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In the long interview granted to La Stampa, Ettore Messina also commented on the ongoing negotiations between FIBA and the NBA for a take on the field of the most important basketball league in the world in Europe.
His statements are clear: «The Euroleague is a show on the field, but it is no longer sustainable. A third player like the NBA can enter into this dispute with Fiba, which has everything to get European basketball back on its feet and reconcile it with world basketball”.
It is not the first time that Messina has expressed himself in these terms. It happened on October 31st with Eurohoops: «I think we missed a giant opportunity 15 years ago to become the NBA’s development league. I believe it was a mistake in the vision of the future. If we had become, and I don’t mean this in a negative sense, the G-League or the championship in which players develop, we wouldn’t be in such a situation today, with the transfer market closed and where it is very difficult to sign new players. Our future is a concern because it is a championship that is aging.”.
And there is the direct reference to FIBA: «For the future of basketball, I think the most important thing is to find a solution, a common plan for FIBA and NBA. Because sometimes when Adam Silver talks about Europe, given their economic and technical power and what they are doing in Africa, it worries me. I wish we had something in common for the future”.
The Olimpia Milano coach’s position has been known since, in the letter sent to Eurohoops, he hoped for the reopening of dialogue between all the components. Not that the club now considers itself out of internal EuroLeague discussions, with the licenses set to expire at the end of next season.
Olimpia Milano has always held a collaborative position in the board (where at the moment opposing voices are Real Madrid and, partially, Fenerbahce), giving approval to the choice of Abu Dhabi as the venue for the 2025 Final Four.
The future is pressing. Olimpia Milano is open to any scenario, and winks at a grand-style landing of the NBA in Europe.
