NBA Europe director announces interest in Turkish clubs for new league project

Managing Director of the NBA Europe and Middle East George Aivazoglou announced that he was interested in Turkish clubs for an NBA Europa League project.

Aivazoglou commented to Anadolu on the purpose and details of the NBA Europa League project and the new dynamic it will bring to European basketball, as well as the countries and teams that can take part in the league.

Emphasizing that there are big clubs in Türkiye with incredible history and passionate fans, Aivazoglou congratulated Fenerbahce on making it to the Final Four, the final stage of the Europa League.

“Fenerbahce is a great club. I congratulate them on making it to the Final Four. Galatasaray is also a great club. There are also great clubs like Anadolu Efes and Besiktas,” said Aivazoglou. “We are very interested in Türkiye as a market for the new league project in Europe. We are very interested in Istanbul as a city.”

Stating that he wants to reward success in the league system, Aivazoglou pointed out that “even if Galatasaray wins the Turkish championship, it cannot participate in Europe's top-tier cup. This does not happen in football. In football, the team that wins the Turkish league gains the right to participate in the UEFA Champions League. We want to fix this.”

-Meeting with Turkish clubs

Aivazoglou noted he had the chance to meet clubs at a board meeting of the Europa League in Istanbul where they exchanged views with the president of the Fenerbahce Club.

“It was a great opportunity to meet with all the clubs and some of the owners. We met with Fenerbahce President Ali Koc,” he said. “I would say the general feeling was very positive. I reiterated that we are very open to collaborating with anyone in the ecosystem who wants to be a partner in this project and contribute to how we bring this vision to life.”

- New pathways for prospective clubs to join league

Aivazoglou cited the lack of media and sponsorship representation in Western European cities with big markets as a reason for the lower popularity of European basketball

Stating that he is interested in big cities and markets of Western Europe, Aivazoglou said, “I can say many cities such as Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, London and Manchester in England, Paris and Lyon in France, Milan and Rome in Italy, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin in Germany -- we are interested in these cities,” he said.

“There are three ways for interested cities and teams to join our league. First, clubs that want to join our league voluntarily. Second, existing football clubs that do not have a basketball team but want to establish one. Third, completely new clubs,” said Aivazoglou, adding that his group will evaluate all options as research is ongoing.

On the question of clubs from the Middle East joining the new league, Aivazoglou said that they would not have any from the region.

“We are very clear on this issue. We want our league to be a European League in a geographical sense. That's why a club from the Middle East will not be in the league,” he stressed.

- A clearer structure to reward success, based on merit

Elaborating on the new NBA league, Aivazoglou said the aim is to start with 16 teams to be permanent members.

“We also want some of these teams to come from the ecosystem. These can be different teams every year, and they can earn the right to compete in our league. I think this offers a fundamental change to the current structure of European basketball. We can consider it as a step towards a single and clearer pyramid that is very transparent and easy to understand, but also fair, rewards success, and is based on merit,” he said.

“We believe this league can follow European standards,” added Aivazoglu, “It will be created to respect traditions, fan passion and the way the game is played in Europe. We are aware that this is clearly different from the way it is played outside of Europe and in the United States.”​​​​​​​