In an interview with Eurohoops Turkiye, he gave the perhaps controversial statement that he believes the EuroLeague to be the “last form of pure basketball.” Jasikevicius, who is originally from Lithuania, gave these thoughts while formal talks regarding the EuroLeague, the NBA and FIBA continue to take place, with some talk of a potential NBA-backed European League which to be launched by the end of 2027.
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During the interview, Sarunas Jasikevicius revealed that he believed the European basketball model is the only thing that remains pure in basketball. To back this statement up, he pointed to the intensity of the competition within the EuroLeague and the emotional investments that are tied to the result of every game. He also drew attention to the fact that there tends to be a week-to-week sense of urgency in basketball in Europe, whereas the NBA has a longer regular season. He pointed out that every game in European basketball feels like a “dog fight” and the consequences of either a win or a loss have much bigger ripple effects than they do in the NBA. He mentioned that there is an attitude in the NBA that takes away the importance of each game; instead, players, coaches and fans have a more “let’s get to the next one” mentality.
Despite this attitude, Jasikevicius did state that the financial strength behind the NBA means that its interest in Europe is to be expected; however, he expressed concerns over whether accepting this interest and adopting this approach would have negative effects on Europe’s basketball culture. He suggested that the NBA puts more attention into the sports “business model”, whereas European basketball tries to grow in a more organic way, paying more attention to the fans, getting the right media exposure, and having the right balance when it comes to sports competitiveness. He also suggested that he had seen increasing uniformity in modern basketball, and that this was especially the case in the NBA, but European basketball had been able to maintain some of the original factors that make the game what it is.
While talking about the way that many NBA games appear to now be analytics-driven, Jasikevicus stated that “they all play the same now.” In this comment, he was also referring to the fact that many modern basketball leagues place too much on spacing, pace and scoring, which in turn has led to a reduction in tactical variety. This is something that he believes has not yet impacted the EuroLeague, however, due to the financial disparity between the leagues, he hopes that Europe will be able to maintain that uniqueness, as it is what sets it apart, in his eyes, from all other basketball leagues across the globe.