By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
For some time now, the central topic in European basketball has been the announced NBA-backed competition, which is expected to launch in 2027. While many questions remain unanswered, Messina insists that the best possible outcome would be finding a solution involving all sides of European basketball — including the NBA, FIBA, and the EuroLeague.
The veteran coach addressed the issue at length on the Hoop Genius Podcast.
“We have been experiencing complicated years because of the lack of agreement between EuroLeague, FIBA, and national leagues on scheduling. Players are playing an enormous number of games, and statistics clearly show that injuries are increasing every year. Players are averaging 85, 90, sometimes 100 games a season. Rarely do you have more than two days between games. We’ve paid a lot for this lack of coordination.”
Messina explained how difficult it has been for the main stakeholders to take a step back for the good of the overall ecosystem.
“It’s difficult for these entities to take a step back to improve the ecosystem. Everybody is pursuing their own goals. I was hoping to have another player, like the NBA, who could help find a solution. It seems there were conversations between the NBA, EuroLeague, and FIBA about a year and a half ago — but they didn’t go anywhere. The NBA decided to invest in a new league, like they have done in Africa, with a different investment approach and landscape, and they are planning to create this new league. There should be room for more conversations, but it looks like it’s becoming difficult“, Messina said.
The decorated coach also touched on the financial challenges facing European basketball.
“We have a huge problem on the business side. I think probably one or two teams in Europe break even. Every other team loses money, and this money comes from organizations that have very strong soccer teams, like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Fenerbahce… All this football revenue allows them to have basketball teams. Consider that a big basketball budget, 30–35 million, is probably just the cost of one midfielder in soccer. That’s the relation. Or there are families like the Giannakopoulos family, the Armanis, or the brothers who own Olympiacos — people who love the game and want to be in charge of their basketball team, the competition, and the city where they live, and they invest heavily in the sport. This model can’t last. People will eventually stop, realizing it’s too costly to lose money every year to play basketball.”
Messina also highlighted key differences between the NBA and European basketball models, particularly regarding TV rights and revenue distribution.
“I’m not saying no to EuroLeague or to going to the NBA, or vice versa. It would be fantastic to find an agreement and ensure we play basketball under a more sustainable plan, with better revenues and TV contracts. The way it’s done in the USA is very different from Europe. In the USA, there is one big TV contract that is shared among 30 franchises. In Europe, there is a TV contract in Italy, based on what Italian teams can generate in their country. But if Italy gets 10 and, for example, Greece gets 50, Greek teams will earn more from TV rights than we do elsewhere in Europe. There’s no unified pot that is shared.
Secondly, we have Financial Fair Play, which says you should be able to invest in basketball — in teams, signings, or whatever — depending on sponsorship and ticketing. But we don’t all have the same resources to build teams, and if you want to spend more, you pay a luxury tax. The concept is different, there’s no common pot, and this is also related to different taxation systems in each country.”
Combining the strengths of both systems, Messina believes, would be the ideal outcome.
“I think the rational way forward is to combine NBA know-how in business with our on-court product — which is our best asset, because the games are fun to watch and we can’t lose that. Ideally, if we can put that together, great. If not, we need to consider different options and see what’s best for our clubs. It’s very simple.”
Asked whether this could signal the end of the EuroLeague as it currently exists, Messina clarified the internal situation among its clubs.
“There’s a group of teams — a big part of the EuroLeague — who are shareholders and have already extended their licenses for the future. But there are four teams who haven’t. At the moment, we are discussing how to stay together. This, even before talking about the NBA, is about how the EuroLeague can move forward, improve, and become a more sustainable business without breaking its cohesion. It is within everyone’s right to explore different ways of developing basketball and the business side, because we are responsible to our owners. We can’t always ask for more money to upgrade teams or improve conditions.”
Messina then returned to the issue of calendar congestion and conflicting schedules.
“We can’t keep fighting with each other. In the end, the players are the ones paying the price. FIBA has the right to run their international competitions, like the World Cup or EuroBasket, from the end of August to mid-September. But the season starts at the end of September for all clubs. Does it make any sense to invest millions of euros to put together a team and not have decent preparation time? All the best players play for national teams. Then coaches have tired or injured players for the rest of the year. Then we have our games, which often don’t fall within FIBA windows, and FIBA isn’t happy.”
In closing, Messina reiterated his belief that cooperation remains the only viable path forward.
“At some point, you think about the NBA coming in, and you might hope they will find a solution and ensure better contracts for everyone. But they’re not Santa Claus. The most important thing is to sit at the table and find an agreement. But maybe I’m just living in the Smurf world,” Ettore Messina concluded.