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George Aivazoglou, the managing director for NBA Europe and the Middle East, has revisited the forecasts for the impending launch of a new league in Europe, commonly referred to as NBA Europe.
During a recent discussion, which encompassed an interview with The New York Times, the Greek executive reaffirmed most of the earlier public estimates and elaborated to L’Equipe on the potential entry of Serbian clubs into NBA Europe.
“No market is off-limits. If your team excels, you have the chance to qualify,” he stated to Yann Ohnona when asked whether certain European markets might be excluded from the initial plans.
“If a few teams aren’t part of the launch, it’s primarily because we’re starting with 16 franchises. However, I can easily envision that figure expanding, allowing additional teams to join later,” he explained, confirming that 16 teams would be the initial framework for the league while specifically addressing the status of Serbian teams.
Aivazoglou highlighted the growing enthusiasm surrounding NBA Europe, emphasizing its significance.
“The feedback has been phenomenal,” he remarked. “Teams, investors, media representatives, and political leaders recognize the unifying strength of sports, especially in times of division and conflict, along with its beneficial economic influence on a city or country. They perceive this as both a European and a local opportunity.”
“The momentum is tremendous,” he added, “We’re at a pivotal moment.”
Looking ahead to the 2027 launch with 16 teams, he also shared insights about the competition structure.
“The straightforward approach is a round-robin format, where each team competes against all others, followed by playoffs and finals, likely adhering to European regulations, since teams will still participate in their domestic leagues,” he outlined as the most probable format.
Additionally, Aivazoglou addressed the ongoing relationship with Euroleague Basketball.
“We had a meeting in May that was quite fruitful. Paulius Motiejunas, the CEO of Euroleague Basketball, was in Abu Dhabi during the NBA preseason games, and we had discussions then. We plan to reconvene next week in Geneva,” he revealed. “We share common values and have come to a similar understanding regarding the challenges facing European basketball, the barriers to resolution, and the future prospects.”
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