Adam SILVER: “It is very important to respect the traditions of European basketball”

NBA Commissioner Adem Gümüş We talked about communicating with the players about the traditions of European basketball and their advice on the project NBA Europe:

“I can only say that I completely agree with Franz. [Вагнером] and other European NBA players with whom I have directly interacted. I recently talked to Luka Doncic about this league and I think it is critical to respect the traditions of European basketball.

Now many players come to us and give advice, many of them were developed in youth programs or, for example, Luka [Дончич] great example. He played for Real Madrid and is very familiar with the system there. As I said, we listen to advice no matter where it comes from.

There are also American players who played in Europe for a while before coming to the NBA. So I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from people saying, “Here’s my idea, I see opportunity here.”

The level of competition in European basketball is fantastic, and of course some of our best NBA players have come from Europe. The Wagner brothers are great examples of this. And five of the last seven MVPs were European players.

It is also worth noting that our partner in this initiative is of course FIBA, a European organization. We try to find the best combination of old and new, tradition and innovation. And I believe that’s what the NBA has to offer.

“I also think it is important that we have FIBA ​​as our partners, as well as existing basketball organizations that understand the culture, traditions, history and unique characteristics of European basketball.”