FIBA Europe Cup Puns

NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke to the Italian newspaper 'Il Corriere della Sera' and gave some updates about the potential collaboration on a new European league with FIBA and EuroLeague.

> "With EuroLeague, we already played several preseason games with their teams. We gladly agreed to the invitation for a common table: the goal is not to take over Europe but to work together to improve the basketball environment of the continent. We can't wait to resume the talks", Silver said to the Italian newspaper.

Full article with more quotes.

Do you think NBA interference would help EuroLeague and European basketball?

With all the talk over a Midseason Tournament over the few days, I thought I would float around something that would be closer to what we see in soccer.

A two week, 16 team, International, professional basketball tournament consisting of group play and knockout rounds. Stay with me here. Before I dive into the specifics, I do know there is a talent gap between the NBA and other foreign leagues, and will address that at the end.

As far as it pertains to the proposed tournament, this is what it looks like:

No. of Teams: 16 (6 NBA Teams, 4 Euroleague Teams, 2 FIBA Asia Teams, 2 FIBA Oceania Team, 1 FIBA Africa Team, and 1 FIBA America Team (Non-NBA).

This provides a wide range of representation for professional Basketball leagues across world, while also being about to draw global interest into this product. This will be an important as FIBA and the NBA try to market this for media rights.

Locations: An Entire Country, rotating every year.

The goal is to market this tournament as a large Global event to foreign audiences, but you also want to provide incentives for players to participate. One of the biggest draws of Olympic and FIBA basketball for NBA players is the opportunity for Global marketing and endorsement deals. Players can make potentially millions of dollars being able to market to a new country or endorse a foreign product. Superstars given a chance in-season to increase their brand exposure is a major benefit, as it's usually something that is limited to the offseason while they are trying to rest and recover.

Tournament Structure: Group Play (4 Groups) consisting of 3 games. Top 2 seeds from each group advance. 8 team single elimination knockout play to follow.

Fairly simple. Follows the template set but most international team competitions.

Style of Play: FIBA Rules

This will be somewhat of an equalizer. NBA players often struggle to adapt quickly to the FIBA style of rules. They are shorting games, with a closer 3 point line, and more physical style of play. Fouls that normally get called in the NBA won't get called in FIBA competition. The pace of play is generally much slower and the court often feels much more crowded. This means that team play is often more successful than the isolationist style of play you see in the NBA regular season. Also, with no defensive 3 seconds, teams with larger players can really cause difficulties in the paint.

**Player Incentives: Progressively increasing pool of mone

Date: Sunday November 28th, 2021

Tip Off: 4:00 pm (EST)

Venue: Palacio de los Deportes (Santo Domingo, DOM)

###GROUP C

###MEDIA:

Canadian TV:

• FIBA Canada Basketball: SPORTSNET @ 4:00pm (EST)

###BOXSCORES:

FIBA Basketball - 1st Round - Group C

###TEAM CANADA ROSTER:

Time: 3:30 PM MST

Location: Gimnasio Manuel Bernardo Aguirre, Chihuahua City

Watch: LiveBasketball.tv or Twitch

Edited to eliminate ambiguity on how to watch

Date: Monday November 29th, 2021

Tip Off: 4:00 pm (EST)

Venue: Palacio de los Deportes (Santo Domingo, DOM)

###GROUP C

###MEDIA:

Canadian TV:

FIBA Canada Basketball: SPORTSNET @ 4:00pm (EST) (EST)

###BOXSCORES:

FIBA Basketball - 1st Round - Group C

###TEAM CANADA ROSTER:

Location: Gimnasio Manuel Bernardo Aguirre, Chihuahua City

Time: 7:00 PM MST

Watch: Livebasketball.tv or Twitch (United States)/ Fox Sports Mexico (Mexico)