Well, there is a big variety of leagues, but there is also a growing amount of parity as the popularity of basketball spreads around Europe. The NBA is obviously the best in the world but the powerhouse Euroleague clubs are cutting the gap.

After that comes the Spanish league, without a doubt, they have easily the most international level talent on their rosters. I would say the top two NBL teams would be in the 6th-12th range in this comp.

For mine the Russian league/VTB United heads up the next pack, ahead of the Greek league (thanks to its country's economic woes) and Italy, Turkey and the Adriatic League, with Germany, France and Israel not too far behind. Judging by performances of players who transfer between the leagues I would put the NBL somewhere in this overall group.

The BBL you speak of is at the other end of the scale for European leagues. The BBL, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Slovakia etc could be compared to ABA leagues in Australia but I imagine most of them pay a lot better!

Very good summary from Paul right there...

Best leagues in Europe is like this:

1. Euroleague
2. Spanish League
3. United League
4. Greek League
5. Italian League
6. Eurocup
7. Turkish League
8. Adriatic League
9. German League
10. French League

The rest really don't even matter much honestly.

I disagree that NBA is clearly better than Euroleague. Because it most definitely isn't.

BTW, I think NBL is one of the most underrated leagues in the world.

I wasnt saying that the NBA is a long way ahead of the Euroleague, but I think it is definitely still number one. The top Euroleague clubs are up there, but the bottom half of the Euroleague is still a bit behind.

That's true, but that's just because of the fact that Euroleague is not a closed league.

The NBA is a closed league. That's the difference.

So of course the Euroleague will always have 4-5 teams that are not at the right level, and usually 1-3 that are awful.

But that's the way all European sports systems are.

It's not really fair to judge a closed league versus an open one on the bottom teams.

The only fair way is to judge the teams that are always in the league by comparison.

That's not true. Only people that only watch NBA believe that.

Anon, compare Rubio's latter seasons in Europe with his numbers in the NBA. It's not so clear cut.

I watched alot of BBL back in September-December (based in UK). The standard was between ABA and NBL IMO, maybe a slight notch above the local Central ABL (mostly due to the number of imports playing on European passports). The money was worse than our NBL but the best players were getting much more than the Central ABL.

Sorry can't compare to SEABL etc because I've never seen a game.

It is true.

The best European players play in the NBA. The others that don't make it struggle with the athleticism and rule changes. They usually struggle on the defensive end which is fifty percent of the game.

The USA could send three teams to the Olympics and they will be their biggest threats for gold. The world has gotten better but the discrepancy of talent is still huge.

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As someone that follows both leagues very closely, I can say that this is 100% false.

Haha, so many egos here. Just chill out guys.

And where does the Chinese league sit compared to the NBL? Anyone actually know?

Anon, you are comparing the USA with each individual European nation, but this discussion is about the Euroleague and the NBA. The absolute best teams in the Euroleague have many of the best players from across the entire continent, not just one country, making the international comparison irrelevant here.

As Ive said earlier, the NBA is the best, but some of the top Euroleague teams have beaten NBA teams recently showing there isnt a big difference. In the past five years it is 4-3 for games between the two leagues played in Europe. When played in the USA though the NBA sides have a clear advantage, showing they are still the number one league.

Yep, the cream of the crop in the NBA has the rare mix of sublime skill and incredible athleticism. It is hard to match that, and certainly it would be hard to see the Euroleague champion beating the NBA champion over seven games when they had time to dissect their changing defences etc. A one-off game would be a bit more open.

One advantage the top Euroleague clubs to overcome the rarity of absolute superstars (though there are still a few in that league) is not having a salary cap, so they can get 10 of the best Europeans. As Miami showed, once an NBA team gets a few stars they have to compromise with who they put on the rest of their roster.

I would like an opinion of others on how teams such as Barcelona,Real Madrid or the big two in Greece would fare in the NBA.

Would they finish ahead of the Bobcats or some of the other bottom dwellers if they played under NBA rules?

Where would they finish if the NBA was played under FIBA rules? (I personally wish it was)

There would be plenty of guys playing Euroleague who would be able to make an NBA roster.

Problem is that they would need to take a serious paycut as they would start on NBA minimum while in Europe they can get big dollar deals.

Why play an 82 game season for $750K when you can play 50 - 60 games For $5M?

The top Euro teams already play around 60 games (Tel Aviv played 80-odd this year), plus maintain a heavy training schedule, so the number of games probably wouldnt be a factor.

I am not sure how they would go under NBA rules for a full season because of the athleticism, but played under FIBA rules they have a big advantage of experience in that style and I think it would be an even mony proposition.

When people make the argument that NBA teams spread minutes in the pre-season games they seem to forget that so do the Euroleague teams!

When Barcelona beat LA a couple of years back the Lakers ran all their starters 25+ minutes whereas Barce only had three players over 25.

That's exactly my point, people make 'excuses'for the NBA team without having any knowledge of what the Euroleague team did. You dont think Barcelona were nursing or missing anyone?

I would like an opinion of others on how teams such as Barcelona,Real Madrid or the big two in Greece would fare in the NBA.

Would they finish ahead of the Bobcats or some of the other bottom dwellers if they played under NBA rules?

Where would they finish if the NBA was played under FIBA rules? (I personally wish it was)

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I have NBA league pass and I have been an NBA fan for years. I also have Euroleague TV and have followed it a lot for the last 5 years or so.

Truthfully,

The Euroleague Final Four teams of this year:

Under mixed NBA/FIBA rules and refs. Like what the NBA Europe Live Tour games are played under. 60% NBA rules/40% FIBA rules, with 2 NBA refs/1 FIBA ref, under those same rules...........

Barcelona - they would beat any NBA team in a 7 game series.

CSKA - they will beat every single NBA team in a 7 game series.

Panathinaikos - they will beat every NBA team in a 7 game series.

Olympiacos - they will beat every single NBA team in a 7 game series.

Now, if we go by the NBA only rules and 3 NBA refs.......

Then,

Barca will beat every NBA team but Miami in a 7 game series.

Panathinaikos will beat every NBA team in a 7 game series. Caveat being, they will lose to Miami in a 7 game series without home advantage. But with home advantage, they will beat Miami.

CSKA - I don't think it matters what rules. In all truth, I think they beat ay NBA team in a 7 game series, even under NBA rules.

Olympiacos - I would hate to see it happen if I was an NBA fan. because even under NBA rules, the NBA teams stand no chance in hell.