By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following Round 28 of the 2024-25 AdmiralBet ABA League Regular Season and leading Partizan Mozzart Bet to a key win against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, Zeljko Obradovic revisited recent developments around European basketball, including NBA Europe plans and the next steps for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
“You are witnessing what’s happening in European basketball,” the 65-year-old play-caller of Partizan, widely considered the best head coach in Europe, mentioned during a postgame press conference on Monday, “There will be a meeting at the end of the month where, hopefully, some things will be decided. You’ve heard about certain offers, whether they’re official or not, but they clearly involve us and Crvena Zvezda, as well as some other clubs.”
“We need to reach a consensus and present a united front,” he shared his opinion, “Zvezda and Partizan are a treasure of European basketball, and we need to show that to everyone.”
The teams based in Belgrade are among the teams in talks for multi-year EuroLeague licences.
“Everyone who talks about the EuroLeague talks about the atmosphere in the Arena,” Obradovic highlighted home fixtures of Partizan and Zvezda. “If that’s the case, then surely we deserve some respect. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: for any league in the world to be truly serious, everyone must have the same rights and obligations. If that’s not the case, then it’s not the real thing. That has been my stance from day one, and I’ll always stand by it.”
“We’re glad that there’s interest in having us in the EuroLeague, but we want to be equal with everyone, in every sense. Us and everyone else. Whether and how we’ll get there, that remains to be seen,” he added.
“EuroLeague is the only real option for European basketball”
Obradovic is totally focused on the EuroLeague for a simple reason: “I don’t want to go into other possibilities. Right now, the EuroLeague is the only real option for European basketball. The playoffs are about to begin, and you’ll see what it looks like. Every arena will be packed to the max, and the basketball will be fantastic.”
So, what is the future of the EuroLeague? Obradovic spoke about the possible future competition lineup: “You’ve got Valencia, with a wealthy owner, and they’re building a new arena. We’ll see if it’s going to be Bologna, there’s Hapoel who made it into the EuroLeague, and there’s talk about Dubai. I’m speaking about us… I won’t get into speculation, but I want us to do everything to ensure that what we represent is respected when people talk about us and the atmosphere here. A joint approach is a common interest for both clubs, and really, for all the teams that want to be equal members of the EuroLeague.”