By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Adam Silver admitted that the idea of having a pre-season game of the Bucks in Greece is on the cards, despite the logistic difficulties of such an endeavor.
Asked on the issue during his recent visit to Abu Dabhi while talking to COSMOTE TV, the official NBA right holder in Greece, Silver said: “We would love to figure that out. I know how important this is to Giannis personally. In fact, I saw his mother last night as well and it’s also important to his mother. So we are going to try and make it work. You know that it’s not easy to move these pre-season games overseas but we know how important it is not only to Giannis but to all our incredible fans in Greece. So we keep working on it”.
However, this is not just a theoretical discussion, but a plan which has been discussed for a long. As Silver explained that even the idea of holding a regular season game in Greece can’t be excluded: “There are always discussions, but because of COVID and the pandemic, a lot of travel plans have been put on hold, but now that people seem to be back to normal, it’s something that we can focus on it again. The benefit of doing a pre-season or friendly game is it allows the players to spend more time in the market, I know that’s important to Giannis. We are looking at both (ed.note: pre-season or regular season game) but from the league’s standpoint, as we are doing here in Abu Dhabi when it’s a pre-season game, the players can come with their families, enjoy the sights and have a better sense for the country and the city. For a regular season game, we just have to come in, practice, sleep, play, and leave. So we’re looking at both scenarios”.
For his part, Giannis was asked about where he would like to play overseas, with the Greek Freak saying: “I’ve never played in China. Shanghai or Beijing. It would be a fun experience. Maybe in India too. The more you expand the game, the more you make it global and reach places for the first time. I feel like a lot of people around the world love basketball, we just have to introduce it. That way we’ll create more fans.”
At the same time, Giannis would love to bring the Bucks to Greece and maybe even go to Crete, even if that means that as the host he will have to do a lot of extra things: “I have played in Greece, not with an NBA team. I feel that if this happens, then the game will be the last thing that concerns me. The stadium will be full of 20,000 Greek fans chanting my name and instead of it being a nice experience for me, I’ll be roaming left and right doing so many things. I’ve had that experience before and I’ve thought about it. If we had the chance to play in Athens, in Thessaloniki or some other city… in Crete maybe. It would be a nice experience”.