By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu talked about a UK team potentially playing in the EuroLeague in the future, reigning season MVP, Final Four MVP and champion Luka Doncic plus Tony Parker’s ASVEL, which was recently announced to join the competition for 2019-2021.
Here’s what Bertomeu said to Brian Berger’s Sports Business Radio podcast:
On EuroLeague possibly entering the UK market:
“We want to have a stability in the presence in the market. We have to remember that when we started the league in 2000 we had a team in London for a couple of years. But only five games were not enough for a team in a market that was still young and not mature for basketball. Now the situation is different. With the new format of the league and with the regular season that guarantees 15 games at home, we are in a position that a strong project can join us. We are working on that. Our expectations are that in the next 3-4 years to have a team playing at a EuroLeague level. These are our expectations. We are working towards this action and I’m optimistic that this can happen.”
On Luka Doncic:
“Luka Doncic is a player that probably we can have only once in 15-20 years. He’s a very unique talent. I watched him for the first time when he was 14 years old and I was very impressed. I haven’t seen such a player since Drazen Petrovic’s time. Even Petrovic wasn’t at this level when he was 18, 19. Luka is a very unique player. Unfortunately, we enjoyed him for a short time. But I think he will be an excellent NBA player and will put his mark on the league.”
Tony Parker’s ASVEL joining the EuroLeague (the interview took place before EuroLeague announced that ASVEL has a two-year closed contract:
“From the very beginning when he bought the team (ASVEL) he showed a strong commitment with two projects. One is developing the young academies and the second was having a team in EuroLeague. Despite being in the States, he’s working closely with his team. We have a very good conversation with them. He has a very clear idea of how to manage a sports project because he has experience in the NBA. We hope that in a short period, we will announce that Tony’s team will be part of the league.”
Photo: EuroLeague