Euroleague CEO Paulijus Motiejunas spoke about the NBA's plans and the project being prepared in Europe, noting that he is quite skeptical about these announcements.
Motiejunas said that big announcements do not mean success on the Old Continent, and added that he had only heard ambitious ideas, but that implementation was something entirely different.
"So far we've only heard the plan about how great everything will be and how much potential there is. But one thing is theory, another is that it actually works. We've been here for 26 years. We know how Europe works," Motiejunas told the AP.
The NBA, in collaboration with FIBA, is working on launching a new European league, which is scheduled to start in October 2027. Therefore, in recent days, attention has been focused on the three Euroleague shareholder clubs that have not yet renewed their long-term licenses - Real Madrid, Fenerbahçe and ASVEL. Barcelona, in the meantime, announced that it will extend its contract with the Euroleague for another ten years.
"It's a big deal, of course. Barcelona is an extremely important brand and we're glad they've committed. Contracts can be terminated, but that involves certain legal steps. Also, there's no NBA exit clause in the existing contracts," Motiejunas added.
He hopes all clubs will remain in the Euroleague,
"The NBA has been announcing something for a year, but there's still nothing tangible. As business people, club owners are starting to realize that the 'we'll announce later' story is constantly being repeated. And 2027 is practically around the corner," Motiejunas concluded.
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