Total counts of the deleterious economic climate between the United States and our good old Europe, the NBA announced this week its desire to create a championship on the continent in the medium term. Already advanced, the project looks like a tornado which, given the firepower of the US basketball cruisers and their competition guns, as Michel Audiard would have said, could well take the current competitions, at the forefront of which the Euroligue, the Champions of Parquet League.
In his presentation this Thursday in New York, the boss of the NBA Adam Silver advanced several key arguments to caress the big European ball in the direction of the hair. First there is the displayed support of the powerful International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the promise of respecting its rules (in Europe, the matches last 40 minutes against 48 in the NBA, and the three -point basket line is slightly advanced, for example) as well as its national championships.
Then there is the idea that the future league would not be fully closed, as is the case in the United States where the same “franchises” are still in the running whatever their results, but would have twelve permanent and four qualified members, just to preserve, at least in appearance, our sports model based on meritocracy.
After Africa, Europe
That said, let’s call the greatest dialogist in French cinema to state obvious: “When we speak Pognon, from a certain figure, everyone listens. »» The NBA, which has already launched its product in Africa and seeks to explore new markets, has been eyeing the old continent for years, where it relocates matches and notably allowed the French public to applaud Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs last January.
The financial impact of the project, estimated at three billion euros, runs all the heads. The big brands of football and PSG have been surveyed and, obviously, all are willing to give a chance to a product that would allow them, against an entry ticket of 500 million, to reach new audiences, young, urban, families – a marketing dream.
What about the existing system? Admittedly, it is terribly perfectible and seems to cap. In France, only ASVEL, the club of former NBA Star Tony Parker, openly declared itself interested in the NBA idea. Monaco, who performed in Euroligue, and Paris Basketball, which has superbly successfully installed at Adidas Arena, in the north of the capital, are not currently mentioned. The basket revolution is engaged, and the greater will not be able to stop it.
