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Nikola Jokic to play at the Eurobasket?
Since the end of the Olympic Games in Paris, Serbia has been holding its breath waiting for one decision: According to Meridian Sport, the best basketball player in the world is close to making that decision. And fans in Serbia have reason to be optimistic. Jokić is expected to soon give an official nod to the invitation from head coach Svetislav Pešić, with whom he has already spoken. The plan is for the Serbian team—with the world’s best player—to go for European gold.
The San Antonio Spurs are strengthening their ties to Victor Wembanyama’s homeland, announcing a new agreement Tuesday to have the French digital asset security firm Ledger be its new jersey sponsor. Ledger is based in Paris, where the Spurs played two games last season. The Spurs have long had an enormous following in France, with players like Tony Parker and Boris Diaw playing for San Antonio before the team drafted Wembanyama in 2023. “This moment cements a decades-long history of international collaboration and growth by the Spurs organization, as the game of basketball has grown to touch every culture and continent,” said RC Buford, the CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment. It is a multi-year deal, but specific terms were not announced.
In March, QSI revealed it had been approached about the possibility of launching a basketball franchise in Paris and that it had expressed an interest. The approach related to the NBA’s potential expansion into Europe, under the moniker NBA Europe, and plans that have been developed under the leadership of commissioner Adam Silver. The Athletic reported in March that Silver would pitch the NBA Board of Governors with the outline of a plan to launch a new pro basketball league in Europe within the next couple of years. The prospective league had been hoping to attract 16 teams, which would include franchises in markets such as London and Paris, as well as possible defectors from the EuroLeague. Since then, there have been indications from NBA and EuroLeague executives that there may be a way to collaborate. EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas conceded to The Athletic that “it is becoming more obvious that we have to work together”, while NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the NBA intends to be the “operator” of “the top tier league in Europe.”
LeBron James insists he's not playing at 2028 Olympics
You won again in 2012 and took a break in 2016 and 2020 — both were still gold medal years for the U.S. You played again and won gold again in Paris (in 2024). Afterward, you said it doesn’t seem probable that you’d play in the 2028 Summer Olympics, which is in your adopted hometown of Los Angeles. Any update on that? LeBron James: Nothing has changed. Where we at, man, 2025 right now? (Laughs) Nah, nothing has changed. I mean, if I had to look at it right now through a microscope, I would say that, me being able to support Team USA for the rest of my life — that’s for sure. But me actually going on and playing, I don’t see it happening. I’ve given everything that I have, and I will always be appreciative and loyal and dedicated to Team USA and USA Basketball.
Brian Lewis: Also looked like Paris and Spain as well. So I'm presuming we can add point guard Nolan Traore of Saint Quentin and forward Hugo Gonzalez of Real Madrid to that tally. #Nets
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He was far less vague about the proposed NBA Europe, rattling off that the league would likely include 12 permanent franchises in European cities such as Paris, London, Berlin, Barcelona and Madrid and also four other clubs that would have to “play in on a yearly basis” such as established EuroLeague teams. “Now, again, just to be clear, this would be a standalone league,” Silver said. “It wouldn’t be a division of the NBA. Maybe one day some of these teams could be a division of the NBA. I mean I am always reading about new supersonic air jets, jets that are coming online. I mean, I think that could dramatically change things of faster flight.”
Mark Tatum: 'The lack of world-class basketball facilities in Europe is striking relative to the affinity there'
Tatum pointed to the lack of permanent Euroleague teams in key cities including London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, and said the investment that comes with a new league would help bring sorely needed basketball infrastructure to the region. "The lack of world-class basketball facilities in Europe is striking relative to the affinity there," Tatum said. "There are big markets in Europe that aren't being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren't being serviced."
If that league is up and running by the time you’re knocking on retirement’s door, and it’s like, you know—Paris or London—would you go play another year or two over there if it’s between that and retiring?” Josh Hart: “No.” Jalen Brunson: “I hope it would be something where like, it’s like Champions League. Yeah, where it’s not like—it’s a legit league where you’ve got to go and play games over there. But like, towards the end of the season, you qualify—like the in-season tournament—you qualify, and then you can go play in a week or two worth of games. That’s what I would hope.
“It’s a terrible feeling, obviously,” Gilgeous-Alexander said to his basketball brothers while sitting at his locker, as captured in Netflix’s “Court of Gold” documentary about the men’s basketball tournament in Paris. “I think for me, personally, I might have overlooked the opportunity a little bit. Like, once the game was over, I realized it’s another four years until we get this opportunity (again). That’s a long f—ing time. So for me, and I’d advise the rest of you, to remember what this feels like.”
Atkinson who was also an assistant for the French national team in Paris, is highly in favor of the FIBA windows and even suggested that they should be mandatory even for NBA players: “I would like it to be mandatory, because players get better through the FIBA game. I think we saw it with the American players, we saw it with the French players, all the great Spanish players, I think of the Gasols. FIBA basketball makes you better. I would really push for that, it would be amazing, to open more windows and make it mandatory.”
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According to our information, several options have been presented to the Qataris: Either a straightforward purchase of an existing Paris-based (or nearby) basketball team, or the creation of a new, independent team — not directly linked to PSG — in partnership with other stakeholders. QSI has not ruled out any of these possibilities. In the first scenario, attention logically turns to Paris Basketball. Founded in 2018 by two Americans — former NBA executives — after absorbing the debts of Hyères-Toulon, the capital’s club currently plays in the EuroLeague, the most prestigious basketball competition in Europe, and is on track to qualify for the playoffs. Coincidence — or not — the club’s owner, Eric Schwartz, is currently in Europe…
The NBA’s plan is to create a new competition with teams based in major European capitals. In addition to Madrid and Barcelona, candidate cities for one of the eight to ten franchises include London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Rome, Milan, and Berlin.
Mike Budenholzer on Devin Booker game-winner: 'We should send Steve Kerr a thank you note'
Duane Rankin: "We should send Steve Kerr a thank you note." Mike Budenholzer on running same play Kerr ran for Kevin Durant coaching Team USA in Paris Olympics. Booker got shot for winner Monday vs Bucks. "It may have been ran pre-Olympics, but it definitely was run in Paris this summer." pic.x.com/HaW2CYQLzW
Gerald Bourguet: Devin Booker on his Bucks game-winner: "The play was for K, the play that we ran in Paris this summer right before halftime in his 1st game back. I haven't watched it back yet so I don't know if they denied him, but Royce came to me, Oso set a great screen, and just hit the shot" pic.x.com/7hux6lBq64
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