen Championship Game in 2008, 2013 and 2021, booked its ticket to Abu Dhabi by winning the NextGen Ulm qualifier. Barcelona, which will be playing in the Finals for the 12th time - including the last three - will be hungry to end its nine-year drought. It last triumphed in 2016 in Berlin. The team gained added confidence by winning the Spanish U18 domestic crown earlier this month.
Dubai will be competing in the Finals for the first time; the host team is participating in the competition for just the second time. Dubai, which received a wild card for the Finals, lost all four of its games at the NextGen Ulm tournament.
Mega has become a regular in the Finals, making it to the finale for a ninth straight edition. The Serbian side won the whole thing in 2022 and reached the championship game in 2017 and 2019. Mega claimed its berth for Abu Dhabi in December when it won the Istanbul qualifying tournament. Since then, Mega clinched its fourth straight U19 ABA League crown.
Milan is making back-to-back appearances - and third overall in addition to 2013-14 - after getting a wild card for the second straight season. The Italian club lost to INSEP in the first-place game of the Belgrade qualifier - a year after falling to Barcelona in the Belgrade first-place game. Milan, which won the U19 domestic league crown earlier in May, is hoping to become the first Italian club to win the NextGen EuroLeague. U18 Montepaschi Siena was the runner-up in 2004 and U18 Stella Azzurra Rome reached the championship game in 2018
Group B breakdown
INSEP is another regular in the Finals, making its 10th appearance after clinching its spot by winning the Belgrade qualifier. The famed French academy will be looking to make good on its gut-wrenching loss to Real in last season’s championship game. And the opportunity will come on the final day of group action when it faces the Spanish powerhouse.
Overtime Elite has received a wild card for the second straight Finals. The United States-based organization grabbed two victories in its debut in Berlin, knocking off Barcelona and U18 ALBA Berlin. The team will feature some of the best youth players in the USA.
Real will be coming to Abu Dhabi in a very uncommon state. First off, the team failed to win the Munich qualifying tournament to snap its streak of winning qualifiers at 11. That meant the Spanish giant needed a wild card to stay alive for its sixth continental crown. Another dent in Real’s armor was losing in the final of the U18 Spanish championship to Barcelona earlier this month.
Zalgiris is playing in the Finals for the 16th time. In addition to the titles in 2003 and 2007, the Lithuanian side finished second in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Zalgiris received a wild card for Abu Dhabi after giving Barcelona a strong fight in the first-place game at the NextGen Ulm tournament.