Is NBA Europe finally becoming a reality and will there be a new global league formed?
There is something going on in the basketball industry. National Basketball Association representatives will be meeting in Paris, France to discuss the creation of an NBA Europe circuit. Meanwhile, LeBron James’ friend and business partner Maverick Carter is advising investors who are looking to create an international basketball league that could play games in eight cities around the world, according to Bloomberg. The proposed league would have six men’s teams and six women’s teams and play its games over two-week stretches in each city. The proposed league could follow Formula 1 auto racing’s continent to continent business model. Challenging the NBA as a rival league could be a daunting task. The last challenger to the NBA was the American Basketball Association which announced its plans on February 2nd, 1967. The ABA did get off the ground and did change the NBA eventually before folding in 1976. The NBA All-Star Weekend originated with the ABA with a slam dunk contest and entertainment in Denver in 1976.
More than two decades ago, the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association David Stern was pitching an idea that the league was interested in placing teams in various cities in Europe but Europe just did not have the kind of North American style arenas that would generate massive amounts of revenue. Stern’s plan never had any legs and Europe would only see an NBA game in the pre-season or one game during the regular season. Two decades later, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his staff apparently are revisiting Stern’s old plan and looking to establish something in Europe. There are basketball leagues throughout Europe so Silver has to approach the proposal gently, he wants an NBA presence in Europe but there are some really popular teams in Europe that he doesn’t want to upset. The business of basketball may be changing soon.
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