Adam Silver is in Paris with his family to follow the Olympic Games, but the big boss of the NBA is only here for the holidays. According to APSilver is in France to discuss with the FIBA of a rapprochement that could take the form of an annual tournament and/or the creation of a championship. Why not on the model of the BAL, the league created in Africa.
“The discussions are much more serious but we have clearly not made any final decisions. We want to be sure that we seize the opportunity that is offered to us. We will take the necessary time before deciding to move forward with any initiative,” warns Silver. “I still think there’s a huge opportunity. It’s not about changing the structure of a league in the short term. But I think our team owners want to invest more in global basketball. We have a huge initiative in China. We have a huge initiative in Africa. Given the quality of basketball in Europe, it would make sense for us to do something here as well.”
Too many European teams are losing money
However, Silver warns that the goal is not to break what exists. Perhaps the NBA can help FIBA to overshadow the Euroleague, whose league is the reference on the Old Continent. “We clearly don't want to damage the solid backbone of the basketball infrastructure that's in place,” continues Silver. “On the other hand, in terms of regional and extra-regional competition in Europe, I feel – and again, I’m still studying this – that a lot of investors are losing significant amounts of money every year. And while it’s not just about money, most things that continue to lose money without a trajectory to profitability ultimately don’t survive. So whatever we do here, I think it’s important that it adds to the structure of European basketball.”
For the NBA commissioner, this possible partnership with FIBA is only the logical continuation of the emergence of the NBA. “When we first played a preseason game in France, there were no French players in the NBA. Today, there are 14, including the last two No. 1 picks in the draft. This is a great example of the development we're seeing here.”
