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The following is a history of the list of games played between NBA and international teams. Teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) have played numerous basketball games against various international teams from around the world. NBA teams, from both the United States and Canada, have played many games against international clubs from various different basketball leagues, as well as against some league all-star teams and senior national teams.
Prior to 2003, these games were played under a mixture of both NBA and FIBA rules, with most of the rules being NBA rules. Since 2003, the games played between NBA and international teams have been played under NBA rules, and with NBA referees.
One of the first basketball games between an NBA and a FIBA (international) team was held in 1978, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Maccabi Tel Aviv of the EuroLeague and Israeli League surprisingly beat the defending NBA champions, the Washington Bullets, by a score of 98–97. [1]
Since then, 6 other EuroLeague teams have defeated an NBA franchise: Barcelona, Málaga and Real Madrid from the Spanish League, CSKA Moscow of the Russian top-tier level VTB United League, Fenerbahçe from the Turkish League, and Alba Berlin from the German League.
In addition to defeating the Washington Bullets in 1978, Maccabi Tel Aviv also beat the New Jersey Nets and Phoenix Suns in 1984, in Israel, and beat the Toronto Raptors, 103–105, in Toronto in 2005. This was the first loss of an NBA team in North American soil.
The first Barcelona and CSKA wins came during the 2006 NBA Europe Live Tour, where Barcelona beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104–99, and the Moscow team won by 19 over the Los Angeles Clippers (94–75), being the widest victory so far of any international team.
During the 2007 NBA Europe Live Tour, Málaga defeated Memphis Grizzlies 102–99, and Real Madrid overcame Toronto by a narrow 104–103. In 2010, Barcelona and CSKA Moscow again, beat NBA teams, by narrow margins. More recent EuroLeague victories came during the 2012 NBA Europe Live Tour, when Fenerbahçe defeated the Boston Celtics, by a score of 97–91, and Barcelona beat the Dallas Mavericks, by a score of 99–85. In 2013, CSKA beat the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 108–106, and in 2014, Alba Berlin beat the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 94–93. In 2016, Real Madrid beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime, by a score of 142–137.
Many of these games were initially played as part of the now-defunct McDonald's Championship, where NBA teams won all of the games. After 2006, they were mostly played during the NBA Europe Live Tour and the EuroLeague American Tour. In addition to the EuroLeague teams that have beaten NBA teams, one senior men's European national team, the Soviet Union, beat the Atlanta Hawks, by a score of 132–123, in an exhibition game in Moscow, in 1988.
So far, only one non-European team has beaten an NBA team (Israeli teams participate in European competitions). The Adelaide 36ers, a team from the NBL, which is the top-tier professional league of Australia and New Zealand, beat the Phoenix Suns, by a score 134–124, in 2022.
Games played under NBA rules:
Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club, known for sponsorship reasons as Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, is a professional basketball club based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, and internationally in the EuroLeague. Maccabi Tel Aviv is known as one of the best teams in Europe, having won 6 Euroleague titles since joining, and having sent numerous players to the NBA draft.
Moshe "Miki" Berkovich is an Israeli former professional basketball player. A 193 cm shooting guard, he is considered to be one of the greatest Israeli basketball players of all time.
PBC CSKA Moscow is a Russian professional basketball team based in Moscow, Russia. The club is a member of the VTB United League, and was a member of the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended all Russian teams because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
David Blu is an American–Israeli former professional basketball player, who spent 10 seasons playing in the EuroLeague. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he played at the small forward and power forward positions. He is considered to be one of the top three-point shooters in EuroLeague history. He was also the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. He also represented the senior Israeli national team in 2010.
David Michael Blatt, is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player.
Pinhas "Pini" Gershon, is an Israeli former professional basketball player and coach. He won three top-level European-wide club championships as the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv. He won the FIBA SuproLeague championship in 2001, and the EuroLeague championship in 2004 and 2005.
The 2007 NBA Europe Live Tour was a basketball exhibition tour featuring teams from the NBA and teams from Europe's top professional leagues, as part of the NBA Global Games. The hosting countries were England, Italy, Spain and Turkey. The NBA teams traveled to Europe to begin their training camps, and played a series of exhibition matches against the European teams, and preseason games against other NBA teams. The games took place from October 6 to October 11 and the NBA teams prevailed 5 games to 2 over the European teams.
The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe.
The EuroLeague American Tour was a series of games organized in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Its purpose is for EuroLeague and sometimes 2nd-tier level EuroCup teams to play against National Basketball Association teams. The games of the EuroLeague American Tour are played by NBA rules.
The 2014 Euroleague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2013–14 Euroleague basketball season. It was held from 16 to 18 May 2014. All of the games were played at the Mediolanum Forum, in Milan. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv upset CSKA Moscow, 68–67, in the first semifinal, while Real Madrid dominated FC Barcelona, 100–62, in the second semifinal. In the final, Maccabi upset highly favored Real, by a score of 98–86, in the tournament's first overtime final since 1969. The win gave Maccabi their sixth EuroLeague title.
The 2016–17 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 17th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the seventh under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champions Cup, this was the 60th season of the premier level competition for European men's professional basketball clubs.
The 2016–17 EuroLeague Regular Season were played from 12 October 2016 to 7 April 2017. A total of 16 teams competed in the regular season to decide the eight places of the playoffs.
The 2017–18 EuroLeague Regular Season are played from 12 October 2017 to 6 April 2018. A total of 16 teams will compete in the regular season to decide the eight places of the playoffs.
The 2017–18 Fenerbahçe Basketball season was the 104th season in the existence of the club. The team played in the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and in the European first tier EuroLeague. This is the first season the team was known as Fenerbahçe Doğuş, due to sponsorship reasons.
The 2018–19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 19th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champions Cup, this was the 62nd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs.
The 2018–19 EuroLeague Regular Season is played from 11 October 2018 to 6 April 2019. A total of 16 teams compete in the regular season to decide the eight places of the playoffs.
The 2019–20 EuroLeague Regular Season is played from 3 October 2019 to 10 April 2020. A total of 18 teams compete in the regular season to decide the eight places of the playoffs.
The 2020–21 EuroLeague Regular Season will be played from 1 October 2020 to 9 April 2021. A total of 18 teams compete in the regular season to decide the eight places of the playoffs.
The 2021–22 EuroLeague Regular Season is the premier European competition for men's basketball clubs. A total of 18 teams compete in the regular season to decide the eight places of the playoffs.