NBA Europe is a project that could soon become a reality, with Milan potentially involved.
The world’s most prominent professional basketball league wants to expand its brand into Europe, also by partnering with some of the continent’s biggest football clubs.
It is no coincidence that The Athletic highlighted the active presence of two senior NBA executives at the General Assembly of the EFC (European Football Clubs), which is being held in Copenhagen these days.
NBA meets the clubs: Milan are involved
The Athletic has provided further insight into the situation. Representing the NBA in Denmark this week are Mark Tatum, the league’s Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner Adam Silver’s right-hand man when it comes to business outside the United States, and George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s Senior Vice President.
Yesterday, following a speech by Tatum and a contribution from Nasser Al-Khelaifi, EFC president and the driving force behind the project on the Paris Saint-Germain side, the two NBA executives held talks with representatives of the clubs most interested in the project.
Milan are among them. Under Gerry Cardinale and RedBird, the Rossoneri have long shown interest in this major opportunity. PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also involved. The French club and Milan are the only two of the clubs mentioned that do not already have a basketball team.
"Obviously, Tatum would not have been invited here if the talks with the football clubs were not heading in the right direction," an executive from one of the five clubs told The Athletic.
Tatum's vision
During his speech, Mark Tatum outlined the key aspects of the NBA Europe project and its commercial and branding rationale.
As reported by The Athletic, the NBA Deputy Commissioner mainly spoke about the importance of making basketball more visible in some of Europe’s wealthiest countries.
The idea, as previously reported, is for the league to initially feature 12 franchises based in 12 major European cities: London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, Madrid, Athens, Barcelona, Manchester and Lyon. A further four teams would then be added through invitations.
Another key issue is arenas and basketball venues, which are currently considered inadequate in Europe compared with American standards. Significant construction projects are therefore expected, potentially generating substantial economic returns.
NBA-Euroleague meeting
There will be another important meeting next week. As confirmed by Real Madrid basketball sporting director Juan Carlos Sánchez to RealmadridTV, EuroLeague clubs will meet on Lake Como on 5 October to discuss the future of European basketball, as relayed via Calcio Mercato.
An acquisition offer from the NBA itself is also on the table, as confirmed by Commissioner Adam Silver following the Board of Governors meeting held in New York in mid-September.
“We discussed the negotiations with EuroLeague and I think we are making progress. We believe NBA Europe would be strengthened by a union with EuroLeague. It doesn’t necessarily have to happen, but it would be better for everyone to have a united front in Europe. There will be announcements in the coming months, the conversations are moving quickly. For us, NBA Europe is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Redbird, Varese and Gallinari...
Developments on the EuroLeague front are therefore eagerly awaited, with RedBird already at the forefront of the new NBA league project.
Gerry Cardinale, head of the fund and owner of Milan, has made no secret of his interest. This summer, RedBird had already essentially finalised a partnership with Pallacanestro Varese.
The idea would be to create a new team that would be called neither “AC Milan Basketball” nor “Pallacanestro Varese”, but instead given a name, to be decided with Luis Scola, that would refer more broadly to northern Italy.
Under the partnership, Pallacanestro Varese could retain its traditional name in the domestic league and continue playing regularly in Varese. For NBA Europe games, however, the team would use its new name and move to San Donato, where Cardinale would build an arena on land acquired by Milan for their original stadium project, which subsequently shifted towards the San Siro area.
Italian basketball legend and NBA veteran Danilo Gallinari could also play an important role as an adviser in the project.
The former Olimpia Milano player explained in an interview with 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' in June: "Through the NBA, I came into contact with RedBird, one of the groups interested in bringing an NBA Europe franchise to Milan. For months, I have been trying to understand how I could be involved in this project, which I think could be fantastic."
Gallinari then elaborated: "My role is yet to be defined, but I would like to be more than a passive investor. I would like my voice to be heard. We would need to find a solution that would allow me to help from a distance, because my family and my life are now in Miami and I do not plan to move back to Italy."
