By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
In the traditional end-of-year video conference, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis discussed everything related to the International Basketball Federation and, of course, the NBA Europe project.
He insisted there are no doubts about it happening and even shared a realistic timeline for when the competition could begin.
“We need approvals from the NBA and the FIBA Central Board, but I believe October 2027 is a realistic target. It would be an ideal way to close the curtain in Doha and move into a new project that will positively shape the European club basketball landscape,” Zagklis said.
So, how will the next Basketball Champions League season look, given that NBA Europe is expected to launch in October 2027? Will it serve as a pathway to the new competition?
“I think the BCL has shown what it can do — a very, very high level of quality in delivering events. Things were already going very well for the BCL, and getting better every year. Now, whether that means it will also qualify at a higher level depends on how things evolve.”
He insisted that the NBA and FIBA are working together and are in a partnership regarding a new competition.
“I will not call this an NBA competition, because, as we have said, FIBA will be part of it. We need to be clear, as it was announced, this would be a partnership. It will not be an NBA competition. It will be a competition that will be operated, to a large extent, by the NBA, but I want ot underline that FIBA’s role is not only to give its blessing to competitions. FIBA’s role is to operate and has been operating club competitions since the ‘50s.”
Zagklis also touched on a conversation with EuroLeague, mentioning also a “lost opportunity” in the Spring of 2024 for all to work together: “FIBA doesn’t forget its role as the governing body, trying to bring everyone together. So even if I am naive, I am not losing hope. We had good conversations with the ECA — for the first time since 2022/23, there is no overlap between the EuroLeague and the international windows.”
Italian, Lithuanian, and Greek politicians raised concerns about NBA Europe, which, according to Andreas Zagklis, are not justified.
“I urge everyone to look at the facts. And the facts are pretty clear. What is being designed is much more compatible with the European sports model and the FIBA criteria than what we’ve had over the last many years,” Zagklis said, “FIBA is not obsessed with control, but with structure and a clear pathway. We need to communicate and keep everyone informed, working toward a model that aligns with European basketball.”
FIBA Secretary General commented on the risks of further dividing European basketball with two rival leagues, the NBA Europe and EuroLeague operating at the same time: “I think we are already fragmented, so I don’t see a risk of additional fragmentation. The fact that we didn’t manage to reach an agreement ten years ago, when the BCL was created, speaks to that. So I’m not worried about the idea of one more competition, because we need an event that will allow us to bring everything under the same roof.”
He emphasized that FIBA wants to keep things simple.
“FIBA has been fighting for a very simple competition structure — one, two, or three levels. And we were sued for that. We were sued by our top European clubs, by ECA, who claimed we were defending a monopoly — meaning fragmentation is good because this is business. FIBA complied. FIBA said, ‘Very well.’ I don’t accept that someone who wanted open competition now wants to say that we have to protect our tradition. So I don’t understand why we have to accept the monopoly of someone else, but I have to say that we want to bring everyone together”.