Ligalytics x Euroleague Basketball – Building the Backbone of the Season

The Euroleague Basketball brings together 20 clubs from 10 countries, each playing 38 games across Europe’s biggest arenas. It’s one of the most intense and logistically complex competitions in professional sports: multiple time zones, overlapping domestic leagues, shared arenas, and a calendar that runs from autumn to spring with little room to breathe. To manage this challenge, Ligalytics supports Euroleague with an AI-assisted scheduling system that combines data, experience, and flexibility, helping transform a near-impossible puzzle into a process that works.

The Challenge

Behind the tip-off of every Euroleague season lies a maze of dependencies.

Half of the 38 rounds take place in double-game weeks, meaning each team plays twice, typically Tuesday/Thursday or Wednesday/Friday. These are carefully distributed to balance performance and logistics: a few weeks are kept entirely at home, some are structured as longer away trips, and others mix one home and one away game against a regional opponent. What counts as “regional,” though, varies widely: Milan can find four opponents within a few hours’ drive, while a team like Dubai may travel several thousand kilometers to its next game.

Venue availability is another ongoing constraint. With only limited availability to the arena, many clubs face a highly complex challenge: fitting in all 19 home games while avoiding clashes with concerts, other sports and major local derbies. Cities such as Athens, Belgrade, Istanbul, and Tel Aviv each host two Euroleague teams, requiring constant coordination to prevent clashes.

Balancing all this, while keeping the competition fair, attractive for broadcasters, and manageable for players, is at the heart of the Euroleague scheduling challenge.

The Ligalytics Approach: Where Data and Experience align

1. AI-Supported Scheduling

Ligalytics’ system models all relevant constraints like arena availability, travel distances, TV slots, and double-game structures and generates valid schedule drafts within minutes. Instead of guessing or relying on static templates, Euroleague can now test multiple scenarios, compare outcomes, and see instantly how small changes affect the bigger picture.

2. Balancing Travel and Fairness

The scheduler automatically checks home/away patterns, rest periods, and total travel distance. When possible, away games are grouped into efficient road trips, helping reduce fatigue and logistical strain. It also ensures that teams with tougher travel schedules receive fair compensation in other areas, such as timing or opponent sequences.

3. Internal Scenario Planning

Once the system generates the first versions, Euroleague’s scheduling team continues the process internally. They test alternative configurations, review corner cases, and apply manual fine-tuning for elements that can’t be fully automated, for example, handling arena conflicts or coordinating double-game sequences for clubs in the same city. The tool makes it possible to explore these adjustments quickly and transparently, turning what used to be lengthy manual work into a structured, iterative process.

Impact and Conclusion

The collaboration has reshaped how Euroleague approaches scheduling. What used to take weeks of manual coordination can now begin within hours, with all major constraints already respected. Discussions with clubs and partners are faster and more fact-based, and different “what if” scenarios can be explored before decisions are finalized. The outcome isn’t just about speed, it’s about control. The league now has a reliable, data-driven way to balance fairness, logistics, and entertainment value, season after season. In a competition that never stands still, that combination of structure and flexibility has become one of EuroLeague’s quiet advantages.