By Aris Barkas/ Barkas@eurohoops.net
With EuroLeague ready to expand and NBA Europe gearing up towards a 2027 tipoff, a possible collaboration of the two sides remains on the table.
According to EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno everything is possible at this point, including two basketball leagues competing each other for supremacy in the European market.
“If we don’t get a deal in Europe, we’re going to compete in Europe … that’s the discussion that we had internally, and if we have to, we’re ready,” Bueno said to Reuters.
“It has to be a partnership that works for both of us, not just for one of us,” he added.
“We know the NBA can help operate things so we should follow the NBA and they should follow the local IPs of clubs because they’ve been on the ground for 100 years and they can bring also a lot to the table for the NBA.”
The benefits of a collaboration are obvious as Bueno elaborated: “If you have two leagues … this is going to create fragmentation of the value, institutionally but also commercially, in media rights, fan attendance.”
Still both sides are also ready to go on their seperate ways.
As Bueno explained: “We both said that if we don’t have a deal, we have to keep going with our plans. So, as you know, they keep going through the process, and I keep going with my plan.”
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