Unicaja President Antonio Nieto spoke about the project NBA Europe, which, according to preliminary plans, could start as early as October 2027, and noted that his club will try to get into the tournament through participation in the national league or the Champions League.

“We will never be an NBA franchise. These franchises will be located in very big cities, so that’s their idea; cities like Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Istanbul, London, Paris… These are the teams that will create 12 permanent franchises and they say that they will have to pay about 500 million over 10 years for a television contract. Then there are 4 places that other teams participating in the Champions League or domestic leagues can enter every year and take one of these 4 places. Our goal is, as they say – Although I do not know all the rules Unlike the Euroleague, if we play one year in the NBA, the income will be similar or close to what the team owners get.

I don’t know who will leave or what transitions will occur. However, I think it would be a mistake for both leagues to exist at the same time. Clear and stable agreements are needed to bring basketball into order, as it is now the most unregulated of all sports. There cannot be 4-5 European competitions. People have a hard time understanding this, their interests diverge, players focus too much on the matches, injuries happen too often. And it is difficult to gather spectators in halls where there are so many matches. Economically this is unprofitable, this is absurd.

This is a matter of ego, and all parties need to come to the table and use common sense to create a logical system with one major league with economic control and real profits. A second strong league could provide an opportunity to enter NBA Europe, Euroleague or whatever it is called. “This would make sense and create a more coherent map of European basketball.”

Previously, the owner of the Euroleague club criticized the NBA Europe project.