FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis spoke about NBA Europe during his end-of-year press conference. It should be launched in October 2027, with a qualifying phase the previous summer.
Long considered a sea serpent, the NBA Europe project is starting to seriously take shape. If all goes well, the competition will even be launched in less than two years, which seems quite a challenge, because some expected teams, like PSG and Manchester City, do not yet have a basketball section. FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis gave his traditional end-of-year press conference this Tuesday, and the subject of NBA Europe was obviously raised.
“We of course need approvals from the respective governing bodies of the NBA and FIBA. I firmly believe that October 2027 is a realistic goal. It is also an ideal way to end in style in Doha, with full confidence in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and to begin a new project that will positively shape the landscape of club basketball in Europe,” he said.
A “June Madness” to qualify teams?
Initially, NBA Europe should include sixteen teams: twelve with a permanent license and four who have managed to qualify. One or more tickets will be awarded thanks to performances during the Champions League (a competition placed under the aegis of FIBA, unlike the Euroleague and the Eurocup), and the others could be issued after a qualifying tournament in June.
“In an ideal world, we could imagine a “June Madness”, based on the model of March Madness in the NCAA (the American university tournament). But we are still working on how it can work, so that teams know in advance where they will play the following season and can budget accordingly. » According to the latest rumors, the twelve cities which will have a permanent team in NBA Europe are Istanbul (with Galatasaray SK), London, Manchester, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Munich, Athens, Paris and Lyon.
