Real and Olympiacos first faced each other in the 1995 EuroLeague Championship Game. Olympiacos came off a heartbreaking loss against Joventut Badalona in the 1994 Championship Game and Real had made it to the 1993 Final Four as the heavy favorite before falling against Limoges CSP in the semifinals. Real topped Olympiacos 73-61 in Zaragoza, Spain behind 23 points from Arvydas Sabonis, who was named the 1995 Final Four MVP: Joe Arlauckas added 16. Aleksandar Volkov and Franko Nakic led the Reds with 15 points apiece.
These two teams had to wait for 18 years until they met again in the EuroLeague Championship Game. In 2013, Real ran out to a strong start and led 10-27 at the end of the first quarter. Los Blancos were still ahead, 37-41, at halftime after holding superstar guard Vassilis Spanoulis scoreless up to that point. Spanoulis erupted for all of his 22 points in the second half to earn Final Four MVP honors. Acie Law added 20 as Olympiacos ended up beating Real 100-88 in London. Rudy Fernandez led Real with 21 points. It was Real's first appearance in the championship game since lifting the trophy in 1995. Olympiacos successfully defended the EuroLeague title it won in Istanbul a year earlier.
