Sport · Singapore Bureau
European basketball clubs must engage with NBA, says Panathinaikos chief
A prominent European basketball club owner has called for compromise with the NBA following the rejection of a new continental competition proposal. The remarks come as Europe's top teams navigate their relationship with the American league.
LSN Singapore ·
Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos has urged Europe's leading basketball clubs to seek a workable arrangement with the NBA rather than maintain an adversarial stance. Speaking in Berlin on Wednesday, Giannakopoulos suggested that cooperation with the US league would be preferable to continued conflict.
His comments followed the rejection by major European clubs of a proposal from the NBA to establish a new continental competition. The proposal had been put forward as a way to expand the American league's reach into European basketball but failed to gain sufficient backing from the continent's elite teams.
The NBA has long sought to strengthen its presence in Europe, home to several prominent basketball markets. However, European clubs have traditionally jealously guarded their autonomy and the integrity of established competitions such as the EuroLeague.
Giannakopoulos's intervention suggests growing pragmatism within European basketball regarding the inevitability of some engagement with the NBA. His call for dialogue indicates that at least some major stakeholders believe reconciliation between American and European interests is both possible and necessary for the sport's continued growth.