With NBA Europe aiming to include two teams from Italy (Rome and Milan) and one from Greece (Athens), we examined the possible cases of Olimpia Milan, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Panathinaikos Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus, and AEK Athens.
Last week, the European basketball world received huge news from George Aivazoglou, NBA Managing Director for Europe and the Middle East, that the American league is working increasingly hard to establish a league on the continent.
The NBA Europe target launch date is October 2027, although it cannot be ruled out at this stage that the official launch of the project may be delayed until 2028.
Twelve cities shortlisted for NBA Europe
But the news that attracted the most attention was Aivazoglou's revelation of the 12 cities that could host teams with permanent spots in the competition.
No. City Country
1. London United Kingdom
2. Manchester United Kingdom
3. Rome Italy
4. Milan Italy
5. Barcelona Spain
6. Madrid Spain
7. Paris France
8. Lyon France
9. Berlin Germany
10. Munich Germany
11. Athens Greece
12. Istanbul Turkiye
While in some cities, such as Madrid or Barcelona, it is relatively easy to anticipate which teams could be involved in the project, in others, such as Rome, Milan, and Athens, the answer may not be so obvious.
The NBA, at least for now, seems to be much more focused on markets and the potential of individual cities rather than on the specific teams that belong to those markets.
Therefore, this type of reasoning could lead to solutions that are less predictable than we can imagine at the moment.
Partnerships with soccer teams rather than basketball teams, the creation of new projects from scratch with the entry of investors willing to comply with the conditions set by the NBA—in short, there seems to be no shortage of alternatives.
For this reason, it seems that now is the ideal time to explore what alternatives might be available to the NBA in cities such as Milan, Rome, and Athens, and which scenarios might be most realistic for when the competition is set to begin.
Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, or someone else?
Speaking about the NBA project in Europe, George Aivazoglou specified that one of the permanent spots would go to Athens.
However, this leaves an open question of which team could represent the city of Athens in the new NBA competition.
Olympiacos and Panathinaikos both have history and tradition, but only one of them, on paper, could have a guaranteed spot in the new NBA league.
According to several Greek media outlets, Panathinaikos has recently been in contact with the NBA during its preseason games in Abu Dhabi.
On paper, PAO has everything the NBA is looking for: a large, newly renovated arena, a prestigious and well-known brand, and owners willing to invest the resources needed to build an increasingly ambitious roster.
However, there are some drawbacks. Both Panathinaikos and Olympiacos
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Orazio Cauchi
Orazio Cauchi started his career in basketball at 21, having worked for several years at Sportando as the lead writer of the website. He also covered several live events, including the Euroleague Final Four, Italian Cups, Serie A league finals, and EuroBasket. He also contributed to American media, such as LibertyBallers and Def Pen Hoops. Cauchi joined BasketNews in 2021 as a Staff Writer. Holds a degree in Politics & International Relations.
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