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Milan is at the center of European basketball, also because Olimpia will be responsible for organizing the Euroleague owners' meeting scheduled for October 5th at the prestigious Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, on Lake Como. Unlike the stakeholder board, the owners' council meets rarely when the European basketball strategy needs to be redefined. In this case, they will be asked to evaluate the NBA's potential offer to acquire the Euroleague, which could be tabled after Monday's Board of Governors meeting . Or, conversely, whether to move to the operational phase of the strategy already presented to the clubs by CEO Chus Bueno, involving the league's expansion and transition to a franchise system.
Christos Stavropoulos talked to the Greek basketball federation web radio, and one of the main topics of discussion was, of course, the future of European basketball. The Armani Milan GM admitted that the best solution for the sport in Europe would be a joint effort that will include the EuroLeague and the NBA. As he said: “The fact that there can be another competition, it’s not prohibitive about anything. The point is that qualitatively, for the basketball ecosystem, the best solution is to have a very good, united competition. I believe that we have a responsibility to the fans to have a clear situation. We are confusing the fans, and the responsibility we have is great. I believe that ultimately both managements, both FIBA and the NBA people, understand that the best solution is to have a collaboration.”
But here too, I think in terms of: 'How does this help AC Milan?' The EuroLeague has existed for 26 years, and most teams are not profitable. It is not sustainable. So I think European football clubs should collaborate with the NBA and bring NBA basketball to Europe. And that is what I will try to do in Milan," he said. "The goal is to continue elevating the Milan brand, offer opportunities to the fanbase, and continue improving our financial profile. So it is all part of an ecosystem in which everyone should benefit from one another," Cardinale concluded.
Pat Riley met Armani in Milan in 1978, just before his coaching career began. Armani was building an empire, revolutionizing men’s fashion and producing the signature look for the 1980s. When Riley became coach of the “Showtime” Lakers in 1981, he started wearing the Clark Gable on the sideline. The relationship lasted decades, through stops in New York and Miami, and spawned an enduring image of Riley on the sidelines: one of the NBA’s best leaders, always in a designer suit. The connection also underscores one of Riley’s strongest beliefs, one expressed last week as he was honored with an Armani-clad statue in Los Angeles: NBA coaches need to return to wearing coats and ties on the sidelines. “I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sidelines who looks like a leader, dresses like a leader, acts like a leader,” Riley said.
Doncic, 26, whom Donnie Nelson acquired in a draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018, is part of his group of investors, sources in American and European basketball with knowledge of Nelson’s plans told The Athletic. While the Milan-based sports publication La Gazzetta Dello Sport reported that Dirk Nowitzki was also a part of Nelson’s group, his spokesman, Scott Tomlin, said that was not the case. According to one of the sources, Rimas Kaukenas, a Lithuanian legend as a player who was a longtime star in Italy, is also part of the group.
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"Yes, absolutely. I repeat, when I mentioned Milan, it was just an example. I recently discussed this with Ettore Messina as well, and we are on the same page. We are in talks with multiple groups," he said in an interview with Gazzetta.
Messina also serves as President of Basketball Operations in Milan, and his contract with the club was set to run through 2026 Messina will remain with the club as a personal adviser to President Leo Dell'Orco, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
NBA Europe managing director George Aivazoglou confirmed that the project will launch in October 2027, adding that teams from Rome, Milan (Italy), London, Manchester (United Kingdom), Paris, Lyon (France), Madrid, Barcelona (Spain), Berlin, Munich (Germany), one team from Athens (Greece) and Istanbul (Turkiye) will be playing in the competition.
“Let’s make this clear once and for all. First of all, in order to return to Milan, you have to be wanted. That it was my dream? Of course it was – it always has been. I’ve always said it. Even during my last years in the NBA, I thought about coming back to Milan,” Gallinari said. “But again, to return, you have to be wanted. It’s not like I wake up one morning, make a call and say, ‘Hey guys, I’m ready to come back, do you want me?’ That’s not how it works.”
Danilo Gallinari: “I thank all the teams that reached out, showing interest—even while I was under contract in the U.S.—to ask what my situation was or what my future plans were. But I have never received a phone call from Milan. To come back, you have to be wanted. At 37, it’s now very difficult to return to Europe for both basketball and non-basketball reasons.”
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Meanwhile, in Milan, some still dream of one last Gallinari homecoming with Olimpia Milano, the club where he first became a star before making the leap to the NBA. Gallinari himself, however, poured cold water on that hope. “Returning to Europe and to Milan? It’s a dream. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I consider it very, very difficult. The further we go, the more complicated that scenario becomes.”
Alessandro Luigi Maggi: Italbasket, press conference with Gianmarco Pozzecco and Gigi Datome at 3 p.m. in Milan. The news should be Donte DiVincenzo's withdrawal from Eurobasket 2025, I'm told. 🇮🇹 Darius Thompson, Valencia's new point guard and available for the Training Camp, is expected to be called up in his place. This would make the player Italian for all intents and purposes, even for FIBA.
The 34-year-old NBA star traveled to Milan and Paris for Fashion Week — his first time in Paris, he tells PEOPLE — where he not-so-quietly debuted his new sneaker design in three colors while sitting front-row at shows for Louis Vuitton, Armani and Amiri. "There's no set-in-stone release date, but I guess it just caught some people's eyes walking around in fashion week and they've just been asking questions," Leonard tells PEOPLE of the sneak peek at his new designs.
Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard has several New Balance 480 V2s on the horizon, which he previewed last month at the Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks. Leonard made an appearance at a number of runway shows last week, where he was spotted in three previously unseen 480 V2s. He was seen at the Emporio Armani show wearing a reflective white-based colorway before switching to a tonal neon yellow iteration at the Louis Vuitton show.