For this account of the backroom negotiating currently taking place between some of the world’s most powerful sports officials, POLITICO spoke to several European political figures, sports executives and industry heavyweights with direct knowledge of talks, some of whom were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations. NBA executives have already been sounding out Europe’s biggest multi-sport club owners and team officials about backing the project, triggering unease from other parts of the continent’s sports establishment. “The main reason we don’t support NBA Europe is that closed leagues and competitions benefit only the top percent of the commercially successful clubs, but cause significant harm to the sport at national level,” one senior European government official told POLITICO.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA executives have already been sounding out Europe’s …
