Potential teams: Part 1

A commercial issue for European basketball is that many of the sport’s hotbeds : Lithuania, Greece, The Balkans are also some of the continent’s less affluent regions.

For its new European league the NBA intends to follow the money and it looks as if 10 of the 12 permanent clubs will be based in Europe’s five biggest markets: Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.

Here is what we know so far:

Spain

Not surprisingly, the two teams being touted for the Spanish market are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Both clubs are global brands and have well established basketball arms, with two of the highest budgets in Euroleague.

In the past Real’s President Florentino Perez has even advocated for his club to become a member of the NBA’s Eastern Conference: Florentino Perez talks up Real Madrid NBA move – SportsPro he was rebuffed but the lines of communication between Real & the NBA have remained open.

One small sticking point could be FC Barcelona’s arena. At less than 8k capacity the Palau Blaugrana is one of the smallest in Euroleague. A “Nou Palau Blaugrana” was planned as part of the new “Nou Camp” stadium complex, but the football club’s financial difficulties mean that the project is currently on hold: Palau Blaugrana: the problems of Espai Barça’s little brother

France

ASVEL Lyon are strong contenders for NBA Europe. Their President Tony Parker has deep NBA connections and he has been heavily involved in discussions between the league and FIBA. ASVEL moved into a new modern arena last year, though recent financial struggles maybe a factor as to why the club are so open to joining NBA Europe: Tony Parker addresses ASVEL finances, NBA’s future in Europe – Basketnews.com

The other French club will be in Paris. The city has seen the recent rapid rise of Paris Basketball, led by former Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn. Last year the club won the Eurocup (Euroleague’s 2nd tier competition) and have kept up the momentum with a strong first season in Euroleague.

But the NBA has other ideas for Paris and have been engaged in discussions with Paris Saint-Germain football club and their owners from the Qatar Sports Investment Fund: « Nous avons exprimé un intérêt » : la NBA a approché l’actionnaire du PSG pour lancer une franchise à Paris – Le Parisien

So it seems that despite Paris Basketball’s success the NBA is looking for a team with deeper pockets in the French capital.

United Kingdom

With that thought in mind, the football club in the UK being closely linked with NBA Europe is the mega rich Manchester City. The club have an NBA standard venue in the newly opened Co-op Live Arena and the NBA already has an association with City’s Abu Dhabi ownership team, a connection that has led to NBA pre-season games in the UAE capital: Inside the growing mutual interest between Abu Dhabi and the NBA – ESPN

London will also be a likely destination for NBA Europe. The level of basketball in the UK is the weakest of the major European markets, but like Paris there has been an emerging team in London. Their pro-basketball club the Lions had also been competing in Eurocup before their owners 777 Partners went bust last summer. Saved from extinction by Lithuanian tech mogul Tomas Okmanas the club once again has big ambitions with new arena plans: London Lions plans ‘world-class’ basketball stadium in capital – BBC News

Whether those plans are big enough to be invited to join NBA Europe. we’ll see.

In Part 2 we’ll look at the prospective teams in Germany & Italy and the other Euroleague clubs who are contenders for a permanent NBA Europe berth.