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The possibility of an NBA-owned league in Europe may be decided in a matter of weeks, after Andreas Zagklis, the secretary general for FIBA, said the body would remain in “serious conversation” with the NBA about starting a new league.
This league could initially compete with the EuroLeague and top pro leagues in individual countries.
“There is clear interest (by the NBA) and there are ongoing discussions with FIBA,” Zagklis said, via The Athletic. “We’ve been having and will continue having discussions with … the company that operates the EuroLeague.
“It is something that has been on our radar. We tried to bring everyone together. This was not possible. So our job is to continue having serious conversations with our partners at the NBA.”
The secretary general went on to explain how “basketball in Europe is punching much below its (weight in) commercial potential.” Of course, the NBA could certainly help with that.
Zagklis says that “FIBA has a very consistent approach” when speaking about the possibility of the NBA launching its own European league.
“We want the growth of our sport, but at the same time we want to protect what are the fundamentals of our ecosystem, which can not only relate to the rules of course, the calendar, but it is a question of respecting the national teams, the national leagues,” Zagklis said. “We have a very well developed ecosystem of national leagues and certainly (want to) protect the work not only of a few clubs, but of almost 500 or 600 clubs that are the pyramid that produces players and that has brought the sport of basketball where it is today.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has spoken about how the league is considering its options in Europe and how the league is studying how Euro Leagues have academy-style training programs for young talent, which are far better than the American G-League / college equivalent.
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