Unicaja Malaga president Antonio Jesus Lopez Nieto discussed the NBA’s potential entry into Europe, criticizing EuroLeague’s financial model. He proposed a new league merging EuroLeague, BCL, and EuroCup teams, ensuring fairer competition and financial stability.
Unicaja Malaga president Antonio Jesus Lopez Nieto participated in the presentation of the "Guide for Football and Basketball Fans," a project aimed at promoting sports tourism in Malaga.
After the presentation, Lopez Nieto spoke publicly for the first time about the possible arrival of the NBA in Europe in collaboration with FIBA.
The president of the Spanish club is clear that the current EuroLeague system isn't sustainable for teams other than Real Madrid or Barcelona.
"Playing in the Euroleague is an honor, but it entails a complete financial imbalance for most teams," he stated, per MARCA.
He also emphasized that the NBA appears to have a solid plan to establish itself in Europe: "I don't want to get ahead of myself, but the players behind this initiative are very strong."
The Unicaja president outlined a possible solution: the creation of a new league that would bring together the EuroLeague teams left out of the joint NBA-FIBA venture, and the best from the Basketball Champions League (BCL) and the EuroCup. This competition would serve as a gateway to the NBA in Europe.
"It would be a high-level tournament, more balanced, and with a fairer distribution of funds," he asserted.
One of the aspects Lopez Nieto highlighted was the importance of ensuring that competition entry is based on sporting merit and not on invitations, as is the case in the Euroleague.
"From day one, FIBA has raised the possibility of teams gaining entry through sports classification. This would provide an incentive both sports-wise and financially," he explained.
He also noted that under this new structure, teams that participate for a year would have access to financial benefits on equal terms with the rest of the clubs, unlike in the EuroLeague, where the 13 shareholders have significant financial advantages over the others.
"The idea is that if clubs like Real Madrid or FC Barcelona obtain one of the 12 franchise spots, the third or fourth-place team in the ACB League would also have a chance of entering the competition," he explained.
Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.
