By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
Napoli Basket is still in the early stages of its development, but the scope of the project already stretches far beyond the court.
At the center of it is Matt Rizzetta, an Italian-American businessman and founder of Underdog Global Partners, who first made his mark in media and later entered European sports through football. His investment in Campobasso – a club he helped lift from the lower tiers of Italian football – offered a blueprint for a long-term, development-driven approach. Now, that same philosophy is being applied in basketball, with Naples as the next focal point.
The choice of city is far from accidental. Naples is one of Italy’s largest metropolitan areas, with a deeply rooted sports culture and a global identity that extends well beyond Italy. While basketball does not carry the same historical weight there as in some northern cities, the combination of market size, passion, and untapped potential presents a different kind of opportunity – one built on long-term vision.
Rizzetta does not frame the project in terms of immediate results. Instead, he repeatedly emphasizes a gradual, structured process: establishing domestic competitiveness, entering European competitions, and eventually positioning Napoli among the top-tier clubs on the continent. A EuroCup wildcard application is expected to be the club’s next step on that path.
Within that framework, discussions around EuroLeague expansion, NBA Europe, and new infrastructure — including a planned arena — are not presented as bold promises, but as part of a broader, step-by-step strategy.
In the interview with Eurohoops, Rizzetta speaks about the realities of investing in European basketball, and the challenges – but also the opportunities – that come with building a club in a market like Naples.
Reflecting on the club’s first season and immediate goals, Rizzetta underlined the importance of a gradual approach.
“This is our first year, we’re just wrapping up the season. The idea was to build this step by step — first become a playoff team, then get into European competitions, then compete for top positions, and ultimately reach the highest level of European basketball, whether that’s the EuroLeague or the NBA pathway. We’re in the middle of both of those conversations, but the key is to follow the plan step by step.”
Speaking about the decision to hire experienced coach Jasmin Repeša, he pointed out both the ambition of the project and the timing of the move.
“Coach Repeša is basically like the Phil Jackson of European basketball. He was always one of our top targets. Frankly, we didn’t think as an organization that we would be in a position to bring him on board this quickly. The project went really well in the first year. We built credibility and showed what the long-term vision is. Naples is an amazing European city, one of the top ten by population and one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations. We knew we had the resources and the environment to sell the project, but the basketball side still wasn’t at the level we wanted to build. With someone like Coach Repeša, of his caliber, we didn’t expect to be able to sign him this early. But once the situation with Trapani unfolded, the conversations developed quickly. We have a lot of respect for our previous coach, Alessandro Magro, but when you have the opportunity to bring in someone like Repeša, it’s something you can’t say no to.”
Explaining how the idea of entering European basketball came to life, Rizzetta traced the path from media to sports ownership.
“My original business was in media. I founded a marketing agency in New York, We spent about 10 years building it from the ground up. It eventually became one of the 50 leading privately held independent marketing firms in the United States. I wound up selling most of my interest in the company in 2020. After that, I wanted to dedicate the next phase of my career to investments I was more passionate about. That led me to sports ownership. I first invested in an Italian football club, Campobasso. We took the team from the fifth tier to becoming one of the top 50 professional clubs in Italy, we won two promotions. That was my introduction to sports ownership and European sports.”
He then explained why basketball — and Naples specifically — emerged as the next logical step.
“Over the next few years, I started seeing what I believed was the next wave of investment in Europe — basketball. The NBA was prioritizing Europe, NCAA dynamics were changing, and top American programs were targeting European talent in a way they hadn’t before. We felt this was the right moment. Naples is a major European city, and the idea was to buy the club and turn it into a global project. We believed we could enter early enough in this cycle while there was still significant room for growth.”
Addressing the choice of Naples, he emphasized both the opportunity and the market.
“Cities like Bologna, Milan, or Varese and Siena have a deep basketball history, but the south of Italy has been underrepresented. Naples has been present, but without the same tradition as northern clubs. That gave us the opportunity to build something from the ground up. At the same time, it’s a sports-crazy city. The football club is dominant, but the passion is there. Historically, basketball had strong attendance here, with 8–10,000 people per game. It’s also a large market with essentially one main team. In Milan or Rome, you compete with multiple major clubs. In Naples, you have the opportunity to build something that can really belong to the city.”
Sharing his impressions of the European game, Rizzetta highlighted both its strengths and its limitations.
“I love it. I think European basketball is, pound for pound, a better product than the NBA. The game is more strategic, more fundamentally sound, and very enjoyable to watch. And the NBA is recognizing that as well, which is why they are investing so heavily in expanding into the European market.
Where it needs improvement is on the commercial side. If you go to an NBA game, you see how exceptional they are at optimizing revenue opportunities — the fan experience, sponsorships, media rights, luxury suites, courtside tickets. I think combining the quality of the European game, which I believe is superior to any other professional league in the world, with the commercial expertise of the NBA could be a very interesting combination.”
He acknowledged that applying that model across Europe comes with major structural challenges.
“At the same time, Europe is a fragmented market. Building a team in Serbia is different from building one in Naples, Madrid, or Paris. Every country has its own culture, bureaucracy, legal structure, and business environment. That’s going to be the challenge, but also the opportunity. If you can modernize and structure a European league while preserving the quality and identity of the current EuroLeague product, and add the commercial sustainability the NBA brings, that becomes a very powerful combination.”
On whether an American-style business model can work in Europe, he stressed the importance of finding the right balance between modernization and respecting local identity.
“It has to be the right balance. We wanted to come in and improve things that weren’t really being prioritized, particularly the in-game experience, entertainment and merchandising. The bar was extremely low in some of those areas, so we felt they needed a more modern approach. But at the same time, we wanted to do it in a way that was extremely respectful to the tradition, culture and passion that are such a big part of the fabric of the community.
Every press conference we do is in Italian. We made a very conscious effort to maintain the heritage of the logo, including the horse, which is the historic symbol of Naples. Those details matter to local fans. They want to know that you respect the traditions, customs and history of the club. The club was here for generations before us and it will be here for generations after us. If you leave it in a better position than when you took it over, then you’ve done something right.”
Discussing financial sustainability, Rizzetta pointed to media rights as the key factor in the future development of European basketball.
“TV and media are really the first driver of sustainability, and that’s where I think the NBA’s experience and expertise can become a real asset for the European basketball landscape. If the NBA comes into Europe, it changes the entire structure and appeal of media rights. And once you get a strong media deal, everything else starts falling into place — sponsorships become more attractive, attendance grows, premium seating and hospitality gain value, and clubs gain much more commercial flexibility.
If you were to take the media deal out of the NBA — or even cut it in half — you’d go from organizations that are highly profitable to organizations suddenly operating at a significant loss. It doesn’t take much to shift the balance from profitable to unprofitable, or the other way around, which is why media rights are such a critical factor.”
Rizzetta also believes European consumer habits could ultimately work in basketball’s favor.
“I also think there’s a major cultural difference between Europe and the United States when it comes to consuming sports content. In Italy, for example, people are already used to paying for sports packages. In the US, historically, most NBA games have been available through basic cable or broader streaming platforms. European audiences are generally more comfortable paying directly for premium sports content, and I think that could become a major advantage for basketball here.”
Rizzetta also addressed recent examples, such as BKT EuroCup winners JL Bourg weighing whether to join the EuroLeague, as a reflection of broader structural challenges in European basketball.
“That’s something that’s going to have to change. We’ve seen similar situations in Italy, where clubs declined European competitions because they wanted to focus on domestic basketball or avoid additional expenses. I think that’s an issue that needs to be addressed. If you look at European football, clubs like SSC Napoli have become extremely successful financially in large part because of Champions League revenue and prize money. That’s something the EuroLeague and top European basketball competitions have to study carefully.”
At the same time, Rizzetta acknowledged that European competitions still present a difficult short-term financial equation for many clubs.
“For us, the goal is to get into one of the European competitions next season. But right now, those competitions don’t necessarily bring immediate financial return. In many ways, they’re more about prestige and credibility. If you look at it purely from a short-term financial perspective, it’s difficult to justify some of those investments. The difference is that we’re looking at this as a five-, ten-, fifteen-year project. We believe we can eventually be sitting on a very valuable and mature European sports business. But if your horizon is only two or three years, and you’re investing millions without immediate return, I can understand why some organizations hesitate.”
Speaking about Napoli’s relationship with the EuroLeague, Rizzetta revealed that the conversations are ongoing and expected to continue after the Final Four in Athens.
“We have a great relationship with both the EuroLeague and the NBA, and we’ve had meetings with executives at the highest level of both organizations. We’re actually planning to host EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno and his team in Naples right after the Final Four in Athens, so we’re excited about continuing those conversations.”
Discussing the NBA’s interest in Europe, Rizzetta explained why Napoli believes it can position itself alongside Italy’s biggest markets.
“The discussions with the NBA have also been very productive. The NBA identified a number of priority European markets, including Rome and Milan in Italy, and our goal has been to show that Naples is not inferior to either of those cities — that it can absolutely stand on its own as an NBA-caliber market. Naples is the third-largest city in Italy, and if you include the metro area and the Amalfi Coast, you’re talking about close to four million people. There’s enormous investment flowing into the city right now, probably more than anywhere else in Italy. Naples won the bid for the America’s Cup, it’s the European Capital of Sport this year, Formula 1 is rumored to be coming here, and global luxury brands like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis are investing heavily in the region. It’s also the youngest major city demographically in Italy.”
Rizzetta also believes Naples has a unique advantage when it comes to the potential American audience.
“One thing that really differentiates Naples is the American audience. There are more than 20 million Italian-Americans in the United States, and the vast majority of them have roots in southern Italy, not Milan or northern Italy. For the NBA, which is exploring expansion into Europe, that creates a built-in audience and fan base that could naturally connect with a Naples-based team. I think that’s a really unique differentiator that very few other cities can offer.”
Speaking about Napoli’s EuroLeague ambitions, Rizzetta revealed that the club has already taken formal steps in the expansion process.
“We hosted the EuroLeague in Naples earlier this year, back when Paulius Motiejūnas was still the CEO, and we had really productive conversations about what a potential long-term expansion into the competition could look like. We had already done a lot of groundwork with the previous management regarding timing, infrastructure and how the overall project would fit into the future of the league.
After Chus Bueno became CEO, we were invited to participate in the expansion franchise process and formally submitted our interest. Our acceptance as a potential expansion team was approved by the EuroLeague board. Obviously, there’s still a formal process ahead in terms of bids and structure, but the important thing is that we now have a seat at the table.”
Rizzetta also emphasized that the planned arena project is central to Napoli’s long-term ambitions.
“A major part of the project is the new arena we’re planning to open around the 2028–29 season. The vision is for it to become one of the premier basketball arenas in Europe, and when we were speaking with the EuroLeague, everything was being built around the possibility of entering the competition as the arena project comes together.”
At the same time, Napoli continues to monitor the evolving European basketball landscape, including ongoing NBA discussions.
“We’re also having productive conversations with the NBA, so hopefully over the next few years we can put ourselves in a position where we’ll have a very exciting – and probably difficult – decision to make about competing at the highest level of European basketball.”
Looking at the broader picture, Rizzetta believes cooperation between major leagues is the logical path forward.
“Look, I think logically it makes sense for there to be some sort of partnership, whether it’s a legal partnership through a merger, a joint venture, or something less formal. I think the two leagues working together is a one-plus-one-equals-three scenario. The sum of the parts in that situation could be incredibly powerful. The EuroLeague already has the brands, the history and a great basketball product. The NBA obviously brings unmatched commercial expertise and global reach. So I think the combination of those strengths could be very strong for European basketball.
But, like anything else, there are a lot of dynamics involved — relationships, numbers, structure. The stars have to align. Hopefully this is the right moment, especially with Chus having an NBA background. I don’t want to speculate too much on what’s going to happen, but if it’s good for European basketball, it’s good for everybody involved — the fans, the players, the coaches, the teams and, in our case, the owners. I think some form of NBA-EuroLeague partnership would ultimately be very positive for the sport in Europe.”
He also addressed reports linking Shaquille O’Neal to the project.
“Shaq is a good friend of ours and our group. We actually had the pleasure of hosting his uncle and his business manager last year when we first kicked the project off. There’s nothing official at this point. I believe Shaq is also potentially involved with one of the NBA’s US expansion teams, so I think that has created more of a wait-and-see situation than anything else. There’s really nothing official for us to report other than the fact that he’s a friend of the group, and we had a great time hosting his uncle last year. I also think Naples would be the perfect city for him. If there’s ever an opportunity, we would certainly welcome him with open arms.”
Asked which players he would one day love to see wearing a Napoli Basket jersey, Rizzetta preferred not to mention names and instead pointed to the structure the club has built on the basketball side.
“Look, on the player side, I leave that to our GM, James Laughlin, who we recruited from the NBA. He was with the New Orleans Pelicans, and before that he won two championships with the Golden State Warriors. I don’t pretend to know the first thing about the sporting side, so I let him handle that.”
Rizzetta also pointed to SSC Napoli as a major source of inspiration for the basketball project.
“We take a lot of inspiration from what the De Laurentiis family did with Napoli football. They bought the club in 2004, basically out of bankruptcy and down in the third tier of Italian football, and over the span of twenty years they turned it into a major global brand and one of the most valuable football brands in Europe.”
For Rizzetta, the rise of Napoli football serves as proof that long-term patience and structure can eventually transform a club’s global profile.
“If you had told somebody twenty years ago that Napoli would become a perennial Champions League contender, one of the most financially successful football clubs in Europe, and that people would be walking around New York, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo or Buenos Aires wearing Napoli shirts, they probably would’ve thought you were crazy in 2004.
But that’s exactly what happened, and it didn’t happen overnight. They did it methodically, step by step. They had a very clear long-term plan and a very clear set of values, and that’s exactly the kind of approach we’re trying to follow ourselves. We’re trying to think about this project in a much more long-term way, and that’s ultimately the goal.”
In closing, he returned to the core identity behind the investment.
“Our larger holding company is called Underdog Global Partners, and we like to invest in the underdog. I think that was one of the things that really attracted us to Naples and Napoli. It’s a major European city, a massive and important city that’s growing at an incredible rate, but the roots, ethos and fabric of the community still very much reflect an underdog mentality. There’s grit, there’s scrappiness, and the people here are incredibly warm and hospitable. They’ll give you the shirt off their back.
One of the traditions here is what they call caffè sospeso. Somebody buys a coffee and leaves money behind for the next person — basically donating a coffee to whoever comes after them. That’s just the generosity, warmth and fabric of the people in this city. When you know you represent a community that has heart, passion and soul, it motivates you to dream bigger and go the extra mile for them. That’s something we’re really trying to commit ourselves to doing. It’s honestly an honor to represent these people — not just the people in Naples, but people from Napoli living all over the world. It’s truly a global community, and we’re very proud to be helping steer the ship for them.”