Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Rome, London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Berlin, Munich, Athens and Istanbul. The NBA has named the 12 cities where it intends to have a permanent team in the new competition it intends to promote in Europe starting in October 2027. This is at least the list of possible locations that George Aivazoglou, NBA general director for Europe and the Middle East, mentioned in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Among this dozen representatives there are, according to the manager, the two greats of Spanish basketball. Neither of the two, neither Real Madrid nor Barça, have yet ensured their future continuity in the Euroleague, the European competition in which they participate, nor have they officially declared their plans to embrace or not the next continental NBA. The American League’s plans also include granting another entry ticket to its tournament to the winner of the Champions League, organized by FIBA, and three more passages in the national leagues, to complete the group of 16 teams with which it wants to start its adventure.
The big Greek (Olympiacos and Panathinaikos) and Turkish (Fenerbahçe and Efes), as well as Partizan Belgrade and Red Star, do not seem close to the NBA project for now. Meanwhile, the positions between the American giant and the Euroleague are very distant regarding a possible agreement to join forces and not divide European basketball. This was stated by Paulius Motiejunas, general director of the Euroleague, in a recent interview with EL PAÍS. “There’s a lot of frustration on our part because whatever proposal we put forward, it doesn’t seem like they’re willing to take any steps forward. Even if I say we’re talking, there’s not much progress because they’re following their plan. I want to be confident in an agreement, but I also doubt that it will happen.”
