By Aris Barkas/ Barkas@eurohoops.net
With the EuroLeague being ready to enter a new era, probably under Dejan Bodiroga, the announcement of the schedule of the upcoming 2022-23 season, has suddenly become the focus of interest for every basketball stakeholder in Europe.
Simply put, if the EuroLeague schedule doesn’t include key matchups that collide with the national teams’ games, then a move towards further collaboration between them and FIBA will be made
It sounds simple but it is not.
Back in December FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis stressed this issue in an interview. “The November window was a missed opportunity for a demonstration of good faith from the EuroLeague,” he said just a few months after the notorious meeting between FIBA, the NBA, and the EuroLeague
And while everyone agrees that synergies of any kind can only help, the EuroLeague still waits for a solid trade-off in order to consider accommodating the”Windows” schedule.
On the other hand, it is evident at this point that the mid-season games have been a success for FIBA in most parts, and getting the EuroLeague players into the fold, will bring even more value to the games. Plus it will be a move in the direction of getting more and more big names involved and opening a path for – distant in any case – future in which even the NBA players may be able to be involved even more in the qualifiers.
However, for now, the realistic first step can come via the EuroLeague and if this step is made, then the unification not only of the calendar but of the whole basketball community will be one step closer to fulfillment.