The Euroliga playoffs once again demonstrate the fierce competition and parity of the tournament. It has become a trend in recent years for three out of the four playoff series to be decided in the fifth and final game, a pattern that also played out last season.
However, this trend is relatively new. Since the implementation of the five-game playoff series in the 2008-09 season, there have been 10 instances where the series went to a fifth game. However, in the last four years, there have been a total of 11 series that have been decided in the fifth game. Remarkably, in all 19 instances, the home team has emerged victorious.
This home team advantage is consistent with the history of the Euroliga playoffs. In fact, there has only been one instance where a visiting team has won a decisive game on the opponent’s court. This happened in 2006 when the Baskonia defeated the Panathinaikos at OAKA in the quarterfinals, which at the time were determined by the best of three games.
A list of Euroliga playoff series decided in a fifth game:
The 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons saw the Real Madrid vs Valencia Basket series (3-2) and the 2011-12 season had Panathinaikos vs Maccabi (3-2). The 2012-13 season featured Olympiacos vs Efes (3-2) and Barça vs Panathinaikos (3-2).
For the 2013-14 season, Real Madrid faced off against Olympiacos (3-2) and CSKA went against Panathinaikos (3-2). The 2015-16 season saw Lokomotiv Kuban vs Barça (3-2).
In the 2020-21 season, Barça vs Zenit (3-2), Efes vs Real Madrid (3-2), and Milán vs Bayern (3-2) took place. The 2021-22 season featured Barça vs Bayern (3-2) and Olympiacos vs Mónaco (3-2).
For the 2022-23 season, Olympiacos vs Fenerbahce (3-2), Mónaco vs Maccabi (3-2), and Real Madrid vs Partizan (3-2) were the match-ups. Finally, in the 2023-24 season, Panathinaikos vs Maccabi (2-2), Mónaco vs Fenerbahce (2-2), and Barça vs Olympiacos (2-2) are the series to be decided.
*Playoff seasons without a 5th game: 2009-19; 20014-15; 2017-18
The margin of victory in a fifth Euroliga game:
The margin of victory in these decisive games has varied. There have been five games decided by 1 to 6 points, eight games by 7 to 12 points, three games by 13 to 19 points, and two games by 20 or more points.
These statistics demonstrate the competitive nature of the Euroliga playoffs and the advantage that the home team typically enjoys. As the series move towards their conclusion, it will be interesting to see if these trends continue. Will the home team continue to dominate? Or will a visiting team manage to break the pattern and take home a victory on the opponent’s court? The answers to these questions will become clear as the action unfolds.