Βy Bilal Baran Yardimci/ info@eurohoops.net
Ergin Ataman led Panathinaikos to the win against the club he led to back-to-back EuroLeague titles, and he also revealed that he expects his starting center, Mathias Lessort, to be back in action in three weeks after a long time absence.
Still, the main topic of his press conference ended up being NBA Europe.
Ataman was asked about the matter, and he expressed his fear about a divided European basketball: “There are currently 13 founding teams in the EuroLeague. Our stance has always been to act together. Right now, the EuroLeague offers an extremely high level of basketball. In fact, I’d even say that during the regular season, it’s higher than the NBA in terms of basketball quality. Of course, the NBA has a very strong marketing value; that’s a fact. The NBA wants 16 teams, but there are already 13 founding EuroLeague teams. So what will happen to the others? On top of that, there’s talk about clubs like Manchester that claim they’ll join NBA Europe. For this to be a healthy league, I believe a 20-team format organized by the EuroLeague — but with the marketing side managed by the NBA — would add great value. However, this is not easy; it’s a difficult task”.
When the EuroLeague, a private league owned by the clubs, was created in 2000, for one season, it co-existed with the FIBA-run Suproleague, which included teams like Panathinaikos, Anadolu Efes, and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Ataman openly talked about the possibility of history repeating itself as a farce: “If one or two of these 13 clubs decide to leave and say, ‘We’ll play in the NBA,’ it would create a ridiculous situation for European basketball — similar to what happened 20 years ago between the EuroLeague and the SuproLeague. That’s why I believe clubs should act wisely and stand behind the EuroLeague basketball brand that’s been built. Of course, every club has its own strategy. I’m not very optimistic about how this will unfold in the near future, but if the EuroLeague expands its organization slightly and forms something like an NBA-EuroLeague collaboration, I think it would be more beneficial for everyone. Otherwise, we’ll end up with NBA Europe on one side, EuroLeague on another, and FIBA running yet another league somewhere… People are already confused about who’s playing where. That’s why I think such fragmentation would harm basketball. But if unity is achieved, then it could turn out to be something really positive”.