The MacCabi of Tel Aviv and the Kinder of Bologna were proclaimed European champions in 2001. This paranormal duality came true because during that season the newly created Euroleague and the FIBA Suproleague were played in parallel, with some teams opting for one and others on the other. A division that would end the following year with the Euroleague as a winning tournament. This scenario could be repeated in European basketball in a little over a year. The NBA has decided to finally land in Europe, making all the parks of the old continent tremble.
Adam Silver, commissioner of the world’s best league in the world, sitting next to Andreas Zagklis, general secretary of the FIBA, announced Thursday that the elephant who floated for years in the European basketball room will land. “We are prepared to take the next step to create a new competition in Europe,” he snapped. Due to the responses that both leaders offered in this regard, a new schism in European basketball is coming since this new competition would directly rival the current Euroleague.
The NBA and the FIBA confirm that they are finalizing a new tournament that would rival the Euroleague
After many years in which a possible landing of the NBA in Europe had been on the table, a scenario seen with enthusiasm for some levels and suspicious for others, it is confirmed that the thing is finally much more than serious.
Silver confirmed that last summer during the Paris Games, a lot of progress was made in the project, since many meetings with possible allies in this adventure took place, from clubs to sponsors, passing through the media. “We obtained a very positive response,” the commissioner presumed. Given the possible reluctance that the project can generate, Silver made it very clear that “we want to respect the traditions of European basketball, which for example has different rules, and that has a huge tradition. It is an important aspect for us.”
In this regard, he assured that the format is still being studied but that the first sketch contemplates a tournament with 16 teams, of which 12 would be fixed and 4 could ascend or descend. A hybrid between what happens in the NBA, where the competition is closed, and the current Euroleague, with type A (fixed) or B licenses (variables). “We are going to set up a tournament from scratch so we will try to combine the best on each side,” said Silver.
On the potential participants, they did not hide that associating the great European clubs is their main objective, having already spoken with many. Among them. Barça, which does not close the door to this change of status quo “whenever it helps to grow to game and business.” In turn, the entry of new teams with very high economic potential is not ruled out, umbrella in which the PSG or Manchester City would enter for example.
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