EuroLeague Squad Real Madrid Wants To Join NBA
NBA has always been limited to the U.S. Is it time to expand and include a European division? Real Madrid president Florentino Perez thinks it is.
According to ABC.es, Perez is planning to discuss the potential of his club joining the league with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The two will be spending some time together when the Boston Celtics meet Real Madrid for a preseason game. The game will be in October at the Palace of Sports.
"I would love [to have] Real Madrid play in the NBA," Perez said in a radio interview with SER, according to ABC.es. "Now comes the commissioner and [I will] try to talk to him."
The success of the club in the Euroleague has made people wonder of its potential in a more competitive league against the best teams and players in the world.
This is not the first time the subject of European expansion has come up in the NBA. Commissioner Silver addressed the issue earlier this year in a report from The Guardian.
"It would be difficult for us to have one team in Europe," he said. "We'd have to put both feet down. That would mean having four franchises in Europe."
The commissioner acknowledged that the league is growing and attracting a lot of fans worldwide. Despite the success, he said that NBA is not quite ready to commit to going overseas.
Silver explained, "We're not there yet. I know that as much growth as we've seen, we have a long way to go before we can sustain four franchises in Europe. On the other hand, I believe it's our manifest destiny to expand."
Multiple franchises would be required to form a European division, which is difficult for the league to stage at this point. A report from NBC Sports enumerated more challenges in going overseas including travel logistics, which is difficult enough to stage in one continent and will be even more so across the globe. The quality of Europe's facilities should also be up to NBA standards. Broadcast rights will also be tough to sort out in different countries.
The difficulties in an expansion as big as NBA teams in Europe are a long list, but if both parties are interested, there's no reason it can't happen in the near future. After all, there is a lot of talent in Europe, with players such as the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker and Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki finding unbelievable success in the NBA.
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