Dirk Nowitzki shared a cautious view on the NBA's plans to launch a separate league in Europe, pointing to the tight timeline and lack of confirmed locations. While intrigued by the idea, he stressed the importance of the European model with promotion and relegation and noted that the EuroLeague remains a strong and established competition.
Dirk Nowitzki is watching the NBA push into Europe with interest, but also with clear caution. The former Dallas Mavericks star recently shared his thoughts on the league's idea to launch a separate competition on the European continent, making it clear that he is not fully sold on the current plan.
Speaking during a media session with Sports Illustrated, Nowitzki addressed the NBA Europe project, pointing to the tight timeline and unanswered questions surrounding the league structure.
While he understands the ambition behind the idea, the German basketball icon stressed that major details are still missing.
"We don’t even have any locations yet, and it’s supposed to start in a year and a half," Nowitzki said. "Seriously, respect, that’s a tough timeframe. The European model with promotion and relegation is interesting; it’s very, very important, as it’s part of what our European sports culture is based on. It makes the league more exciting."
"In the NBA, if you have a bad first half of the season, you basically have nothing left to play for in the last 40 games. That makes it a bit hard to watch. With the European model, there’s something at stake right up to the end, for example, in the relegation battle. But I’m also curious to see how it’s going to work; the EuroLeague is still around, and that’s a good competition."
Credit FIBA
Now working as a TV analyst for Prime Video, Nowitzki has stayed closely connected to the modern game. From that perspective, he sees both opportunity and risk in the NBA Europe plans.
The NBA Europe project is expected to feature 12 permanent franchises, with four more teams able to qualify without owning equity in the league. According to current plans, the NBA would control 50 percent of the competition, while the remaining shares would be split between FIBA and the participating club owners.
Earlier, it was revealed that the 12 permanent NBA Europe franchises could reportedly pay $500M over 10 years.
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