2018 EuroLeague Final Four

The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, the 61st season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 18th season since it was organised by Euroleague Basketball. It was the 31st Final Four of the modern EuroLeague Final Four era (1988–present), and the 33rd time overall that the competition had concluded with a final four format. The Final Four was played at the Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, on 18 and 20 May 2018.

On 26 October 2016 Euroleague Basketball announced that the Final Four would be held in the Štark Arena in Belgrade. It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. It was the first time the EuroLeague Final Four was hosted in Belgrade, or in the country of Serbia. The Arena's total floor area is 48,000 square metres. For sports, it has a regular seating capacity for fans of 18,386, and also has 70 luxury boxes, which include a total of 860 seats. The arena's cost was estimated at €70 million. Štark Arena is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA).

CSKA Moscow finished the regular season as the number one seed, after having a 24–6 record. In the quarter-finals, the team played another Russian side in Khimki. CSKA won the series 3–1 over Khimki, after a controversial 88–89 win in Game 4. In the United League season, CSKA was in second place while battling for the first seed.

Fenerbahçe finished second in the regular season and defeated Kirolbet Baskonia in the quarter-finals. Fenerbahçe reached the Final Four for a fourth straight year. Head coach Željko Obradović had the opportunity to win his tenth EuroLeague title, a record for most titles by a coach.

Madrid battled injuries during the regular season, as Sergio Llull, Ognjen Kuzmić and Rudy Fernández missed most of the games. As a five-seed, the team beat Panathinaikos in a controversial quarterfinal series, 1–3. The star player for Madrid during the season was Luka Dončić, who led the league in Performance Index Rating (PIR), and was later a top-three pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Dončić's games during the Final Four were televised in the United States, by NBA TV.

In the 2017–18 ACB season, Real Madrid was the number one seed.

In the regular season, Žalgiris qualified as the sixth seed. Žalgiris won the series over favored Olympiacos, 3–1. For EuroLeague Legend Šarūnas Jasikevičius, this was his first visit to the Final Four as a head coach and also for the club since 1999. In its domestic LKL season, the club dominated as well, as it was in a secure first seed.

	Semifinals				Championship game
	18 May
	CSKA Moscow	83
					20 May
	Real Madrid	92
					Real Madrid	85
	18 May
					Fenerbahçe Doğuş	80
	Fenerbahçe Doğuş	76
	Žalgiris	67
					Third place game
					20 May
					CSKA Moscow	77
					Žalgiris	79

Russian champions CSKA Moscow returned to the Final Four to make it their seventh consecutive semi-final appearance. CSKA guard Sergio Rodríguez would play the semi-final against his former club, which he won the EuroLeague title with in 2015, as well as the EuroLeague MVP award in 2014.

Real Madrid would play its fourth Final Four in five years. The match would be a re-match of the 2017 third-place game. During the regular season, both teams won their respective games at home, with this game being considered a Real Madrid home game.

CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid

18 May 2018	CSKA Moscow	83–92	Real Madrid	Belgrade, Serbia
21:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 16–27, 10–16, 27–29
	Pts: De Colo 20 Rebs: Hines 9 Asts: Rodríguez 6 PIR: Hines 23	Boxscore	Pts: Dončić, Llull 16 Rebs: Ayón 11 Asts: Llull 5 PIR: three players 18	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 15,232 Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Robert Lottermoser (GER), Matej Boltauzer (SLO)

CSKA Moscow Real Madrid 0

Defending champions Fenerbahçe Doğuş returned to the Final Four to make it their third straight appearance. Led by head coach Željko Obradović, the all-time record holder for most EuroLeague championships won by a head coach, it defeated Kirolbet Baskonia 1–3 in the quarter-finals, to clinch a semi-final spot.

Žalgiris Kaunas qualified for its first Final Four in 20 years, as the last time the team participated was in 1999, where it claimed the championship as well. The club beat Olympiacos 3–1 in the play-offs, despite not having home court advantage.

Fenerbahçe Doğuş v Žalgiris Kaunas

18 May 2018	Fenerbahçe Doğuş	76–67	Žalgiris Kaunas	Belgrade, Serbia
18:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 19–13, 20–20, 15–17, 22–17
	Pts: Muhammed 19 Rebs: Düverioğlu 5 Asts: Melli 6 PIR: Muhammed 18	Boxscore	Pts: Pangos 16 Rebs: Davies 11 Asts: Micić, Pangos 4 PIR: Davies 21	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 16,967 Referees: Daniel Hierrezuelo (ESP), Sreten Radović (CRO), Oļegs Latiševs (LAT)

Fenerbahçe Žalgiris 0

CSKA Moscow v Žalgiris Kaunas

20 May 2018	CSKA Moscow	77–79	Žalgiris Kaunas	Belgrade
17:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 16–19, 13–28, 29–10
	Pts: Kulagin, Hunter 14 Rebs: Hunter 8 Asts: three players 3 PIR: Hunter 25	Boxscore	Pts: Jankūnas, Micić 15 Rebs: White 7 Asts: Pangos, Micić 4 PIR: Jankūnas 17	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 14,548 Referees: Daniel Hierrezuelo (ESP), Elias Koromilas (GRE), Robert Lottermoser (GER)

CSKA Moscow Žalgiris 0

Real Madrid v Fenerbahçe Doğuş

20 May 2018	Real Madrid	85–80	Fenerbahçe Doğuş	Belgrade
20:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 17–23, 25–15, 22–25
	Pts: Causeur 17 Rebs: three players 5 Asts: Dončić 4 PIR: Causeur 21	Boxscore	Pts: Melli 28 Rebs: Melli 6 Asts: Wanamaker 5 PIR: Melli 27	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 16,967 Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Borys Ryzhyk (UKR), Oļegs Latiševs (LAT)

Real Madrid Fenerbahçe 0

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