{"id":721296,"date":"2026-06-07T15:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T15:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/721296\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T15:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T15:50:11","slug":"euroleague-nba-and-fiba-to-hold-advanced-discussions-on-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/721296\/","title":{"rendered":"EuroLeague, NBA and FIBA to hold advanced discussions on Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno said Friday he will meet with the NBA and FIBA on Wednesday to see if they can avoid the \u201cfragmentation and friction\u201d of dueling leagues on one continent and perhaps carve out a partnership or quasi-merger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to find out what makes sense for everyone, you know?\u201d Bueno told EuropHoops in a wide-ranging interview<\/a>. \u201cBut if we\u2019re both all in to get a deal, we need to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

With NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum saying before the NBA Finals began that final NBA Europe bids are due by the end of June \u2014 while insinuating EuroLeague clubs would need successful bids of between $500 million and $1B to earn a permanent spot \u2014 there seems to be more urgency than ever to collaborate.<\/p>\n

Bueno \u2014 formerly the NBA\u2019s VP of Business Operations for Europe, Middle East, and Africa and the Managing Director of NBA Spain \u2014 told EuroHoops that he has a significant week ahead: an early-week informational get-together with NBA Europe Managing Director George Aivazoglou, an ensuing meeting Tuesday to update the EuroLeague Board and then the session with the NBA and FIBA to \u201csee if we can advance in some conversations.\u201d <\/p>\n

The NBA has already said it will move forward with its 16-team European venture with or without EuroLeague. And Bueno said EuroLeague has its own business strategy minus NBA Europe, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, we need to clarify their position and bring it to the EuroLeague board,\u201d Bueno told EuroHoops. \u201cWhat is the framework? What should we put on the table? What do we want to discuss? Then get a reaction from the board and take it to the meeting on [Wednesday].<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both know that fragmentation and friction are not good news. We both say it. … I think that we both are doing what we have to do, and we are exploring both avenues in parallel.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the surface, the issues are money and legacy. Bueno did not deny the premise \u2014 posed by EuroHoops \u2014that EuroLeague would prefer all 13 of its teams be part of a \u201cunified negotiation\u201d with the NBA. And that if a team such as Real Madrid wants to opt in, the NBA should actually pay Real Madrid an entry fee for its credibility across the continent, instead of vice versa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I tend to agree with that comment,\u201d Bueno said. \u201cBut what I would say is that we all understand that if an investor wants to participate in whatever league, not just in the NBA, in every single league, an investor has to invest money because that\u2019s what they do, right? But for a team, it\u2019s different. A team like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, or Olympiacos is bringing the IP, the fan base, the 100 years of history, the tradition and the city. They already \u2018own\u2019 their cities, and that needs to be taken into account.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it\u2019s really hard to see something successful without having the [EuroLeague] clubs, and we\u2019re talking about having all the clubs in the league. We don\u2019t want to create more fragmentation. We still need to see, like, this is the plan, let\u2019s try to do this, and this is how it\u2019s going to work. I\u2019m still waiting to see that, but I will agree with that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NBA has said repeatedly its European league will consist of either existing basketball clubs, existing soccer brands (ie. Man City) interested in launching basketball franchises or independent startups. So if 13 EuroLeague teams did arrive en masse, it\u2019s unclear if they would alter their blueprint. <\/p>\n

Tatum conceded<\/a> an NBA Europe without EuroLeague participation \u201cwould not be ideal, obviously, but\u2026 we continue to pursue a constructive, collaborative and aligned outcome across the entire European ecosystem. We\u2019ve been consistent in that, in believing that all parties should align here for the best interest of basketball.”<\/p>\n

The sense is that EuroLeague would benefit exponentially from the NBA\u2019s name brand, considering Eurohoops has reported Real Madrid at one point was estimating a \u20ac38M (US$44.2M) financial loss in 2025-26, its biggest deficit ever. Few have the promotional prowess of the NBA, and Tatum told international journalists that NBA Europe will have \u201cone of the largest marketing campaigns\u2026not just in sports but of any consumer brand period.” Bueno is cognizant of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they are finally coming, we want to maximize the opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cI keep saying the same thing from day one. And we want to see what they will do, so it can be better, and then how we can partner to make it even better. And if that makes sense, of course, we will be open to doing it, but it has to make sense for us. And that is what we need to find out. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut our position is that we are a reality. We already exist, we already have the league, we already have teams. We\u2019re doing well, we\u2019re going to do better. So there\u2019s no risk in the EuroLeague. At the same time, we also want to be open. And they know we are open. But it has to make sense. … To me, the execution is critical. If you fragment all of this, the market will not respond to that. And the market is going to determine the final winner or loser here, in whatever idea we present. The market is the market; you don\u2019t own the market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno said Friday he will meet with the NBA and FIBA on Wednesday to see…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-721296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}