A total of 54 teams from 29 countries participated in the 2023–24 Basketball Champions League.[4] 15 of them were domestic champions in the previous season. Two teams were invited as a wild card entries.[5]
If one or more clubs do not exercise their right to participate in the BCL, the FIBA may decide to allocate the respective place(s) to other clubs of the same or other National Federation(s).[6]
League positions after playoffs of the previous season shown in parentheses. The Basketball Champions League rankings are taken into consideration.
NOTE: According to BCL rankings, National Federations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia and Hungary should had two berths in Regular season, as well as one berth for the champion of Romania (U-BT Cluj Napoca decided to play Eurocup), and one berth for the Russian representative (banned from competition). Their places were allocated to the teams from Turkey (3), Spain (1) and Poland (1).[citation needed]
Qualified teams for 2023–24 Basketball Champions League (by entry round)
Netherlands (NED):ZZ Leiden would have qualified as the winners of the 2022-23 BNXT Dutch Playoffs, but withdrew from applying because their arena did not meet FIBA Europe's capacity standards.[7] As a result, the spot was given to Heroes Den Bosch, third in the national league.
The draw for the qualifying rounds will be made on 5 July 2023. The 25 teams were divided into six pots. The top eight national champions from the unrepresented nations were placed into Pots 1 and 2, and the remaining clubs into Pots 3–6. Pots are arranged based on the competition's club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking.[8]
The three winners of the finals will then qualify for the regular season and join the 29 directly qualified teams in the main draw. The rest of the teams will be demoted, if they apply, to the FIBA Europe Cup.[8]
On July 27, 2023, it was announced that Antalya Sports Hall in Antalya, Turkey, has been selected as the host city for the Qualification Rounds which was scheduled to take place from 24 September to 1 October.[9]
The pre-qualifier round match consists of a one leg match that is expected to take place at a neutral venue.
The winner of the pre-qualifiers round match will be drawn to Pot 6 and advanced to the main qualifying rounds. The losers of the pre-qualifiers is transferred (if they apply) to the FIBA Europe Cup
The 29 teams that entered in the regular season directly were divided into four pots based firstly on the club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking. The country protection rule will apply for the stage of the draw. Clubs cannot be drawn in groups with other clubs from the same country.[8]
The Play-ins took place from 2 to 17 January 2024. The teams classified in second and third place in their respective groups of Basketball Champions League, went to the Play-ins. Winners advanced to the round of 16. The first legs were played on 2–3 January, the second legs on 9–10 January. Eventual third legs were played on 16–17 January.
The Round of 16 will take place from January 24 until March 22, 2024. The groups will be formed by the winners of each Regular Season Group and by eight Play-Ins winners. The 16 teams were divided in 4 groups, 4 teams each. The first two of each groups advanced to the quarter-finals.