Yes, we’re hungry for EuroLeague basketball. The summer break is long, but preseason games are only an appetizer.
And not a particularly tasty one.
Still, when there’s nothing else, we’ll take it…
Not Enough Time to Get Ready
🎥 RESUMEN @CBBreogan 110 – 102 @RMBaloncesto pic.twitter.com/7Rb3c0Hhol
— Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) August 29, 2026
EuroLeague teams are allowed just 32 days of preseason preparation. Coaches therefore know from the start that patience will be required – having everything perfectly in place by opening night is practically impossible.
Many players report for preseason still well short of optimal physical condition. Others, including key players, will miss part of an already condensed preparation period because of national-team commitments.
Injuries and Roster Changes
Injuries were the biggest problem in the EuroLeague last season.
The schedule is so demanding that clubs are effectively building their rosters with injuries already in mind, knowing they are unlikely to have everyone available throughout the season.
And even that often isn’t enough.
Put injuries aside and the first two or three months still tend to bring a carousel of changes – both on the bench and on the roster.
Just open last season’s Panini sticker album.
How many players pictured there – and especially how many coaches – didn’t even make it to New Year’s with the club they were pictured with?
Never mind the end of the season.
It’s Just Not the Real Thing
Jonas Valanciunas scoring his first points in a Zalgiris jersey with a 2+1 just makes sense. 😮💨💪 pic.twitter.com/Dwo5DgqLvm
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) August 29, 2026
Even if we ignore everything above, the most obvious reason remains: a preseason game simply cannot replicate a competitive one.
No matter how seriously the players approach it, the sense of occasion isn’t the same. Neither are the adrenaline or the nerves. There is no packed arena, or any of those other little things that make a EuroLeague night completely different from a preseason game.
So Why Do We Still Love Preseason?
Glint Körfez Basket 82-70 Fenerbahçe Tarfin (Hazırlık Maçı)#YellowLegacy
Skor dağılımımız: Johnny Juzang 13, Shavon Shields 10, Ignas Sargiunas 10, Braxton Key 9, Talen Horton-Tucker 9, Yiğit Yancı 5, Will Clyburn 4, Chris Silva 4, Trent Forrest 4, Wade Baldwin IV 2.
— Fenerbahçe Tarfin Erkek Basketbol (@FBBasketbol) August 29, 2026
Because we’re fans.
We miss basketball enough to watch it even if it’s being played in a tiny gym on a Greek island in front of 100 people.
And preseason games do offer the first clues.
The coach’s ideas. Who will play with whom. What the hierarchy might look like.
And, perhaps most importantly, what’s still missing?
We’ll forget the results soon enough.
But preseason games are the quiet flame that keeps the passion alive until the main course arrives on September 24.
