Βy Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
NBA Europe and Middle East director George Aivazoglou directly mentioned 12 candidate cities for a permanent position in NBA Europe, and the project’s outline is more than clear.
Those cities are Milan and Rome in Italy, London and Manchester in the United Kingdom, Paris and Lyon in France, Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, Berlin and Munich in Germany, plus Athens, Greece, and Istanbul, Turkey.
While in some cases, like Madrid, Barcelona, or Lyon, this is not a surprise, since Real Madrid, Barcelona, and ASVEL have not yet signed their new EuroLeague licenses, other cases, like Athens and Istanbul, can be much more complicated.
For the Istanbul spot, Fenerbahce has also not yet signed a new contract with the Euroleague, but Galatasaray, which currently competes in the Basketball Champions League, is very likely to be ahead in the race for the “permanent” spot, as the Turkish club itself has publicly confirmed.
In the case of the Greek capital, although there is still a long way to go before any developments are initiated, the NBA would not say no to the prospect of Olympiacos or Panathinaikos joining the new league with a permanent contract, even though they have both signed ten-year extensions to their Euroleague contracts.
According to Eurohoops sources, there has been no contact with Olympiacos, while Panathinaikos was invited to attend the recent NBA friendly games in Abu Dhabi. Two other Euroleague teams that have signed new ten-year contracts were also invited, Milan and Bayern Munich, which were also mentioned by Aivazoglou among the 12 core cities of NBA Europe.
The NBA is interested in each club’s brand, arena, and market, not necessarily in that order. Panathinaikos meets these conditions; however, it will also have to align with the demands of the US league at all levels, while there is no indication at the moment as to whether the Greens intend to leave the Euroleague for the new competition.
The same applies, of course, to Milan and Bayern.
It should be noted that AEK Athens is already in the NBA Europe ecosystem, but according to Eurohoops information, they are not destined for one of the permanent spots, at least until proven otherwise. AEK will have to qualify for the competition through the four places that will be open for grabs via the Basketball Champions League.
The rest of the cities mentioned by Aivazoglou are London and Manchester in the UK, Berlin in Germany, Rome in Italy, and Paris in France. None of those cities currently has a EuroLeague team, with the exception of Paris, which is also not bound by a long-term contract. Still, it’s well-reported that the NBA would like to work with PSG to create a new basketball team.