EuroLeague is known to have some of the biggest derbies in the world of basketball. Derbies are the most-watched games in the league, other than the Final Four and the Finals. Some of the derbies, such as the Greek derby, date from as early as when the league started.
Greek Derby
Currently, Panathinaikos is ranked as the most successful professional basketball clubs in Greece. The second most successful is Olympiacos. The two teams have fought at the top basketball level in Greece a lot longer than any other team. They have clashed quite a number times before, with Panathinaikos winning in most of those clashes.
In the EuroLeague, Panathinaikos has won 10 of the encounters and Olympiacos has won only six. The rivalry gained a lot of popularity during the 1990s and 2000s, which is when they met in several regular seasons and playoff matches.
Istanbul Derby
The Istanbul derby has always been a highlight of sports in Turkey. The city has many big clubs, but the two main rivals that make the biggest derby are Fenerbahce Beko and Anadolu Efes.
According to history, Efes had quite amazing performances from when it was founded in 1976 until towards the end of the last decade. During that time, they won 14 national titles and also went on to become the first team from Turkey to be in the Final Four. Fenerbahce, which also has an impressive history, has been outperforming Efes in the recent past.
Tel Aviv Derby
This derby is usually between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel. Predicting which team is likely to win when they play against each other is generally quite challenging. That is unless there are some injured players in either of the teams. Currently, however, Maccabi seems to be performing a lot better in the regular season.